Yesterday's report ended with reference to two realms to explore -- upward above the high plateaus to the west and into the future, and downward below the Salt Wash Sandstone into the past. We managed to look into one of these realms today, and maybe two, in our EVA to the east and into Candor Chasma Canyon. This is a beautiful canyon trending east. We entered it at the top end (near 522500 E and 4249500 N) and worked east and down. The top of the canyon is the clean, white sandstone known as the Salt Wash. This sandstone is moderately cross-bedded and occasionally pebbly, and we have seen it at several locations (see yesterday's report). As we walked down the canyon we dropped below this sandstone and passed into underlying sedimentary rocks, a sequence worth seeing by any group here.

Just under the sandstone there is typically a layer, perhaps a foot thick, of green clay, followed by a similar layer of maroon clay. Soon, however, a distinctive layer of pink to slightly orange rounded masses (much like cauliflower) appear. These are soft, and we interpreted this to be massive gypsum. Slightly lower still, the walls of reddish clay and silt become abundantly veined with selenite gypsum. Apparently this is more resistant to mechanical weathering than the surrounding materials, because it stands in high relief in many places, sometimes extending several inches out beyond the surrounding material. As we worked down-canyon, more and more layers of siltstone and gypsum veins appeared, forming cliffs rather than slopes. These rose on both sides until they were perhaps 50 feet high at the point we stopped our travel. We stopped at a point where two large blocks of this material had slumped from the south side of the canyon, and the larger of these (maybe 15-20 feet high) showed curved beds, curved in an antiform. Since none of the beds in the walls were folded at all, I feel confident that the deformation happened after slumping.

This formation (the Summerville) marks the lowest point in the section that we have reached in our time here, and also the lowest elevations and most easterly locations. Although we could have continued on foot down-canyon to see if we could walk down to the next contact, we decided to return to the ATVs and drive to a viewpoint further east to look at the lower Summerville and what lies beyond. This viewpoint, at about 522500 E and 4252800 N, is at a point just beyond where the 4WD road leaves the topo, and where the road drops over the steep bluffs to the east. A great view to the east opens before you here, with the Summerville Formation in the foreground, and on the return trip from this viewpoint the road rises and you have wonderful views south, west, and north. All of the large-scale geology of this region lies spread out before you.

A circuit well worth the drive, to orient new-comers to this area and to drink in the grandeur of the setting (aside from any more practical reasons) is to take ATVs south on the Lowell highway, turn north on the 4wd track that leaves this road at about 519900 E and 4248000 N, continue northeast off the Skyline Rim topo to the overlook described and located above, return west, staying on the 4WD trail the runs along the 4252000 N line, and turn south on the Lowell highway to return to the Hab. This route, probably more than 15 kilometers, is a bit hard to follow in places, but it pays big returns for the effort.