LOOKING NORTH FROM EAST WALL OF DEVILS LANE, just south of the Silver Stairs. Needles are Cedar Mesa Sandstone. Junction Butte and Grand View Point lie across Colorado River in background.
The Geologic Story of
Canyonlands
NATIONAL PARK
By S. W. Lohman
Graphics
by John R. Stacy
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 1327
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
ROGERS C. B. MORTON, Secretary
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
V. E. McKelvey, Director
Library of Congress catalog-card No. 74-600043
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1974
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office
Washington, D.C. 20402—Price $2.65 (paper covers)
Stock Number 2401-02498
Contents
Page [A new park is born] 1 [Major Powell’s river expeditions] 4 [Early history] 9 [Prehistoric people] 9 [Late arrivals] 14 [Geographic setting] 17 [Rocks and landforms] 20 [How to see the park] 26 [The high mesas] 27 [Island in the Sky] 27 [Dead Horse Point State Park] 30 [North entrance] 34 [Shafer and White Rim Trails] 34 [Grand View Point] 36 [Green River Overlook] 43 [Upheaval Dome] 43 [Hatch Point] 46 [Needles Overlook] 47 [Canyonlands Overlook] 48 [U-3 Loop] 49 [Anticline Overlook] 50 [Orange Cliffs] 54 [The Benchlands] 58 [The Maze and Land of Standing Rocks] 58 [The Needles district] 60 [Salt, Davis, and Lavender Canyons] 64 [The Needles and The Grabens] 73 [Canyons of the Green and Colorado Rivers] 85 [Entrenched and cutoff meanders] 86 [Green River] 87 [Colorado River] 96 [Summary of geologic history] 112 [Additional reading] 117 [Acknowledgments] 118 [Selected references] 118 [Index] 123
Illustrations
Page [Frontispiece. Looking north from Devils Lane near Silver Stairs.] [a]Figure] [1. Map of Canyonlands National Park] 6 [2. Pictographs on wall of Horseshoe Canyon] 10 [3. The All American Man] 10 [4. Tower Ruin] 11 [5. Newspaper Rock] 13 [6. Cave Spring Line Camp] 15 [7. Canyonlands National Park and vicinity] 19 [8. Shallow inland sea] 21 [9. Rock column of Canyonlands National Park] 22 [10. Section across Canyonlands National Park] 24 [11. Aerial view of The Neck and Shafer Trail] 28 [12. Merrimac and Monitor Buttes] 29 [13. Cane Creek anticline (viewed from Dead Horse Point)] 30 [14. Cutaway view of anticline] 31 [15. Looking southwest from Dead Horse Point] 32 [16. Shafer Trail] 35 [17. Natural tanks] 37 [18. Canyon Viewpoint Arch] 37 [19. Index map showing photograph localities] 38 [20. The White Rim] 40 [21. Monument Basin from Grand View Point] 41 [22. Monument Basin from the air] 42 [23. Stillwater Canyon and Green River] 44 [24. Turks Head] 45 [25. Upheaval Dome] 45 [26. Cutaway view of syncline] 46 [27. Junction Butte and Grand View Point] 48 [28. Syncline in core of Lockhart Basin] 49 [29. View westward from U-3 loop] 50 [30. Looking north from Anticline Overlook] 51 [31. Cane Creek anticline (viewed from Anticline Overlook)] 52 [32. View southeastward from The Spur] 55 [33. Looking north down Millard Canyon] 56 [34. Elaterite seeping from White Rim Sandstone] 59 [35. White Rim Sandstone] 59 [36. The Doll House] 60 [37. Church Rock] 61 [38. North and south Six-Shooter Peaks] 62 [39. Squaw Flat Campground] 64 [40. Aerial view eastward across Salt Canyon] 65 [41. Wooden Shoe] 66 [42. Paul Bunyans Potty] 67 [43. Angel Arch] 69 [44. Fisheye Arch] 70 [45. Wedding Ring Arch] 71 [46. Hand Holt Arch] 71 [47. Cleft Arch] 72 [48. Arch] 72 [49. The Needles] 73 [50. Chesler Park in The Needles] 73 [51. The Needles and The Grabens] 74 [52. Trail to Druid Arch] 77 [53. Upper Elephant Canyon] 77 [54. Druid Arch] 78 [55. A simple graben] 80 [56. Cutaway view of normal fault] 80 [57. West wall of Cyclone Canyon Graben] 81 [58. Lower Elephant Canyon] 81 [59. The confluence from the air] 82 [60. The confluence from Confluence Overlook] 83 [61. Cataract Canyon] 84 [62. Bowknot Bend] 89 [63. Inscription by Julien] 91 [64. Buttes of the Cross] 92 [65. Anderson Bottom Rincon] 94 [66. Drainage changes at Anderson Bottom Rincon] 94 [67. Stillwater Canyon] 95 [68. The Portal] 97 [69. The Canyon King] 98 [70. Potash mine of Texas Gulf, Inc] 99 [71. Evaporation ponds] 99 [72. Petrified log] 102 [73. Relatively recent rincons along Indian Creek] 103 [74. The Loop] 104 [75. Reverse fault] 105 [76. Cutaway view of reverse fault] 105 [77. Salt Creek Canyon] 107 [78. The Slide] 107 [79. Gypsum plug] 109 [80. Geologic time spiral] 110 [81. Late Cretaceous sea] 114
A New Park is Born
On September 12, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed an act of Congress establishing Canyonlands as our thirty-second national park, the first addition to the park system since 1956.
The birth of Canyonlands National Park was not without labor pains. In the 1930’s virtually all the vast canyon country between Moab, Utah, and Grand Canyon, Ariz., was studied for a projected Escalante National Park. But Escalante failed to get off the ground, even when a second attempt was made in the 1950’s. Not until another proposal had been made and legislative compromises had been worked out did the park materialize, this time under a new name—Canyonlands. Among the many dignitaries who witnessed the signature on September 12 was one of the men most responsible for the park’s creation, park superintendent Bates E. Wilson, who did the pioneer spade work in the field.
The newborn park covered 400 square miles[1] at the junction of the Green and Colorado Rivers in Utah. It included such magnificent features as Island in the Sky, The Needles, Upheaval Dome, and the two great stone formations, Angel Arch and Druid Arch. On November 16, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon signed an act of Congress enlarging the park by 125 square miles in four separate parcels of land, so the area now totals 525 square miles, all in southeastern Utah, as shown on the map ([fig. 1]). The northern boundary was extended to include parts of Taylor and Shafer Canyons. The addition at the southeast corner takes in the headwaters of Salt and Lavender Canyons and part of Davis’ Canyon. The largest addition, at the southwest corner, includes grotesquely carved areas bearing such colorful names as The Maze, Land of Standing Rocks, The Fins, The Doll House ([fig. 36]), and Ernies Country (named after Ernie Larson, an early-day sheepman). The fourth parcel lies about 8 miles west of the northwest corner and encompasses much of Horseshoe Canyon, whose walls are adorned by striking pictographs ([fig. 2]).
At this writing (1973) the park is still in its infancy, with most of the planned developments and improvements awaiting time and money, but a good start has been made. In 1960 my family and I first traversed Island in the Sky to Grand View Point over a rough jeep trail; now it is reached with ease over a good graded road which eventually will be paved. A temporary trailer-housed entrance station near The Neck will be replaced by permanent headquarters for the Island in the Sky district after water is piped up from wells drilled near the mouth of Taylor Canyon.
In August 1965, when the Park was but 11 months old, we drove the family car over a two-track dirt “road” from Dugout Ranch to Cave Spring—temporary headquarters for the Needles district of the park, whose personnel were housed partly in trailers and partly in the cave. Now a modern paved highway, built by the State (Utah Highway 11) for 19 miles to Dugout Ranch and by San Juan County, the State of Utah, and the National Park Service for the next 18 miles, extends a total of 38 miles from U.S. Highway 163 to a new modern campground at Squaw Flat ([fig. 39]). The entrance station and housing for park personnel are now in trailers about 2 miles west of Cave Spring, but the trailers will be replaced by permanent structures. A shallow well near temporary headquarters supplies the only water available to the campground 1.5 miles to the west, but a new supply is to be developed for the campground and permanent headquarters. Groceries, gasoline, trailer hookups, and charter flights are available at Canyonlands Resort, just outside the eastern park boundary. The old cowboy line camp at Cave Spring has been restored so that visitors can see this phase of colorful Canyonlands history ([fig. 6]). Except for 2½ miles of partly graded road west from Squaw Flat, all travel to the west and south is by four-wheel-drive vehicle or on foot. In order to reach the confluence of the Green and Colorado Rivers, The Grabens, and Chesler and Virginia Parks, drivers must conquer formidable Elephant Hill, with its 40 percent grades and backup switchbacks. SOB Hill and the Silver Stairs also tax the skill and patience of jeepsters. Parts of this area will eventually be reached by graded roads, possibly by about 1977, but many hope that much of it will be kept accessible only by jeep or foot trails.
Bates Wilson, recently retired superintendent not only of Canyonlands National Park but also of nearby Arches National Park and of Natural Bridges National Monument about 80 miles to the south, is one of the few men in the park service who has guided a national park through all phases—location, promotion, establishment, and initial development. He retired in June 1972 to a ranch along the Colorado River north of Moab.
Unless credited to others, for which grateful acknowledgment is made, the color photographs were taken by me. Most of these were taken on 4- by 5-inch film in a tripod-mounted press camera using lenses of several focal lengths, but a few were taken on 35-millimeter film. Unless credited to others, the black and white photographs were kindly loaned from the Moab and Arches files of the National Park Service. The points from which most of the photographs were taken are shown in [figure 19].
Major Powell’s River Expeditions
Although Major John Wesley Powell was not the first geologist to view the canyon lands, his two daring boat trips down the Green and Colorado Rivers in 1869 and 1871 made history by bringing to light the first descriptions of the geography and geology of what was then the largest remaining uncharted wilderness in the United States. Many landmarks along the canyons in the park were named by Powell and his men during those explorations. J. S. Newberry is thought to have been the first geologist to view the canyon lands—at least he seems to have been the first one whose observations were recorded (1861), but the more comprehensive findings of Powell (1875) were the ones that made history.
