Updated isopach maps and new information on the sedimentology and distribution of facies indicate that the Jurassic was a time of slight but noteworthy crustal deformation on the Colorado Plateau that was of sufficient magnitude to exert an influence on sedimentary processes.

The tectonic history of Lower Jurassic rocks is poorly understood. The west-central part of the Colorado Plateau was a broad lowland region covered with thick eolian sand of the Wingate (Lukachukai Member) and Navajo sandstones, interrupted briefly by deposition of the fluvial Kayenta and Moenave formations. Drainage patterns obtained from cross-bedding in the fluvial beds trend generally westward, which might be a reflection of westward regional tilting.

Considerable westward regional tilting occurred in earliest Middle Jurassic time during formation of the J-2 unconformity, and westward regional tilting continued through middle Middle Jurassic time. The Monument region was an elongate north-south-trending structural bench and remained as an important structural element during the rest of the Jurassic. Downwarps formed in the Circle Cliffs and Black Mesa regions. A significant change in structural style occurred in late Middle Jurassic time coinciding with formation of the J-3 unconformity. Westward regional tilting ceased, and the Circle Cliffs and Black Mesa regions became structurally positive areas. The Kaiparowits and Henry Mountains regions subsided as basins, and uplift in the Echo Cliffs-Kaibab region defined the southwestern argin of the Kaiparowits downwarp. The Monument region continued as a structural bench.

The same general tectonic framework continued into the early Late Jurassic. The Emery uplift and Black Mesa area were small positive elements that rose above base level and contributed minor quantities of sediment to adjacent areas. Other than these two uplifts, the other active positive structures, including the Monument uplift, were covered by Jurassic sedimentary rocks and subsided at a slower rate than adjacent downwarps. Latest Jurassic tectonism is poorly known because most of these rocks were deeply eroded or removed during Early Cretaceous time prior to deposition of the Dakota Formation. The Monument uplift and Henry trough persisted, and uplift probably continued on the Circle Cliffs and Black Mesa uplifts.

Only vertical movements were identified, although the ultimate cause of the deformation was probably compressional stresses accompanying continental and oceanic plate interactions along the western continental margin of North America.