The dimply dirt crust is a fragile, living organism of fibers and such, called cryptobiotic (or cryptogamic) soil.
It anchors the soil in place, making possible the growth of plants. Having read about it on the Web, I was thrilled to
finally see some of the stuff. Here it is light gray; around Moab it is red-orange. More info on such crusts is
available at http://www.soilcrust.org/crust101.htm . The black markings on the bamboo hiking stick are one foot (30cm) apart.