Don't bust the crust!

One part of my job is educating visitors about Cryptobiotic soil. I never heard of it before coming out here but its very common in the southwest. The soil looks like black and crusty stuff on top of the regular soil. It takes up to 100 years to grow and is a collection of microorganisms such as fungus, bacteria and lichen that are living and protecting the soil by acting as a barrier against erosion, giving essentials nutrients to the plants around it and retaining water in the soil after rainfail. The stuff is crazy delicate. One footprint could cause damage to the soil for years. This is why you must stay on the trails :-)