The Triassic redbeds are one of the scenic highlights of West Texas. They dazzle in the red cliffs of Palo Duro Canyon and Caprock Canyons state parks.

These colorful rocks are found all along the margin of the Llano Estacado, and where rivers like the Brazos and the Pecos cut the great plateau.

The redbeds are also one of the world's most important sources of fossils from the Triassic Period. In that distant time, strange and wondrous creatures roamed the Earth.

"It is a burning, seething cauldron, filled with dramatic light and color." That's what painter Georgia O'Keefe said about Palo Duro Canyon south of Amarillo.

The heart of that “cauldron,” the red rocks O'Keefe admir...