The 100th anniversary of Major Powell’s pioneer exploration of the Green and Colorado Rivers was commemorated in 1969 by a national centennial sponsored jointly by the U.S. Department of the Interior, the Smithsonian Institution, the National Geographic Society, and many other organizations. This touched off many magazine and newspaper articles, several commemorative programs and dedications, and several publications of lasting interest. Noteworthy among the latter is U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 669 entitled “The Colorado River Region and John Wesley Powell.” Of its four separate parts, two are of special interest to our Canyonlands story: part A, “John Wesley Powell: Pioneer Statesman of Federal Science,” by Rabbitt (1969) and part C, “Geologic History of the Colorado River,” by Hunt (1969). An interesting history of the National Park Service by Everhart (1972) was published as part of the national park centennial effort. The Powell Society, Ltd., of Denver, Colo., was founded mainly to publish four “River Runners’ Guides to the Canyons of the Green and Colorado Rivers, with Emphasis on Geologic Features,” covering five reaches of the two rivers from Flaming Gorge Dam, Utah, to Grand Canyon, Ariz. One of these by Mutschler (1969) covers Labyrinth, Stillwater, and Cataract Canyons, all in Canyonlands National Park. Another guidebook by Baars and Molenaar (1971) covers the Colorado River from about Potash, Utah, to the confluence with the Green, and Cataract Canyon. It is difficult to realize that thousands of people annually now boat down the canyons Powell dared to explore without knowledge of the dangers that lay ahead.
During the summer of 1968 a U.S. Geological Survey expedition led by Eugene M. Shoemaker retraced the historic 1869 and 1871 river voyages of Major Powell, in order to reoccupy the camera stations of the 1871 voyage and rephotograph the same scenes nearly 100 years later. Remarkably enough, about 150 camera stations were recovered, many requiring considerable search, and official photographer Hal G. Stephens rephotographed the scenes taken with cumbersome wet-plate cameras nearly 100 years earlier by E. O. Beaman (above the site of Lees Ferry) and by J. K. Hillers (below the site). A report containing these remarkable sets of before and after photographs hopefully will be published eventually as a delayed part of the Powell centennial. A few pairs have been published by others (Baars and Molenaar, 1971, p. 90-99), and two pairs are shown herein as figures [62] and [67]. As these photographs show, in most places the rocks and even the vegetation remain virtually unchanged after nearly a century, but a few other pairs not included herein show catastrophic changes resulting from local floods or rockfalls.
CANYONLANDS NATIONAL PARK, showing location in Utah, Lake Powell, Dead Horse Point State Park, boundaries, streams, roads, trails, landforms, and principal named features. There was insufficient room to show all named features; some not shown are related in text by distance and direction to named ones, and some additional names are given in figures [7], [51], and [59]. Hans Flat Ranger Station near left border is in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. The reader is referred to road maps issued by the State or by oil companies for the location of U.S. Highway 163 (shown as 160 on old maps) and other nearby roads and for the locations of the towns of Green River, Crescent Junction, Moab, La Sal Junction, and Monticello. Visitors also can obtain pamphlets at the entrance stations to the Needles and Island in the Sky districts of the park or at the National Park Service office in Moab; these contain up-to-date maps of the park and the latest available information on roads, trails, campsites, and picnic sites. (Fig. 1)
[High-resolution Map]
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On June 26, 1969, state and local officials met along the Green River at the mouth of Split Mountain Canyon, in Dinosaur National Monument, to dedicate a monument to Major Powell, commemorating the 100th anniversary of his first river trip, and to dedicate the Powell Centennial Scenic Drive, also known as the Powell Memorial Highway. In the absence of any roads closely paralleling the Green and Colorado Rivers except for short distances, this route is virtually the only means of approach to the rivers and comprises parts of several state and federal highways connecting Green River, Wyo., and Grand Canyon, Ariz. A segment of it, U.S. Highway 163, connects Crescent Junction, Moab, Monticello, and Blanding, all in Utah, and provides the principal access routes to Canyonlands and Arches National Parks and Natural Bridges National Monument.
The ceremonies at the mouth of Split Mountain Canyon began with the landing of the official party flotilla of four boats similar to the ones used 100 years earlier by Powell, who was impersonated by a bearded man dressed to resemble the one-armed major. After the dedication, the four boats resumed the voyage down the Green River for another ceremony.
On June 29 a second monument was dedicated at the head of Desolation Canyon, some 50 miles southwest of Vernal, Utah, where the 1869 Powell expedition first ventured into the then unknown wilderness. The bronze plaque identifies Desolation Canyon, named by Powell, as a national historic landmark that comprises 58,000 acres in an area 1 mile wide on each side of a 95-mile reach of the Green River.
Early History
Prehistoric people
There is abundant evidence that the canyon lands were inhabited by cliff dwellers centuries before the explorations of Powell or the earlier visits of the Spanish explorers and the fur trappers. Projectile points and other artifacts found in the nearby La Sal and Abajo Mountains indicate occupation by aborigines from about 3,000-2,000 B.C. to about 1 A.D. (Hunt, 1956).
Archeologists have found evidence of two occupations by prehistoric peoples in and near Canyonlands National Park—the Fremont people around 850 or 900 A.D. and the Pueblo or Anasazi people from about 1075 to their departure in the late 12th century (Jennings, 1970). Within the park, the most densely populated area was along Salt Canyon and its tributaries in the Needles district, but many prehistoric dwellings and granaries are also found just south of the park in Beef Basin and Ruin Park.
The Fremont people, who were mainly hunters, seemingly left no artifacts, but they did leave beautiful pictographs, or rock paintings, such as the group of ghostly human figures on the sandstone wall of Horseshoe Canyon ([fig. 2]), in the detached unit northwest of the park proper ([fig. 1]). The All American Man ([fig. 3]), a most unusual “Humpty Dumpty” figure painted in red, white, and blue on the wall of a cave about 3⅓ miles above the cable across the east fork of Salt Canyon, is believed to have been done in the Fremont style, but as shown in the photograph, it is next to one of three dwellings in the same cave that were built later by the Anasazi people. Tower Ruin ([fig. 4]) is one of many well-preserved granaries built by the Anasazi, who farmed the flood plains of creeks such as Salt and Horse Canyons. According to Jennings (1970),
There is some evidence that these early Utah people practiced a form of irrigation, using shallow ditches to carry water to their crops. There is also evidence that a change in climate sometime around the late 12th century brought about summer flash flooding and induced the cliff dwellers to abandon their Canyonlands homes and farms.
PICTOGRAPHS ON WALL OF HORSESHOE CANYON, believed to have been made by Fremont people about 1,000 years ago. Numbered chalkmarks 1 foot apart along bottom were made by some previous photographer. Photograph by Walter Meayers Edwards, © 1971 National Geographic Society. (Fig. 2)
THE ALL AMERICAN MAN, on wall of cave in Cedar Mesa Sandstone Member of Cutler Formation along upper Salt Canyon, believed to have been painted by Fremont people. Granary on right was built by Anasazi people. Chalk outline was added by some previous photographer. Photograph by National Park Service. (Fig. 3)
TOWER RUIN, an Anasazi granary in cave in Cedar Mesa Sandstone Member along tributary of Horse Canyon. (Fig. 4)
Visitors to the Needles district pass through Indian Creek State Park 12 miles west of U.S. Highway 163. The principal attraction, which is visible at the base of the Wingate Sandstone cliff on the right (north), is Newspaper Rock ([fig. 5]), one of the best preserved and most intriguing petroglyphs, or rock inscriptions, in the canyon lands. Many of the older cliff faces of the Wingate and Navajo Sandstones are darkened or blackened by desert varnish, a natural pigment of iron and manganese oxides. The prehistoric inhabitants of the canyon country learned that effective and enduring designs could be created simply by chiseling through the thin dark layer to reveal the buff or tan sandstone beneath. According to Jesse D. Jennings (letter of Mar. 20, 1962, to Utah Div. Parks and Recreation),
There are at least three periods of workmanship visible on the rock. The last is quite recent since it shows men mounted on horses [brought in by Spanish explorers]. These are probably less than 200 years old and are probably the work of Ute tribesmen. The others cannot be identified with any specific cultural group, although the earliest may be as much as one thousand years old and are probably the work of the so-called “Fremont” peoples * * *
In addition to the designs by the Fremont, Anasazi, and Ute artists, you will note a few names and dates as late as 1954.
NEWSPAPER ROCK, petroglyphs cut in Wingate Sandstone cliff in Indian Creek State Park. Inscriptions probably span about 1,000 years and include figures by Fremont, Anasazi, and Ute people (mounted horsemen) and by a few early white settlers. (Fig. 5)
Late arrivals
The modern history of Canyonlands is as colorful as the canyons themselves, and involves Indians, cattlemen, bank robbers, cattle rustlers, and horsethieves, followed by oil drillers, uranium hunters, potash miners, jeepsters, boaters, and tourists. A brief summary of their activities is taken mainly from a recent account by Maxine Newell (1970), to whose work you are referred for further details.
Bands of Ute and Navajo Indians roamed the canyons and mesas until the late 1800’s, but gradually they were driven out and succeeded by pioneer cattlemen, the first of whom were George and Silas Green in 1874-75, followed by the Taylor brothers in 1880-81. Cowboys named many of the natural features of the area, and the Needles country provided the scenic background for some of Zane Grey’s western tales and for David Lavender’s “One Man’s West.” Lavender Canyon, whose headwaters were recently annexed to the park, was named for him. Visitors to the Needles district pass the Dugout Ranch about 7 miles northwest of Newspaper Rock. The earliest ranch dwellings were dirt houses built by the Somerville and Scorup brothers, who bought the huge Indian Creek spread for $426,000 from the Carlisle Co. in 1918. In 1973 the ranch was operated by Robert and Heidi Redd, whose line camp at Cave Spring served as temporary park headquarters and later was restored to a typical line camp ([fig. 6]) as part of the Cave Spring Environmental Trail.
Robbers Roost Canyon and Spring some 30 miles west of the park was the hangout of a horsethief named Cap Brown in the seventies. From 1884 until about 1900 it was the hiding place for the notorious Butch Cassidy and his Wild Bunch, who robbed banks, trains, and mine payrolls and stole or traded horses and cattle from the ranchers. Cassidy and his gang managed to get along with the cattlemen by either replacing or paying for most of the horses and cattle, but the law finally drove them out, and Butch, the Sundance Kid, and a woman named Etta Place moved to Bolivia. According to the movie version, Butch and the Sundance Kid were hunted down and shot by Bolivian soldiers for robbing banks and mine payrolls, but according to Baker (1971) Butch returned safely to the United States and died in the Northwest in 1943 or 1944, and the Sundance Kid is reported to have died in Casper, Wyo., in 1958 at age 98. Art Ekker (Findley, 1971, [fig. 3]), present owner of Robbers Roost Ranch, which contains the former hangout, commented: “A lot of people are sure that Butch and his gang buried some money around Robbers Roost. Every so often somebody turns up with a map or a metal detector and wants to start digging. They’ve found a lot of rusty tin cans and old horseshoes.”
