This isn't really that interesting a picture, but biology related to the soil is cool. The spikey crust is actually alive. It is a complex mix of microorganisms dominated by cyanobacteria. It also includes lichens, mosses, algae, fungi and other bacteria. In the high deserts of the Colorado Plateau (which includes parts of Utah, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico), these knobby black crusts are extraordinarily well-developed, and may represent 70 to 80 percent of the living ground cover. It takes 5-7 years to form a mat like this one.
