West Face of El Capitan Reef July 28, 2004 The above photo was
taken in the Gaudalupe Mountains, Texas, and shows the west face
of the El Capitan Reef. The dark lines in the massive limestone
beds (below cloud deck), which slope from the upper left to the
lower right, are progradation lines that display how the reef
built up over time. The topography seen here is virtually that
of the Permian, showing how deep the basin was (some 700 m) eons
ago. Notice the near perfect detail of the stratigraphy below
the reef.