CAVE SPRING LINE CAMP. Above, line-camp exterior, showing entrance and corral; below, interior, showing furnishings and staple food items kept in stock. Served as regular cowboy line camp for many years, then as part of temporary park headquarters; later restored as part of Cave Spring Environmental Trail. A nearby cave, also in Cedar Mesa Sandstone, contains a spring. (Fig. 6)
The uranium boom of the 1950’s, touched off by Charlie Steen’s fabulous Mi Vida mine south of La Sal, Utah, temporarily skyrocketed the population of Moab and sent uranium hunters into every nook and cranny of the canyon lands. Many of the jeep trails were first made then, and landing strips and prospect holes of that period are plentiful. Most of the prospects were in the Chinle Formation, particularly in the Moss Back Member at the base, but some were in rocks older than the Chinle, and some were in younger rocks. The uranium mines in the park are no longer operating, but production has been resumed in a few mines just north and east of the park. Information on some of these mines, obtained from E. P. Beroni (U.S. Atomic Energy Comm., oral commun., Feb. 14, 1973) is given at appropriate places below.
The number of boaters or floaters on the Colorado and Green Rivers is increasing steadily, and trips by jet boat and other power boats are available from Moab. Tourist travel over good roads on Island in the Sky and Hatch Point and by paved road to The Needles also is increasing steadily. Travel west of the Green River and main stem of the Colorado River is still restricted largely to a few jeep trails and to hiking or horseback riding.
Geographic Setting
Geologists have divided the United States into many provinces, each of which has distinctive geologic and topographic characteristics that set it apart from the others. One of the most intriguing and scenic of these is the Colorado Plateaus province, referred to in this report simply as the Colorado Plateau, or the Plateau. This province, which covers some 150,000 square miles and is not all plateaus, as we shall see, extends from Rifle, Colo., at the northeast to a little beyond Flagstaff, Ariz., at the southwest and from Cedar City, Utah, at the west nearly to Albuquerque, N. Mex., at the southeast. Canyonlands National Park appropriately occupies the heart of the Canyon Lands section, one of the six subdivisions of the Plateau. As the names imply, the Canyon Lands section of the Plateau comprises a high plateau, generally ranging in altitude from 5,000 to 7,000 feet, which has been intricately dissected by literally thousands of canyons.
Canyonlands National Park is drained entirely by the Colorado and Green Rivers, whose confluence is an important and scenic central feature of the park (figs. [59], [60]). Individual canyons traversed or drained by these rivers are discussed in later chapters.
When Major Powell reached the confluence in 1869, the river flowing in from the northeast to join the Green River was called the Grand River, and the Green and Grand joined there to form the Colorado River. The Grand River was renamed Colorado River by act of the Colorado State Legislature approved March 24, 1921, and by act of Congress approved July 25, 1921. But the old term still remains in names such as Grand County, Colo., the headwaters region; Grand Valley, a town 16 miles west of Rifle, Colo.; Grand Valley between Palisade and Mack, Colo.; Grand Mesa, which towers more than a mile above the Grand and Gunnison River valleys; Grand Junction, Colo., a city appropriately located at the confluence of the Grand and Gunnison Rivers; Grand County, Utah, which the river traverses after entering Utah; and Grand View Point, the southern terminus of Island in the Sky.
When viewed at a distance of 1 foot, the shaded relief map ([fig. 1]) shows the general shape of the land surface in and near Canyonlands National Park to the same horizontal scale as it would appear to a person in a spacecraft flying at a height of 250,000 feet, or about 48 miles. This map was prepared by artist John R. Stacy from parts of the reverse sides of four plastic relief maps[2]—Salina, Moab, Cortez, and Escalante quadrangles, at a scale of 1:250,000—using a simple time- and money-saving method he devised (Stacy, 1962).
An image of Canyonlands National Park and vicinity from a satellite at a height of about 570 miles is shown in [figure 7]. Note white clouds and black cloud shadows on right.
CANYONLANDS NATIONAL PARK AND VICINITY, from NASA’s unmanned Earth Resources Technology Satellite (ERTS-1), at height of about 570 miles. The space image map was prepared from simultaneous scanning in three color bands—blue green, red, and near infrared—that were combined to produce a false-color image in which vigorous green vegetation (forests and irrigated areas) appears bright red, water dark blue, and soils and bare rocks various shades of blue, blue green, or yellow green. Bright-blue area on west bank of Colorado River about 10 miles southwest of Moab is the group of large evaporation ponds of Texas Gulf, Inc., shown in figures [31] and [71]. Images were taken at 10:31:10 a.m., Aug. 23, 1972, during the 432d orbit, telemetered to Alaska, videotaped, then photographed. Sun elevation was 53 degrees above horizon from azimuth of 130 degrees. Image covers an area about 100 miles square. (See scale.) Location of Monticello is approximate; that of other towns is believed to be correct. Park boundaries are not shown because of difficulty in locating them accurately, but features such as Colorado and Green Rivers can easily be compared with those in [figure 1]. (Fig. 7).
Rocks and Landforms
The vivid and varied colors of the bare rocks and the fantastic canyons, buttes, spires, columns, alcoves, caves, arches, and other erosional forms of the canyon country result from a fortuitous combination of geologic and climatic circumstances and events unequaled in most other parts of the world.
First among these events was the piling up, layer upon layer, of thousands of feet of sedimentary rocks under a wide variety of environments. Sedimentary rocks of the region are composed of particles ranging in size from clay and silt through sand and gravel carried to their resting places by moving water, silt and sand particles transported by wind, and some materials precipitated from water solutions, such as limestone (calcium carbonate), dolomite (calcium and magnesium carbonate), gypsum (calcium sulfate with some water), anhydrite (calcium sulfate alone), common salt (sodium chloride), potash minerals such as potassium chloride, and a few other less common types. Some of the materials were laid down in shallow seas that once covered the area ([fig. 8]) or in lagoons and estuaries near the sea. Some beds were deposited by streams in inland basins or plains, a few were deposited in lakes, and some, like the Navajo Sandstone, were carried in by the wind. The character and thickness of the sedimentary rocks, and the names and ages assigned to them by geologists, are shown in the rock column in [figure 9] and in the cross sections in figures [10] and [15], and the history of their deposition is discussed in the chapter “Summary of Geologic History.” The rock column was compiled mainly from generalized stratigraphic sections given by Baker (1933, 1946), McKnight (1940), Hinrichs and others (1967, 1971b), and F. A. McKeown and P. P. Orkild (U.S. Geol. Survey, unpub. data, Mar. 16, 1973).
Not exposed in the area but present far beneath the sedimentary cover, and exposed in a few surrounding places, are examples of the other two principal types of rocks: (1) igneous rocks, solidified from molten rock forced into or above younger rocks along cracks, joints, and faults and (2) much older metamorphic rocks, formed from other pre-existing rock types by great heat and pressure at extreme depths. The particles comprising the sedimentary rocks were derived by weathering and erosion of rocks of all three types in the headwater regions of the ancestral Colorado River basin. Igneous rocks of Tertiary Age ([fig. 80]) form the nearby La Sal, Abajo, and Henry Mountains ([fig. 7]).
SHALLOW INLAND SEA which covered Canyonlands and vicinity during Middle Pennsylvanian time. (Fig. 8)
Second among the main events leading to the formation of the canyon country was the raising and buckling of the Plateau by earth forces so that it could be vigorously attacked by various forces of erosion and so that the rock materials thus pried loose or dissolved could eventually be carted away to the Gulf of California by the ancestral Colorado River. Some idea of the enormous volume of rock thus removed is apparent when you look down some 2,000 feet to the river from any of the high overlooks, such as Dead Horse Point ([fig. 15]) or Green River Overlook ([fig. 23]), or when you lay a straightedge across the three high mesas in [figure 10] and note the large volume of missing rocks below. Not so apparent, however, is the fact that some 10,000 feet of younger Mesozoic and Tertiary rocks that once overlay this high plateau also has been swept away. In all, the river has carried thousands of cubic miles of sediment to the sea and is still actively at work on this gigantic earthmoving project. In an earlier report (Lohman, 1965, p. 42) I estimated that the rate of removal may have been as great as about 3 cubic miles each century. For a few years the bulk of it was dumped into Lake Mead, but now Lake Powell is getting much of it. When these and other reservoirs ultimately become filled with sediment, for reservoirs and lakes are but temporary things, the Gulf of California will again become the burial ground.
