About a quarter mile west of the Y, a left fork of the road goes about a
mile and a half to Green River Overlook, which provides a superb view of
Stillwater Canyon of the Green River, the Orange Cliffs beyond, and the
Henry Mountains in the extreme distance (fig. 23). Note that here the
White Rim Sandstone is much thicker than in preceding views. The
prominent butte enclosed by the loop of the river is known as Turks Head
and is better seen from the air (fig. 24). The light-colored band near
the base of the cliffs in the background of figure 24 is characteristic
of the bleached upper part of the Moenkopi Formation in this part of the
park. According to F. A. McKeown and P. P. Orkild (U.S. Geol. Survey,
unpub. data, Feb. 16, 1973), petroliferous material or odor generally
occurs in this bleached zone and in the basal beds of the Moenkopi.
The campground just north of Green River Overlook has no water at this
writing (1973), but water from wells in Taylor Canyon will eventually be
piped to nearby parts of Island in the Sky.