Wilderness with multicolored badlands, sandstone hoodoos, petrified wood and dinosaur bones, similar to those found in the nearby Bisti Badlands and De-Na-Zin Wilderness

How to Get There

From Farmington (69 mi): Head west on W Broadway toward Nelson Ave. Continue onto US-64 BUS/W Main St. Turn left onto US-64 BYP E/W Murray Dr. Turn right onto NM-371 S. Turn left onto Co Rd 7650/Is Rt 7022. Turn right onto Co Rd 7870. Sharp left.

Overview

Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah Wilderness is located between Chaco Canyon and the De-Na-Zin Wilderness. The wilderness has multicolored badlands, sandstone hoodoos, petrified wood and dinosaur bones, similar to those found in the nearby Bisti Badlands and De-Na-Zin Wilderness.

John Fowler from Placitas, NM, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons ; Image Size Adjusted

Geology

Rock units within the Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah WSA include most of the upper Fruitland Formation (Fossil Forest Member) and lower part of the Kirtland Formation (Hunter Wash Member), both late Cretaceous in age. The rocks are dominated by mudstones and intermittent sandstones, with occasional resistant channel sandstones.

History

The BLM Wilderness Study Area (WSA) was declared in May 1992 and would protect an area of about 26.5 km2 (6,563 acres). The area was prospected by the dinosaur hunter Charles Hazelius Sternberg in the summer of 1921. Sternberg collected the type specimen of Pentaceratops fenestratus, a ceratopsid dinosaur from the late Cretaceous Period, within the WSA. Specimens from this area form a significant part of the vertebrate paleontology collection at the Museum of Evolution, University of Uppsala, Sweden.

John Fowler from Placitas, NM, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons ; Image Size Adjusted

The John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act, signed March 12, 2019, authorizes the establishment of the Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah Wilderness as a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System, protecting approximately 7,242 acres.

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah Wilderness", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0