ROCK COLUMN OF CANYONLANDS NATIONAL PARK. One foot equals 0.305 meter. (Fig. 9)
AGE (millions of yrs ago) GEOLOGIC AGE NAME OF ROCK FORMATION KIND OF ROCK AND HOW IT IS SCULPTURED BY EROSION THICKNESS (feet) NAMED FOR OCCURRENCE AT OR NEAR
150 Jurassic Entrada Sandstone Crossbedded white fine-grained sandstone at top (Moab Member); salmon colored to pink, fine-grained, generally crossbedded sandstone in middle (Slick Rock Member); red earthy sandstone and siltstone at base (Dewey Bridge Member, grades into Carmel Formation west of Green River). Forms steep-sided buttes north, east, and west of park. 400-500 Entrada Point, San Rafael Swell, Utah 175 Jurassic & Triassic(?) Glen Can Group Navajo Sandstone Crossbedded buff to gray sandstone, some red sandstone, and thin beds of limestone. Residual rounded patches on highest mesas. 325-550 Navajo Country, Ariz., New Mexico, Utah Late Triassic(?) Kayenta Formation Irregularly bedded stream-laid gray, buff, lavender and red fine-to-coarse-grained sandstone and siltstone. Caps most high mesas and forms tops of highest cliffs. Contains fresh-water fossils. 160-300 Glen Canyon, S. Utah, Kayenta, Arizona 200 Late Triassic Wingate Sandstone Buff and light red generally crossbedded medium-grained sandstone. Forms highest cliffs, many of which are coated with black desert varnish. 210-340 Ft. Wingate, New Mexico Chinle Fm. Unnamed upper member Reddish siltstone, mudstone, and sandstone locally bleached to bluish or greenish gray, and few thin beds of limestone. Forms steep slopes at base of highest cliffs. Contains some fossil wood and reptile bones. 205-740 Chinle Valley, Ariz. Moss Back Mbr Gray, brown, and gray-green sandstone and conglomerate. 0-80 Moss Back Ridge, Utah 215 Middle(?) and Early Triassic Moenkopi Fm. Unnamed upper member Brick red, reddish-brown, and brown mudstone and sandstone, and some conglomerate and gypsum. Forms slopes broken by thin ledges. 250-940 Moenkopi Wash, Ariz. Triassic(?) Hoskinnini Tongue Pale-brown fine-to-coarse-grained sandstone; forms ledges. 0-120 Hoskinnini Mesa, Ariz. 250 Permian Cutler Fm. Undivided Cutler Formation in northeastern part of area is composed of buff, red, and purple arkosic sandstone and conglomerate. South of Indian Creek is the thick Cedar Mesa Sandstone Member, composed of massive mainly crossbedded white to pale red sandstone with thin beds of cherty limestone. Forms needles, arches and other erosional features. Thickening southwestward is the White Rim Sandstone Member of white crossbedded sandstone. 800-1,000 Cutler Creek, Colo. White Rim Sandstone Member White Rim, Wayne Co., Utah Organ Rock Tongue Organ Rock, Utah Cedar Mesa Sandstone Member Cedar Mesa, S. E. Utah Rico Formation Buff, red, and purple arkosic sandstone and conglomerate containing several thin beds of marine fossiliferous limestone. Forms moderately steep slopes. 250-585 Rico, Colo. 300 Pennsylvanian Hermosa Formation Hermosa Creek, Animas River Valley, Colo. Unnamed upper member Blue, greenish, and gray fossiliferous limestone interbedded with white, gray, and greenish sandstone and gray to green shale. Lower part known only from deep wells. Forms steep canyon walls. 900-1,800 Paradox Member Salt, gypsum, and anhydrite with interbedded black and brown shale; some limestone. ? Paradox Valley, Colo.
Last but far from least among the factors responsible for the grandeur of the canyon country is the desert climate, which allows us to see virtually every foot of the vividly colored naked rocks and has made possible the creation and preservation of such a wide variety of fantastic sculptures. A wetter climate would have produced a far different and smoother landscape in which most of the rocks and land forms would have been hidden by vegetation. In the canyon lands the vegetation is mainly on the high mesas and on the narrow flood plains bordering the rivers, but scanty vegetation does grow on the gentle slopes or flats.
The desert climate has combined with the nearly flat lying layers of sediments of different character, hardness, and thickness to produce steep slopes having many cliffs and ledges and generally sharp to angular edges rather than the subdued rounded forms of more humid regions. This has led geologists to refer to such terrain as having “layer-cake geology,” and this is brought out by the profile in the rock column ([fig. 9]), by the cross section ([fig. 10]), by [figure 15], and by many of the other photographs. But the baker of this cake was rather careless—not only do the layers range widely in thickness and character, but some are wedge shaped, thick on one side of the cake but thin or absent on the other. Then too, when he ran out of icing in the midst of a layer, he was apt to finish with a different kind or color, for no inspector was on the job to insure orderly construction.
If all the rock strata in the park were present at one locality, their sequence and thickness would be those shown on the right-hand side of the graphic section in [figure 9]. However, because of the lateral changes in thickness and character and the wedging out of certain beds, such as the White Rim Sandstone Member of the Cutler Formation, no two sections of the strata are exactly alike. This will be brought out in photographs of different exposures of rocks in various parts of the park.
An often-asked question is, why are most of the rocks so red? This can be answered by one word—iron, the same pigment used in rouge and in paint for barns and boxcars. Various oxides of iron, some including water, produce not only brick red but also pink, salmon, brown, buff, yellow, and even green or bluish green. This does not imply that the rocks could be considered as sources of iron ore, for the merest trace of iron, generally only 1 to 3 percent, is enough to produce even the darkest shades of red. The only rocks in the park that contain virtually no iron are white sandstones of the White Rim Sandstone Member of the Cutler Formation (figs. [21]-[24]) and the Navajo Sandstone.
SECTION ACROSS CANYONLANDS NATIONAL PARK from North Point at west (left), via Grand View Point in middle, to Needles Overlook at east (right), showing the three principal topographic levels and character of the rock strata. Line of section bends at Grand View Point, which is northernmost part. (Fig. 10)
As pointed out by Stokes (1970, p. 3), microscopic examination of the colored grains of quartz or other minerals shows the pigment to be merely a thin coating on and between white or colorless particles. Sand or silt weathered from such rocks soon loses its color by the scouring action of wind or water, so most of the sand dunes and sand bars are white or nearly so.
The map ([fig. 1]) and cross section ([fig. 10]) of the park show that in general the major features of the landscape lie at three different and distinctive levels. A recently erected plaque on Grand View Point appropriately refers to these levels as the “Three Worlds.” The high plateaus, or mesas, in and adjoining the park dominate the skyline—in fact, the central one, between the Green and Colorado Rivers, is appropriately named Island in the Sky. If you stand on either the east or the west shore of this towering cliff-bordered island, you can look across a sea of fantastic erosional forms to a similar cliff-bordered shore at about the same level. Closer inspection of the sea of rocks on either side shows relatively flat benches or platforms about halfway to the bottom; below these are the generally steep sided or cliff-bordered canyons of the two rivers and their larger tributaries. From some vantage points along the shore, such as Dead Horse Point ([fig. 15]) or Green River Overlook ([fig. 23]), you can see the deepest level of all—the channels and flood plains of the Green and Colorado Rivers.
What caused the “Three Worlds” and the formidable cliffs supporting the high mesas or forming towering monoliths like Angel Arch or Druid Arch (figs. [43], [54])? Differences in the composition, hardness, arrangement, and thickness of the rock layers determine their ability to withstand the forces of fracturing and erosion and hence their tendency to form cliffs, ledges, or slopes. Most of the cliff- or ledge-forming rocks are sandstones consisting of sand grains deposited by wind or water and later cemented together by silica (SiO₂), calcium carbonate (CaCO₃), or one of the iron oxides (such as Fe₂O₃), but some hard, resistant ledges are made of limestone (calcium carbonate). The rock column ([fig. 9]) shows in general how these rock formations are sculptured by erosion and how they protect underlying layers from more rapid erosion. The nearly vertical cliffs supporting the highest mesas consist of the well-cemented Wingate Sandstone protected above by the even harder sandstone of the Kayenta Formation. To borrow from an earlier report of mine (Lohman, 1965, p. 17),
Vertical cliffs and shafts of the Wingate Sandstone endure only where the top of the formation is capped by beds of the next younger rock unit—the Kayenta Formation. The Kayenta is much more resistant than the Wingate, so even a few feet of the Kayenta * * * protect the rock beneath.
In some places remnants of the overlying Navajo Sandstone make up the topmost unit of the cliff.
How to See the Park
The question of how to see the park has no simple answer, for the park is too vast and complex to comprehend by a quick visit to any one of its many and varied parts or by any one means of transportation. Some, as did Major Powell, view it only from the rivers—by boat plus a few back-breaking climbs up the bordering canyon walls. Others see only the small parts reachable by passenger cars. The more venturesome see vastly more by jeep, foot, or horseback. And a few prefer to view it as the birds do—from the air. Many, those who put aside their magazines long enough, get bird’s-eye views without half trying, for Canyonlands is beneath the principal air routes connecting Los Angeles with Grand Junction and Denver. Actually, a full appreciation of all the wonders and beauties of the park is possible only by combining all these approaches and methods of locomotion, but only a few fortunate souls such as Bates Wilson have thus been able to inspect virtually every square foot of it.
The task clearly before me, then, is how best to present such a complex wonderland to you, the reader. The method I selected, after considerable thought and a few false starts, is to begin at the top—the high mesas—and work my way downward much as the rivers have done in carving out this fantastic area, to some of the broad benchlands beneath the mesas and eventually to the river channels and deep canyons. Although the approach I selected may not be the best, and admittedly is but one of several that comes to mind, I hope it gets the job done.
The High Mesas
Even though the “peninsular” mesas east and west of Island in the Sky, known respectively as Hatch Point and the Orange Cliffs, lie outside the present boundaries, they provide breathtaking views of important features within the park, so brief descriptions of them are included below. But first, let us take a closer look at Island in the Sky.
Island in the Sky
As the map ([fig. 1]) shows, Island in the Sky is really a fork of a wedge-shaped peninsula extending southward between the two rivers. An outlier to the south named Junction Butte has already been severed from the main peninsula by erosion and now is a true island. (See [frontispiece] and [fig. 22].) A large chunk of Island in the Sky south of The Neck was about to be severed by erosion from the main peninsula to become a true island, when recent widening and grading of the road gave it a temporary reprieve. When my family and I first squeaked over this narrow neck in 1960 by jeep, furtive glances to right or left showed the two canyons perilously close, and complete severance seemed imminent. The road builders have staved off disaster for a few thousand years, but ultimately the large section to the south will become another island, and a bridge will be required to connect it to the mainland. Its appearance from the air before the road widening is shown in [figure 11].
AERIAL VIEW OF THE NECK AND SHAFER TRAIL, looking southwest, taken before rebuilding of park road on mesa top. Cliff-walled canyon to right of The Neck, in middle, drains westward to the Green River; south fork of Shafer Canyon to left drains eastward to Colorado River. This is the narrowest part of Island in the Sky. Photograph by National Park Service. (Fig. 11)
The entrance road to Island in the Sky intersects U.S. Highway 163 at a point 10 miles northwest of Moab, or 21 miles southeast of Crescent Junction on Interstate Highway 70. From U.S. 163 a paved road climbs colorful Sevenmile Canyon past sandstone cliffs of the Wingate, Kayenta, and Navajo Formations to reach the high mesa. There, just “offshore” to the north, are anchored the “battleships” that guard the island—Merrimac and Monitor Buttes ([fig. 12]). These landmarks are composed of the Entrada Sandstone—the same rock that forms Church Rock at the entrance to the Needles district ([fig. 37]) and that shapes the spectacular arches in Arches National Park. All three members of the Entrada (Wright and others, 1962), as noted in the [figure 12] caption, are present here as well as at Church Rock. Eleven miles from the junction with U.S. Highway 163 a graded road to the right, called Horsethief Trail, goes 16 miles down to the Green River, where it connects with roads following the river both upstream and downstream. The road upstream leads to two uranium mines in the lower part of Mineral Canyon which were reactivated in 1972 and 1973. The switchbacks are quite spectacular and are reminiscent of the Shafer Trail. Three miles south of the Horsethief Trail turnoff is a fork in the road—to the left the pavement continues to Dead Horse Point, and straight ahead a graded road leads southward to the Island in the Sky district of Canyonlands National Park.
