Point of Rocks: A Story Written in Stone

The Cimarron National Grassland is a vast billowing sea of grass, the horizon a study in subtlety. Then, without warning, the earth asserts itself. Point of Rocks is an escarpment emerging nearly 100 feet high, breaking the gentle curve of the elongated landscape. This is a landmark not just for the traveller, but for time itself. 

For centuries, the escarpment was used as a crucial guide point along the Santa Fe Trail. Its prominent silhouette against the clear blue Kansas sky meant a valuable water source, the Cimarron River, was near. Its sandstone and gypsum faces watched as generations of pioneers, traders, and dreamers passed beneath, their wagon wheels carving history into the soil.

But the story Point of Rocks tells is far older than any trail. It is a geological manuscript, bound in layers of time. The photograph you see in the Grassland Formations collection captures its two most prominent chapters. Its crown is a stark, white cap of Neogene Ogallala Formation calcrete, a hardened ancient soil horizon that acts as a durable shield against the relentless prairie wind.

Beneath this protective crown, the bluff bleeds into the warm, rich tones of Jurassic red beds—layers of shale, siltstone, and sandstone. And here, the rock whispers a profound mystery. While its upper layers are well understood, the true age of these vibrant red foundations remains a subject of quiet scientific debate. Lacking the tell-tale fossils or clear marker beds that act as geological time stamps, these layers have puzzled geologists for decades. Are they Permian? Jurassic? Cretaceous? The stone holds its secrets close, offering clues but no easy answers. It stands as a testament to the fact that even in our modern world, the Earth does not yield all its secrets at once.

To capture Point of Rocks on film is to engage with this deep narrative. Film, with its tangible grain and its unique way of rendering light and shadow, feels uniquely suited to telling such an ancient story. It captures not just the form of the rock, but its texture, its history, and its enduring enigma.

Each print from the Grassland Formations collection is more than an image. It is a preserved piece of this ongoing dialogue between time, earth, and light. It's an invitation to bring a piece of deep history and enduring mystery into your own space—to own a landmark that has guided travelers, puzzled scientists, and stood as a silent witness to the immense, quiet story of the American plains.