Over the ages, water has carved Thor's Hammer (center right in this black & white photograph) and myriads of other pinnacles, hoodoos and towers from the sediments of a huge, ancient fresh-water lake which covered this region during the early Tertiary period. Known as the Claron Formation, this fifty million year-old layer of sediments forms the highest and therefore youngest "step" in the Grand Staircase of sandstone layers which march south to the edge of the Grand Canyon. Due to the soft nature of this sandstone, the erosion processes continue here today at a geological rate so rapid that changes to the formations can easily be witnessed within the span of an average human lifetime. This panoramic black & white photograph was captured with a 6x17 panorama format camera. All photos in these fine art photo galleries may be ordered as fine art black & white framed prints or for B&W stock photography usage.