MERRIMAC (LEFT) AND MONITOR BUTTES guard north entrance to Island in the Sky. White rock near middle is Navajo Sandstone. Buttes comprise all three members of Entrada Sandstone: remnant white top of Moab Member, vertical cliffs of Slick Rock Member, and sloping base of Dewey Bridge Member. (Fig. 12)
Most of Island in the Sky has a scattered growth of piñon and juniper trees, but several large flat areas, such as Grays Pasture, contain sufficient sandy soil to support a mantle of grass and weeds, which is used for grazing; however, grazing in this part of the park will be discontinued in 1975.
DEAD HORSE POINT STATE PARK
Let us follow the paved road from U.S. Highway 163 all the way to Dead Horse Point, which was set aside as a state park in 1957. The park has a visitor center, museum, modern campgrounds and picnic facilities, and piped water, which is hauled all the way from Moab. An entrance fee of $1 permits us to drive across the narrow neck to a parking area near the point proper, which is protected by stone walls and is provided with a ramada, benches, paths, and sanitary facilities. From Dead Horse Point we get breathtaking views in several directions, including a loop of the Colorado River called the Goose Neck, 2,000 feet nearly straight down.
CANE CREEK ANTICLINE, looking northeast toward the La Sal Mountains from Dead Horse Point. Colorado River cuts across crest at middle right, above which is Anticline Overlook. (See [fig. 31].) Jeep trail and part of Shafer dome lie below. (Fig. 13)
How did such a magnificent viewpoint get such a macabre name? Dead Horse Point was named for a sad but colorful legend concerning a band of wild horses that once roamed the high mesas. The point is really an embryo island separated from the mainland by a narrow neck barely wide enough for the present road. In the early cowboy days the island was used as a natural corral in which wild mustangs were penned up behind a short fence across the neck so that the better ones could be sorted out and driven to mines in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado. A band of horses corralled too long without water allegedly died of thirst within sight of the river 2,000 feet below, hence the name of the point, or at least so one version of the story goes. Some versions allude to the wranglers as cowboys; others, as horsethieves.
To the northeast we can see the Cane Creek anticline—an upward fold of the rocks—behind which loom the La Sal Mountains ([fig. 13]). A cutaway view of a typical anticline is shown in [figure 14]. A better view of the Cane Creek anticline can be seen from Anticline Overlook, as shown in [figure 31]. From our vantage point at Dead Horse Point, we can see much of Hatch Point, including Anticline Overlook, by looking east and southeast. Spectacular views of the northern part of Canyonlands National Park lie to the south, southwest, and east. Looking southwest ([fig. 15]), we see most of the rock formations exposed in Canyonlands—more than can be seen from any other vantage point in or near the park. The names of the visible rock units shown in [figure 15] can be compared with the complete list in the rock column ([fig. 9]). Parts of Shafer dome, a “closed” rounded anticline, are visible in the lower left of [figure 15] and in the lower right of [figure 13]. Its general domelike shape is outlined by the bluish-white Shafer limestone, a marker bed which also caps the bench on the peninsula within the Goose Neck of the river. This limestone, which here forms the top of the Rico Formation, is not shown in the rock column ([fig. 9]) because its exposure is limited to the Shafer dome and the Cane Creek anticline and its name is used only locally by prospectors for oil and gas.
CUTAWAY VIEW OF ANTICLINE, or upfold of the rocks. From Hansen (1969, p. 31). (Fig. 14)
LOOKING SOUTHWEST FROM DEAD HORSE POINT toward Island in the Sky on right skyline, Orange Cliffs on left skyline, Colorado River and White Rim Trail below, and Shafer dome at lower left. Sketch from photograph shows names of rocks. (Compare with [fig. 9].) (Fig. 15)
Note that the White Rim Sandstone Member of the Cutler Formation, referred to hereinafter simply as the White Rim Sandstone, becomes thinner toward the right (northeast) in [figure 15] but is absent entirely in [figure 13], just a short distance to the northeast. The gradual disappearance of recognizable beds of this type toward the northeast, including the disappearance of some limestone beds containing marine fossils, are examples of what geologists call facies changes. Here the changes result from the fact that while strata were being deposited in or near ancient seas that lay to the southwest, beds of different character were being laid down on land by streams emanating from the northeast. This will be gone into in more detail in discussions that accompany illustrations to follow, particularly [figure 27], [fig. 31], and [fig. 35].
NORTH ENTRANCE
The north entrance to the Island in the Sky district of Canyonlands National Park used to be 6 miles south of the junction with the paved road to Dead Horse Point, but since the land additions of November 1971, it is only 4½ miles south of this junction. A temporary trailer-housed entrance station marks the old boundary.
SHAFER AND WHITE RIM TRAILS
During the early 1950’s a remarkable but hair-raising road known as Shafer Trail was cut down the face of the cliffs below The Neck to reach the C Group of uranium claims near the head of Lathrop Canyon. It branches southward from the park road a mile south of the new entrance, then descends in a series of switchbacks. The aerial view ([fig. 11]) shows the upper trail and The Neck before the park road was graded and widened, and a view from near The Neck ([fig. 16]) shows the precipitous cliffs the trail descends. It follows the general route of an old foot trail.
SHAFER TRAIL, from just south of The Neck ([fig. 1], [fig. 11]). Navajo Sandstone is above road at left, Kayenta Formation forms upper half of cliff below road, and Wingate Sandstone forms lower, vertical half of cliff; lower part of road is in Chinle Formation. (Fig. 16)
Shafer Trail connects with the White Rim Trail, which, as the name suggests, is built mainly on the White Rim, after which the White Rim Sandstone was named. The White Rim Trail can be followed northeastward to join the pavement at Potash, or it can be followed southward along the Colorado River canyons to Junction Butte, thence northward along Stillwater and Labyrinth Canyons of the Green River to and beyond the northern boundary of the park. At Horsethief Bottom, you can leave the canyon by Horsethief Trail and rejoin the paved road leading northward to U.S. 163. At Lathrop Canyon, 8 or 10 miles south of where Shafer Trail meets the White Rim Trail, a branch of the White Rim Trail leads downward to the Colorado River, where picnic tables and sanitary facilities are provided. This is used as a lunch stop by some boating groups.
Although some two-wheel-drive cars or trucks have traversed the White Rim and Shafer Trails, they may encounter trouble with deep sand, washouts, or fallen rocks, so four-wheel-drive vehicles are recommended. In the summer these trails should not be attempted without plenty of water, and two vehicles traveling together provide an added margin of safety. All vehicles should carry emergency equipment including a shovel, tow chain or rope, jack, tire tools, and other necessary items. Geologists and uranium prospectors working along the White Rim Trail have obtained good drinking water from small springs that flow from the base of the White Rim Sandstone in many places (Neal Hinrichs, U.S. Geol. Survey, oral commun., Feb. 1973). After rains, runoff gathers in large potholes in the White Rim Sandstone in some places and affords emergency drinking water. Several such potholes filled with water are shown in [figure 17]. Some potholes occur also in the Cedar Mesa Sandstone in the Needles district.
GRAND VIEW POINT
About a mile southwest of The Neck, the road crosses Grays Pasture—the widest and flattest part of Island in the Sky. The drive over this flat grassland yields not the slightest hint of the awesome cliff-walled chasms on either side of the island. Some 5 miles southwest of The Neck, both the island and the road branch like a Y. At a point 0.4 mile north of the Y, Mesa Trail leads one-quarter mile east to Canyon Viewpoint Arch, which frames the Colorado River canyon and the La Sal Mountains ([fig. 18]). This arch, at the very top edge of the cliff, is composed of the lower part of the Navajo Sandstone. The only other arch of Navajo Sandstone in or near the park that I know of is the small one shown in [figure 33], but of course there may be others.
NATURAL TANKS, filled with runoff from rain, serve as emergency sources of drinking water. Largest tank in foreground contains 4 feet of water and small fresh-water shrimp. So-called tanks, or potholes, are formed partly by water dissolving the calcium carbonate cement and partly by wind or water removing the resulting loose sand grains. View is north toward Junction Butte from point about a mile south of the White Rim Trail. Red rocks in hill on right are in lower part of Moenkopi Formation. Photograph by E. N. Hinrichs. (Fig. 17)
CANYON VIEWPOINT ARCH, framing Colorado River canyon at east end of Mesa Trail 0.4 mile north of Y in Island in the Sky road. Arch is in lower part of Navajo Sandstone. (Fig. 18)
INDEX MAP showing localities where most of the photographs were taken. Arrows point to distant views. Numbers refer to figure numbers. (Fig. 19)
[High-resolution Map]
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THE WHITE RIM, looking northeast toward La Sal Mountains from overlook 3 miles north of Grand View Point. White Rim Sandstone here is thicker than near Dead Horse Point ([fig. 15]) but thinner than in Monument Basin and Stillwater Canyon ([fig. 21], [fig. 23]). (Fig. 20)
Let us now take the branch south of the Y and follow the narrow crest of Grand View Point for about 6 miles to the main overlook. About 0.9 mile south of the Y, a short walk to the west over the lower part of the Navajo Sandstone affords a magnificent view of Stillwater Canyon of the Green River, including Turks Head ([fig. 23], [fig. 24]). Half way to the point is a parking area and overlook, from which we get a spectacular view of canyons cutting the White Rim and of the La Sal Mountains beyond ([fig. 20]). Note that the White Rim Sandstone, which forms the broad bench appropriately named the White Rim, is here much thicker than where seen near Dead Horse Point ([fig. 15]).
