The Earth Is Breaking: The Rim of Virgin River Canyon

On the way to a hike in the Virgin River Canyon, we stopped on the opposite side of the rim from the trail head to see the interesting phenomena of the cracked mesa top. The continually deepening and widening fissures here are caused by the slow sinking of the basin due to lava recently (geologically-speaking) voiding the area. Activity along the Hurricane Fault also comes into play as periodic seismic activity destabilizes the rock. But however interesting that may or may not be to you, there is no denying the amazing appearance of the broken earth. The views across the Colorado Plateau and into the canyon are equally spectacular and made me very excited for the morning’s hike. And if all that wasn’t great enough, I saw my first red cactus flowers here too.