<P> Structurally, the dome is anomalous . Most of the rock strata of Canyonlands National Park are flat - lying or gently dipping . The center of the structure is a true dome . Some strata near the center are nearly vertical in orientation . Dips of 70 degrees have been measured in the Kayenta Formation on the U-shaped plateau surrounding the center of the structure . A syncline surrounds the center, where the axis forms a complete circle approximately two miles across . The syncline is primarily visible in the Navajo Sandstone . Another anticline has been mapped to the north of this ring syncline, which is also concentric with it . </P> <P> There were two well - known theories as to the origin of the upheaval . One theory was the upheaval is a salt dome, an anticlinal structure which occurs when a salt diapir is pushed up by the weight of overlying rocks . </P> <P> The other theory is an eroded impact crater, like the much younger Meteor Crater near Winslow, Arizona . In the 1990s, a team of geologists and seismologists from NASA and the University of Nevada at Reno performed a detailed study that included seismic refraction and rock mapping . The results of this study support the meteorite theory . In 2008, it was announced that shocked quartz was discovered . This confirmed the meteor impact theory because the rocks were subjected to high pressures only possible in an impact or a nuclear explosion . </P> <Ul> <Li> <P> Oblique air photo facing southeast from about 30,000 ft . </P> </Li> <Li> <P> Upheaval Dome as seen from the rim of the crater . </P> </Li> <Li> <P> Syncline in Navajo Sandstone visible from the Syncline Campsite on the northwest side of the structure, facing south . </P> </Li> <Li> <P> Steeply dipping rock strata near the center of the dome . </P> </Li> </Ul>

The evidence that upheaval dome was formed by a meteorite impact comes from