MONUMENT BASIN FROM GRAND VIEW POINT, Needles Overlook on left skyline, Abajo Mountains on right skyline. Red spires and cliffs in basin are Organ Rock Tongue of Cutler Formation. (Fig. 21)
Three more miles southward takes us to Grand View Point and its nearby picnic area. Though named after the former Grand River some 2,000 feet below, Grand View Point has a double meaning, for we see from here a truly grand view ([fig. 21])! At our feet is spectacular Monument Basin, cut below the White Rim into the brick-red Organ Rock Tongue of the Cutler Formation. The White Rim Sandstone here is slightly thicker than to the northeast ([fig. 20]) but thinner than to the west ([fig. 23]), because it forms a wedge-shaped body that thickens westward. In the distance southeastward are the Abajo Mountains, just west of Monticello, Utah. The prominent projection on Hatch Point on the left skyline is Needles Overlook, from which the photograph in [figure 27] was taken. A closeup view of Monument Basin, showing Junction Butte and Grand View Point in the background, is shown in [figure 22]. The slender spire in the foreground has a measured height of 305 feet (Findley, 1971, p. 78).
MONUMENT BASIN FROM THE AIR, looking north to Junction Butte and Grand View Point. Spire of Organ Rock Tongue in foreground is 305 feet high. White top of Cedar Mesa Sandstone is at bottom of photograph. Photograph by National Park Service (Fig. 22)
GREEN RIVER OVERLOOK
About a quarter mile west of the Y, a left fork of the road goes about a mile and a half to Green River Overlook, which provides a superb view of Stillwater Canyon of the Green River, the Orange Cliffs beyond, and the Henry Mountains in the extreme distance ([fig. 23]). Note that here the White Rim Sandstone is much thicker than in preceding views. The prominent butte enclosed by the loop of the river is known as Turks Head and is better seen from the air ([fig. 24]). The light-colored band near the base of the cliffs in the background of [figure 24] is characteristic of the bleached upper part of the Moenkopi Formation in this part of the park. According to F. A. McKeown and P. P. Orkild (U.S. Geol. Survey, unpub. data, Feb. 16, 1973), petroliferous material or odor generally occurs in this bleached zone and in the basal beds of the Moenkopi.
The campground just north of Green River Overlook has no water at this writing (1973), but water from wells in Taylor Canyon will eventually be piped to nearby parts of Island in the Sky.
UPHEAVAL DOME
Five miles northwest of the Y we come to Upheaval Dome, one of the most unusual geographic and geologic features of the park. Viewed from the air ([fig. 25]), it resembles somewhat a volcanic or meteor crater and has been called such by some. Because beds of salt are known to underlie the park, some have suggested that the salt may have thickened and welled upward to form a salt dome, similar to domes along the Gulf Coast (Mattox, 1968). However, only 1,470 feet of salt was encountered in an oil test just east of Upheaval Dome (Robert J. Hite, U.S. Geol. Survey, oral commun., Feb. 13, 1973); so although salt may have played a role, Upheaval Dome clearly is not a salt dome with dimensions similar to the Gulf Coast types. It may be related to a mound on the deep-seated Precambrian rocks (Joesting and Plouff, 1958, fig. 3; Joesting and others, 1966, p. 13, 14, 17), but the exact origin of the dome is not clear.
The central part has the structure of a dome, in that the strata dip downward away from the middle. A ringlike syncline, or downward fold in the rock layers ([fig. 26]), surrounds the dome, beyond which the strata resume their nearly flat position. The white rock in the bottom of the craterlike depression is not salt, but jumbled large fragments of the White Rim Sandstone. Surrounding that are slopes of the Moenkopi and Chinle Formations, cliffs of the Wingate Sandstone, a circular bench of the Kayenta Formation, and outer ramparts of the Navajo Sandstone. Upheaval Canyon leads to Stillwater Canyon of the Green River at the upper left.
STILLWATER CANYON AND GREEN RIVER, looking southwest from Green River loop of river. Brown material covering nearby parts of the White Rim is lower part of Overlook. Orange Cliffs in background, Henry Mountains on right skyline, Turks Head in Moenkopi Formation. (Fig. 23)
TURKS HEAD, an erosional remnant of the White Rim Sandstone supported by red beds of Organ Rock Tongue, in loop of Green River. Aerial view looking north. Photograph by National Park Service. (Fig. 24)
UPHEAVAL DOME, aerial view looking northwest toward junction of Upheaval and Taylor Canyons with Labyrinth Canyon of Green River. Photograph by Walter Meayers Edwards, © 1971 National Geographic Society. (Fig. 25)
CUTAWAY VIEW OF SYNCLINE, or downfold of the rocks. From Hansen (1969, p. 108). (Fig. 26)
One mile before the road ends, a well-marked foot trail leads to the top of Whale Rock, a prominence on the Navajo Sandstone that forms the outer ring of the dome. At the end of the road, another foot trail ascends from the picnic area to the foot of the Wingate Sandstone cliffs around the central part of the dome. The views of the dome from these trails are interesting, but you are really too close to get a true picture of the unusual feature, which is obtainable only from the air, as shown in [figure 25].
Just west of Upheaval Dome, Bighorn Mesa is connected to Steer Mesa by a neck only 15 feet wide flanked by 300-foot vertical cliffs, as pointed out by McKnight (1940, p. 12). I later learned from Ed McKnight (oral commun., June 6, 1973) that during his field work in this area in 1926 he was riding a mule across this narrow neck when the half-asleep mule suddenly became aware of the dropoff on one side and began to turn around and head back. Ed hastily but cautiously dismounted and led the mule across! When this neck is finally breached by erosion, Bighorn Mesa will be just as isolated and inaccessible as Junction Butte, now cut off from Grand View Point. (See [frontispiece] and [fig. 27].)
Hatch Point
The high mesa east of Canyonlands National Park and the Colorado River canyons, called Hatch Point, contains several vantage points ideally suited for viewing scenic features of the park and adjacent areas. Hatch Point is part of the vast public domain administered by the Bureau of Land Management—a sister agency of the Geological Survey and the National Park Service, all in the U.S. Department of the Interior. The Bureau, hereinafter referred to simply as the B.L.M., has made many improvements on Hatch Point, including fine roads, two modern campgrounds with sanitary facilities and piped water from wells, and two overlooks with protective fences, benches, paths, sanitary facilities, and ramadas containing panels that describe the features visible from the viewpoints. Because of these improvements, the B.L.M. has appropriately named this area “Canyon Rims Recreation Area.”
Geologically, Hatch Point is similar to Island in the Sky. Both are bordered by towering cliffs of the Wingate Sandstone capped by the resistant Kayenta Formation, and rounded remnants of the overlying Navajo Sandstone rise above the otherwise-flat mesa surface in many places.
Access to this high tableland is by a good paved road leading west from U.S. Highway 163 at a point 32 miles south of Moab and 22 miles north of Monticello. About 5 miles west of the highway we pass Windwhistle Campground, nestled in an attractive cove of Entrada Sandstone cliffs, and 16 miles from the highway we reach an intersection. From here it is 7 miles west by paved road to Needles Overlook, 10 miles north to Anticline Overlook. Like the other high mesas, Hatch Point contains peripheral areas of scattered piñon and juniper trees and large flat grasslands used for grazing. Grain tanks here and there store winter feed for the cattle.
NEEDLES OVERLOOK
Let us follow the pavement to Needles Overlook, from which fine morning views of Canyonlands National Park can be seen to the south and west. Northwestward ([fig. 27]) we look 10 miles across the Colorado River canyon to Junction Butte and Grand View Point. (This view is along the line of the east half of the cross section in [fig. 10].) The feather edge of the White Rim Sandstone caps the White Rim west of the Colorado River, but the White Rim is absent on the east side of the canyon and in the entire Needles district to the southwest, where the important scenic features are carved from the underlying Cedar Mesa Sandstone Member of the Cutler Formation, referred to hereinafter simply as the Cedar Mesa Sandstone. Both these sandstones are missing in the foreground of [figure 27]—their place being taken by thin beds of red siltstone, mudstone, and sandstone similar to those that comprise the Organ Rock Tongue shown between the two sandstones in [figure 22]. These are additional examples of facies changes mentioned earlier ([p. 34]).
JUNCTION BUTTE AND GRAND VIEW POINT, looking northwest from Needles Overlook. (Fig. 27)
CANYONLANDS OVERLOOK
Turning north from the intersection 7 miles east of Needles Overlook, we traverse a nearly flat grassy tableland to Hatch Point Campground. In [figure 1] the campground is shown west of the old road; the new road is west of the campground, but no map of the new route was available for plotting in [figure 1]. About a mile before we reach the campground a jeep trail heads west then northwest about 5½ miles to Canyonlands Overlook, a scant mile from, but some 1,400 feet above, the eastern border of Canyonlands National Park. This overlook affords fine views of the Colorado River canyons and the eastern shore of Island in the Sky, but at present (1973) there are no plans to improve the trail for passenger-car travel.
Two miles north of the campground we cross a minor drainage leading northeastward into the north fork of Trough Springs Canyon. The B.L.M. plans a road down this canyon to Kane Springs Canyon, 1,100 feet below, where it will connect both with a scenic drive to Moab, the lower part of which is paved, and with the jeep trail going west over Hurrah Pass ([fig. 30]) and thence south along the eastern benches of the canyons of the Colorado River to the Needles district of the park. E. Neal Hinrichs (U.S. Geol. Survey, oral commun. Feb. 16, 1973) reported specimens of blue celestite (strontium sulfate, SrSO₄) and barite (barium sulfate, BaSO₄) in the Cutler Formation at a point where a sharp bend of this jeep trail crosses a fault, or fracture ([fig. 56]), in the northeast fork of Lockhart Canyon (shown in [fig. 1] as the easternmost loop of the trail about 6 miles northeast of Lockhart Basin). Farther south, the trail swings west of Lockhart Basin, whose center exposes part of a syncline ([fig. 28]).
SYNCLINE IN CORE OF LOCKHART BASIN, near Needles Overlook. Dish-shaped roof is Wingate Sandstone, partly bleached; sloping sides are Chinle Formation; dark sloping ledge at left middle ground is Moss Back Member of Chinle resting on Moenkopi Formation. Photograph by E. N. Hinrichs. (Fig. 28)
U-3 LOOP
Two and a half miles farther north, or about 2 miles south of Anticline Overlook, a short road leads to the west and entirely around a small conical butte of the Navajo Sandstone. This new circular drive has not yet been formally named and is simply called the U-3 loop, as designated in the surveyor’s notebook. It affords splendid views to the west and is to be equipped with picnic tables. Looking west ([fig. 29]) we see a W-shaped loop of the Colorado River, Dead Horse Point on the right skyline, and Island in the Sky on the distant skyline. The strata curving over Shafer dome appear in the right middle background.
