Organ Rock Formation Organ Rock Formation The Organ Rock Formation or Organ Rock Shale is a formation within the late Pennsylvanian to early Permian Cutler Group and is deposited across southeastern Utah, northwestern New Mexico, and northeastern Arizona. This formation notably outcrops around Canyonlands National Park, Natural Bridges National Monument, and Monument Valley. The age of the Organ Rock is constrained to the latter half of the Cisuralian Epoch by age dates from overlying and underlying formations. Important early terrestrial vertebrate fossils have been recovered from this formation in northern Arizona, southern Utah, and northern New Mexico. These include the iconic Permian terrestrial
Brazos water snake Brazos water snake The Brazos water snake ("Nerodia harteri" ), also called commonly Harter's water snake, is a species of mostly aquatic, nonvenomous snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to Texas in the United States. "N. harteri" is found only in central Texas in the Brazos River system. The preferred habitat of "N. harteri" is rocky areas along the Brazos River. Due to its limited range, "N. harteri" is considered to be a threatened species in the State of Texas. The specific name or epithet, "harteri", is in honor of American amateur herpetologist Philip Harter, who collected