Pompey's Tower -
Pompey's Tower, or Pillar, is an outlier of Cretaceous
sandstone that was formed when the Yellowstone River first meandered around
a protruding headland of rock (A). Continued erosion by the river cut
off the headland to form an isolated erosional remnant known as an outlier
(B). The river now passes between the headland bluffs in the distance
and the outlier (C). It was here on July 25, 1806 that Clark engraved
his name on the cross-bedded sandstones. The fossil cross-beds from the
ancient river channel are visible in the date (D). (Clark, 7/25/1806)
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