Golden Canyon

This week, I visited the Golden Canyon within Death Valley and went on the Golden Canyon to Red Cathedral hike. As you travel down the trail, you are surrounded by golden rock walls. The trail lies inside the rock structures leading me to believe that this area used to a body of water that has now dried up. As you get to the end of the hike, you are met by a massive red rock structure that is known as the cathedral. These rocks are a red color than the rest of the canyon because they have had a reaction with oxygen, causing them to rust. As I was on the hike, I was wondering how the types of rock differ between the canyon and the cathedral, and what time period they came from. Knowing this information would help me create a geological map because I will be able to label the map with the necessary distinctions inside the canyon

Credit: hikespeak.com