VIEW WESTWARD FROM U-3 LOOP. Dead Horse Point on right skyline, Island in the Sky capped by Navajo Sandstone in extreme distance, Kayenta Formation in foreground at left. Cliffs topping ridge at left are Wingate Sandstone protected by caprock of the Kayenta Formation; red slopes beneath cliffs are Chinle Formation, with dark ledge of Moss Back Member at base; steep slopes and ledges beneath are Moenkopi Formation, lower part of which is Hoskinnini Tongue; reddish gentle slopes below are Cutler Formation; nearly flat benches above Colorado River are Rico Formation, with Shafer limestone at top. (Fig. 29)
ANTICLINE OVERLOOK
Two more miles takes us to Anticline Overlook for the most sublime views in this part of the area. To the north ([fig. 30]) we look across the northeast flank of the Cane Creek anticline, an upfold of the rocks (figs. [13], [14]). Hurrah Pass straddles the narrow wall separating the Colorado River and its canyon at the left from Kane Springs Canyon on the right. The Colorado River appears again in the right background, where it leaves Moab Valley. The Kings Bottom syncline, or downfold ([fig. 26]), seen in the middle distance between the Cane Creek anticline and the Moab anticline, exposes a wide area of the Navajo Sandstone. The ridge on the right skyline, composed of the Entrada Sandstone, is The Windows Section of Arches National Park, and the left skyline shows faintly the distant Book Cliffs.
On the east wall of Kane Springs Canyon just to the right of [figure 30] is the Atomic King mine in the Cutler Formation, from which uranium ore has been mined at intervals during the last 2 or 3 years.
LOOKING NORTH FROM ANTICLINE OVERLOOK, across axis of Cane Creek anticline. Unimproved road crosses Hurrah Pass in foreground. Colorado River at left is near Potash and in right background is at Moab. For description of strata, see caption for [figure 31]. (Fig. 30)
CANE CREEK ANTICLINE, looking northwest from Anticline Overlook. Colorado River is cutting into limestone of unnamed upper member of Hermosa Formation in lower bench at crest of fold; Rico Formation, with bluish-white Shafer limestone at top, forms upper curved bench; remainder of formations are as given in caption for [figure 29]. Potash mine (right) and evaporation ponds (left) are operated by Texas Gulf, Inc. Merrimac and Monitor Buttes on right skyline are shown in [figure 12]. (Fig. 31)
To the northwest ([fig. 31]; see also [fig. 13]) is a textbook example of a rock fold—the Cane Creek anticline—laid bare by the Colorado River cutting directly across its crest ([fig. 1]). Anticlines are noted as sources of or at least hunting grounds for oil and gas, and this one is no exception, although production has been relatively small and was stopped altogether in about 1963. Some oil and gas was produced also from wells on the north flank of Shafer dome, just beneath Dead Horse Point (figs. [1], [15]), but other favorable-looking structures farther south that were tested, such as Lockhart anticline, Rustler dome, and Gibson dome ([fig. 1]), failed to yield commercial amounts (Baker, 1933, p. 80-84). Some of the colorful events in the early days of wildcatting are noted on [page 100].
Exploration for oil and gas led to the discovery of potash beneath several anticlines in eastern Utah and western Colorado. According to Hite (1968, p. 325), the Cane Creek anticline is underlain by about 5,200 feet of salt-bearing rocks in the Paradox Member of the Hermosa Formation ([fig. 9]), of which about 84 percent is halite (common salt, sodium chloride) and associated potash salts (sylvite, potassium chloride). The potash mine of Texas Gulf, Inc., is shown at the right in [figure 31]. The white area to the left of the mine is waste common salt, which is recovered with the potash salts, and the white area with dark stripes at the left is a small part of more than 400 acres of evaporation ponds built to separate the salts. These ponds also can be seen from Dead Horse Point. The dark stripes are the visible parts of plastic membranes lining the ponds. Mining of an 11-foot bed of ore began by usual underground methods from the bottom of a shaft 2,788 feet deep but became too difficult because of intense and intricate folding of the salt beds. Now the salts are being extracted by a method involving solution, wherein river water is introduced into the former workings and allowed to stand long enough to dissolve the salts, then the brine is pumped out to evaporation ponds, and the valuable potash salts are separated from the sodium salts. Closeup views of the mine and evaporation ponds are seen in figures [70] and [71].
As noted earlier, most of the readily recognizable thin beds, such as the White Rim Sandstone, pinch out south of here, and [figure 31] marks the northeasternmost exposure of the Shafer limestone at the top of the Rico Formation. Northeast from here the Rico and overlying Cutler Formation are not readily separable and are included in the so-called Cutler Formation undifferentiated. This land-laid unit of red sandstone, siltstone, and shale is as much as 8,000 feet thick just southwest of the ancient Uncompahgre highland (present Uncompahgre Plateau, in western Colorado and eastern Utah), from which it was derived by erosion during the Permian Period ([fig. 80]).
Orange Cliffs
The high mesas west of Canyonlands National Park do not form as distinct a mainland as does Hatch Point, but rather are broken up into a maze of peninsulas and islands, as shown in [figure 1]. Owing to the gentle northwestward dip of the rock strata, the altitude of the mesas declines from about 7,000 feet in the south to about 5,300 feet in the north and northwest, where the whole aspect of the country becomes more rounded and subdued. As shown on the map ([fig. 1]), however, the name Orange Cliffs is applied to much of the eastward-facing cliffs, which are made of the Wingate Sandstone capped by the Kayenta Formation. Remnants of the Navajo Sandstone increase in number to the north and west, where remnants of the next two younger rock units—the Carmel Formation and the Entrada Sandstone—also occur. Thus, the cliff-forming units dip downward beneath younger rocks that form the relatively flat Green River Desert to the northwest, also referred to as the San Rafael Desert. [Figure 32] is a view southeastward from The Spur, shown on the map ([fig. 1]) as the northern section of the Orange Cliffs.
At present (1973), the areas west of the Green River and the main stem of the Colorado River are the least accessible of any in the park and in this respect have not changed much since Butch Cassidy and his Wild Bunch roamed the area, except that the former main horse trails are now jeep trails. A secondary road south from the town of Green River goes past the north side of the Horseshoe Canyon Detached Unit (figs. [1], [2]) and connects with another secondary road to the west, which joins Utah Highway 24 at Temple Junction, 20 miles north of Hanksville; near Horseshoe Canyon a jeep trail leads south to the Orange Cliffs. Owing to blowing sand, these “roads” are not considered reliable for passenger cars and are best negotiated by four-wheel-drive vehicles or horses.
VIEW SOUTHEASTWARD FROM THE SPUR, in northern section of Orange Cliffs. Junction Butte and Grand View Point on left skyline; Abajo Mountains in extreme distance to right of center. Photograph by Parker Hamilton, Flagstaff, Ariz. (Fig. 32)
LOOKING NORTH DOWN MILLARD CANYON from head of canyon a mile northwest of French Spring. Note small arch or window in the Navajo Sandstone at upper left, which is shown in [figure 1] as “Arch.” The Navajo is underlain by the cliff-forming Kayenta Formation and Wingate Sandstone resting upon a sloping base of the Chinle Formation and, farther downstream, ledges and slopes of the Moenkopi Formation. Photograph by Parker Hamilton, Flagstaff, Ariz. (Fig. 33)
According to Baker (1971, p. 12), the road leading eastward along North Point was used by the Wild Bunch in traveling to French Spring, whence they dropped down Millard Canyon ([fig. 33]) and crossed the Green River at Bonita Bend, which is just east of Buttes of the Cross ([fig. 64]). They also followed the Old Spanish Trail from the Henry Mountains eastward across the Dirty Devil River, up North Hatch Canyon, across Sunset Pass, and down across the Land of Standing Rocks to Spanish Bottom on the Colorado River ([fig. 1]). After crossing the river, they followed the trail up Lower Red Lake Canyon ([fig. 59]) and eastward through The Needles to Monticello.
The Benchlands
The White Rim, a broad benchland some 1,000-1,200 feet below the southern half of Island in the Sky, and some of the associated benchlands west of the Green River and between the Colorado River and Hatch Point have already been discussed as viewed from Island in the Sky, the White Rim Trail, or Hatch Point. There remain for consideration several other prominent benchlands.
The Maze and Land of Standing Rocks
The Maze, an intricately carved series of canyons and gullies, has been called a “Thirty-square-mile puzzle in sandstone” (Findley, 1971, p. 71-73), and one can readily visualize a king-sized rat struggling in vain to find a way out. The rock is the Cedar Mesa Sandstone, which here underlies red shales beneath the White Rim Sandstone. South of The Maze an area containing tall spires was appropriately named by the Indians “Toom’-pin wu-near’ Tu-weap’,” or “Land of Standing Rocks” (Powell, 1875, p. 154).
West of The Maze is Elaterite Basin, so named because of a dark-brown elastic mineral resin called elaterite, which seeps from the White Rim Sandstone. One of these seeps is shown in [figure 34], and a wedge-shaped layer of the sandstone is shown in [figure 35]. In the Range Canyon area shown in [figure 35], sand was being laid down in an offshore bar at the left, while red silts and muds were being deposited on land to the right. The dark bed just above the White Rim near the middle of the photograph is the Hoskinnini Tongue of the Moenkopi Formation, which intertongues with and pinches out in beds of the Moenkopi Formation to left. These are excellent examples of what geologists call facies changes.
South of the Land of Standing Rocks are equally colorful areas known as The Fins and Ernies Country (named after Ernie Larson, an early-day sheep man). A prominent row of spires near Cataract Canyon is known as The Doll House ([fig. 36]).
