Road cut in Hickory Sandstone (Cambrian Riley Fm.) on Smoothingiron Mountain.

Big road cut, about 10 meters high and on both sides of the road. Enough room to pull a tour bus off the road.

Exposure of hematite-cemented, quartz-rich Hickory Sandstone in fault contact with lighter-colored calcite-cemented sandstone that may be from near the top of that unit (or could possibly be the base of the Cap Mtn. Limestone, the contact is gradational and controversial). The normal(?) fault trends NE and dips steeply to the NW. There are antithetic and synthetic minor faults in proximity to the main fault.

Look in calcite-cemented sandstone for some other features; cross-bedding, mineralized fractures, sand dikes, and bioturbation (burrows).

How to get there--drive north on Highway 71 from Llano. It's 13.6 miles from the Y where 71 splits off from 29. It's 16.1 miles from Cooper's BBQ, in case you were wondering.