In early March of 2012 Doug Sherman, Guy Schmikle, and myself traveled to Peridot Mesa, San Carlos Apache Reservation, AZ
We took pictures until sunset and the next morning arrived back just before dawn. I was amazed at how the poppies could grow in such black hard soil, so I asked Doug (a long time geology professor) about the soil and rocks. He wrote back about the panorama below: "Most of the rock in the image is scoria which is a volcanic rock with lots of gas bubble holes. It forms as magma moves toward the surface where there is less pressure. This allows the gas bubbles to expand. (see the close-up I have that says scoria and poppies https://pbase.com/dougsherman/image/141929783). The rock at the very top of Peridot Mesa is basalt with inclusions of the mineral olivine which when clear is the gemstone peridot." CLICK ON THE PANORAMA BELOW FOR FULL SIZE