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| This view is looking west along Highway 62/180 near the Texas-New Mexico Border. Frijole Ridge along the southeastern flank of the Guadalupe Mountains in the vicinity of the national park is in the distance. Guadalupe Peak and El Capitan are to the left of Frijole Ridge. The low country on the southeast side of the mountains are part of the Delaware Basin. In contrast to the massive Permian-age reef track (El Capitan Reef) preserved along Frijole Ridge, the Delaware Basin is both a topographic and a geologic structural basin (part of the larger Permian Basin). During the late stages of the Permian Basin's history the seaway that filled the basin region became restricted, and evaporation of seawater resulted in the accumulation of many thousands of feet of salts, mostly gypsum and anhydrite (calcium sulfate minerals). The remnants of these massive deposits are called the Castille Formation of middle to late Permian age. The highway outcrop in the foreground consists of organic-rich gypsum and anhydrite. |
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