Sheepeater Cliff, Basalt cliff in Yellowstone National Park, United States.
Sheepeater Cliff is a dark basalt formation in Yellowstone National Park featuring distinctive vertical columnar joints. The geometric patterns visible in the rock face were created by natural fractures as the ancient lava cooled and contracted.
The cliff takes its name from the Eastern Shoshone, who used this area during the 1800s. The basalt rock itself formed from ancient lava flows that cooled approximately 500,000 years ago.
Indigenous groups traditionally gathered at this location to perform ceremonies and share knowledge about the natural resources of Yellowstone National Park point.
The cliff is accessible through a paved parking area located south of Mammoth Hot Springs on the main park road. The site is easy to reach and the formation is clearly visible from the parking area.
The hexagonal columns formed through a natural cooling pattern that is surprisingly uniform and regular. This geological feature reveals the raw volcanic processes that shaped the landscape long ago.
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