Tower Fall results as Tower Creek plunges into the Yellowstone River and its
canyon. The Creek flows over a cliff of volcanic rock from eruptions of Absoroka
volcanics 50 million years ago. Just north of Tower Fall the road overlooks The
Narrows of Yellowstone Canyon. The road construction has exposed a cliff with
a spectacular layer of 2.2 million year old columnar basalt at road level. This
volcanic flow overlies a thick layer of sedimentary conglomerate. Across the
canyon the Yellowstone River has exposed rocks that provide a look back through
time. The lower rock unit that makes up most of the height of the canyon
is composed of coarse sands and gravels deposited by ancient glaciers and the
Yellowstone River. Above that are two layers of approximately 1.4 million year
old columnar basalt. Above the basalt are volcanic ash deposits from the Yellowstone
caldera explosion 630, 000 years ago. Glacial sediments are at the surface.