ELATERITE SEEPING FROM WHITE RIM SANDSTONE in Elaterite Basin west of The Maze. Elaterite is a dark-brown elastic mineral resin. Photograph by Donald L. Baars. (Fig. 34)
WHITE RIM SANDSTONE in north wall of Range Canyon, south of Elaterite Basin. Bed thins from 230 feet at left (west) to 38 feet at right (east), and disappears (by facies change into red shales) a short distance farther east. See description in text of pinch out of Hoskinnini Tongue. Bed at top of mesa is Moss Back Member of Chinle Formation. Photograph by Donald L. Baars. (Fig. 35)
THE DOLL HOUSE, eroded from Cedar Mesa Sandstone just west of Spanish Bottom, above Cataract Canyon. Notice the red layer at right offset by a fault. Photograph by Parker Hamilton, Flagstaff, Ariz. (Fig. 36)
The Needles district
The Needles district is currently (1973) the most highly developed part of the unfinished park as the result of design, not accident, for this district includes the greatest number and widest variety of spectacular features—The Needles proper, The Grabens (pronounced gräbǝns), colossal arches and other erosional forms, large meadows such as Squaw Flat and Chesler and Virginia Parks, a wide variety of prehistoric ruins and pictographs, and Confluence Overlook for viewing the joining of two mighty rivers—the Green and the Colorado. Like the White Rim and The Maze, the Needles district is another of the broad benchlands about midway between the high mesas and the deep canyons.
Utah Highway 211, as mentioned already, is a 38-mile-long paved road leading to the Needles district from U.S. Highway 163 at a point 15 miles north of Monticello and 18 miles south of La Sal Junction. The intersection is well marked by Church Rock ([fig. 37]), a butte of the Entrada Sandstone. Highway 211 gradually climbs an eastward-dipping slope of the Navajo Sandstone dotted with a few buttes and patches of the Entrada Sandstone, such as Church Rock, and reaches the first of two summits 3 miles west of Highway 163. The road crosses a broad gentle valley in the Navajo Sandstone, reaches the second summit about 10 miles from the highway, then descends steeply through the Navajo Sandstone and part of the Kayenta Formation to Indian Creek, 1½ miles below, and follows this creek nearly to The Needles. Half a mile down the canyon takes us to the top of the cliff-forming Wingate Sandstone, and another half mile brings us to Indian Creek State Park and its striking Newspaper Rock ([fig. 5]). Another 1¾ miles takes us to the base of the Wingate and top of the underlying Chinle Formation, which forms the red slope beneath the cliffs.
Historic Dugout Ranch ([p. 14]) is 19 miles west of the highway, and from here a dry-weather road leads southward up north Cottonwood Creek 37 miles to Beef Basin and connects with roads to Elk Ridge and the Bears Ears, both just west of the Abajo Mountains. Just west of the ranch we get a good view ahead of two historic landmarks—North and South Six-Shooter Peaks ([fig. 38]), so named because of their resemblance to a pair of revolvers pointing skyward. The guns are sculptured from slivers of Wingate Sandstone resting upon conical mounds of the Chinle. These can be seen from a wide area; both appear in figures [38] and [40], and the north one is seen in [figure 77].
CHURCH ROCK, standing guard at the intersection of U.S. Highway 163 and the east end of Utah Highway 211 leading to the Needles district. Rock is Entrada Sandstone: red foundation is Dewey Bridge Member; yellowish smooth rounded body of church is Slick Rock Member; white steeple is Moab Member. La Sal Mountains at left. (Fig. 37)
NORTH AND SOUTH SIX-SHOOTER PEAKS, looking west from entrance road to The Needles. (Fig. 38)
A mile west of Dugout Ranch we descend to the top of the Moss Back Member of the Chinle, a ledge of gray-green sandstone forming the base of this generally red formation, and reach the base of the member at the top of the Moenkopi Formation in the next mile and a half. The Moss Back is uranium bearing in nearby areas.
At 3.8 miles west of Dugout Ranch a poorly marked road on the left crosses Indian Creek, then forks; the left-hand fork follows the bed of Lavender Canyon, and the right-hand fork goes into Davis Canyon. Headwaters of both these canyons are new additions to the park.
The red Organ Rock Tongue of the Cutler Formation is seen about 3 miles beyond the turnoff, or about 6 miles west of Dugout Ranch. Another 1½ miles takes us down in the rock column ([fig. 9]) to the top of the Cedar Mesa Sandstone. The White Rim Sandstone, which forms such a prominent bench around the southern part of Island in the Sky (figs. [20]-[23]) and west of the Green River, is missing from the Needles district, its place in the rock column being taken by red shales and sandstones of the Cutler Formation. South of Indian Creek other underlying red beds of the Cutler are gradually replaced in turn by the thick Cedar Mesa Sandstone. Erosion has reduced the general level of the Needles district to or into the Cedar Mesa Sandstone, but many streams have cut into the underlying Rico Formation, and the Colorado River has cut also into, and in places through, the limestones of the unnamed upper member of the Hermosa Formation. Our first view of The Needles is another 4 miles, and 1 more mile takes us to the park boundary, nearly 32 miles from the U.S. Highway 163. We pass a road on the right leading to Canyonlands Resort, and on the left is a new line camp which replaces the restored one at Cave Spring ([fig. 6]).
The unusual features of the Needles district are due in some part to the character and thickness of the underlying rocks but in large part to erosion along joints and faults. Joints are fractures along which no displacement has taken place, and faults are fractures along which there has been displacement of the two sides relative to one another ([fig. 76]). The Cedar Mesa Sandstone comprises 500 to 600 feet or more of hard well-cemented buff, white, and pink beds of massive sandstone. On the basis of the type and amount of deformation and erosion of the Cedar Mesa Sandstone and underlying rocks, the Needles district can be divided into three differing areas: (1) an eastern area where the rocks are relatively undeformed but are carved into an intricate series of canyons, including Salt Canyon and the upper reaches of Davis and Lavender Canyons—the section of the district that contains most of the arches and Indian ruins; (2) The Needles proper, where tensional forces have cracked the brittle Cedar Mesa Sandstone into a crazy-quilt pattern of square to rectangular blocks separated by joints widened by erosion, creating a myriad of spires and pinnacles; and (3) The Grabens, where the previously jointed rocks were later subjected to additional tensional forces that produced a series of nearly parallel faults that trend northeastward and separate downdropped blocks of rock, called grabens, from intervening stationary or upthrown blocks of rock, called horsts.
Let us examine each of these areas in the order named. For traveling to most features a four-wheel-drive vehicle is strongly recommended. Some visitors negotiate the jeep trails with dune buggies or motorcycles, but four-wheel-drive vehicles are considered safer and generally more reliable. A few trails can be traveled only on foot.
Squaw Flat, in the western part of the relatively undeformed area, is a nearly flat area of lower Cedar Mesa Sandstone covered here and there by a thin layer of sparsely vegetated soil and surrounded by generally low hilly erosional forms in the upper part of the sandstone. Short canyons and alcoves in the sandstone hills along the west side afford excellent semi-private campsites, each of which has its own paved access road, picnic table, and trash can ([fig. 39]). Moreover, ground water at shallow depth in the underlying sandstone has encouraged the growth of exceptionally large piñon and juniper trees that provide welcome shade.
SQUAW FLAT CAMPGROUND, in the Needles district, in Cedar Mesa Sandstone. Large piñon and juniper trees draw ground water from this sandstone. (Fig. 39)
SALT, DAVIS, AND LAVENDER CANYONS
A glance at the southeast corner of the map ([fig. 1]) shows that most of the arches and prehistoric ruins in the park are in Salt Canyon and its main tributary, Horse Canyon. A few are in adjacent Davis and Lavender Canyons, whose headwaters were recently annexed to the park. These canyons are accessible only by negotiating the streambeds on four-wheel-drive vehicles, horseback, or foot. Salt or Horse Canyons are best conquered by four-wheel-drive vehicles plus short hikes in the northern part and long hikes in the southern part.
An aerial view ([fig. 40]) eastward across Salt Canyon shows that erosion has produced an intricate series of meandering canyons separated by rather narrow walls of the Cedar Mesa Sandstone, resembling somewhat The Maze, west of the Green River.
AERIAL VIEW EASTWARD ACROSS SALT CANYON. Note narrow walls and pinnacles between canyons and alcoves. Six-Shooter Peaks are in left background. Photograph by Wayne Alcorn, National Park Service. (Fig. 40)
The massive sandstone beds of the Cedar Mesa are composed of sand grains cemented together by calcium carbonate (CaCO₃), which also forms the mineral called calcite and the rock known as limestone. Limestone and calcite are soluble in acid, even weak acid such as carbonic acid (H·HCO₃), formed by solution of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in water. Ground water, found everywhere in rock openings at differing depths beneath the surface, contains considerable dissolved carbon dioxide derived from decaying organic matter in soil, from the atmosphere, and from other sources. Even rain water and snow contain small amounts absorbed from the atmosphere—enough to dissolve small amounts of limestone or of calcite cement in sandstone. The calcite cement in the Cedar Mesa and many other sandstones is unevenly distributed, so the cement is removed first from places that contain the least amounts, and once the cement is dissolved, the loose sand grains are carried away by gravity, wind, or water. Thus, relatively thin walls of sandstone containing irregularly distributed patches of soluble cement are prime targets for the formation of potholes ([fig. 46]), alcoves, and caves. Once a breakthrough occurs, weakened chunks from the ceiling tend to fall off, and arches of various shapes are produced, because an arch is naturally the strongest form that can support the overlying rock load. Man, from the ancient Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians to modern day, has long made use of arches in building bridges, aqueducts, temples, cathedrals, and other enduring edifices. All the spectacular arches we are about to see were carved from the Cedar Mesa Sandstone.
Let us begin our tour of Salt and Horse Canyons by driving a four-wheel-drive vehicle eastward from the fine campground at Squaw Flat. After about a mile we pass the Wooden Shoe ([fig. 41]) capping a ridge south of the highway; it contains one of the smallest arches we will encounter. Three quarters of a mile east of the temporary ranger station we come to Cave Spring, an old restored cowboy line camp pictured in [figure 6]. This and an adjacent cave containing a spring are part of the interesting well-marked Environmental Trail, well worth the half hour or so it requires.
WOODEN SHOE, near temporary ranger headquarters, the Needles district. Carved in Cedar Mesa Sandstone. (Fig. 41)
The jeep trail up Salt Canyon lies mostly in the sandy bed of Salt Creek but includes a few shortcuts across goosenecks and some rough rocky stretches around rapids or waterfalls. It is best traveled when the canyon bottom is moist but not soaked. When the sand is soft and dry, a shift into four-wheel drive is generally necessary. Signs warn of quicksand, which occurs when the sand is fully saturated; hence, summer thundershowers sometimes require delaying or postponing the trip. When in doubt, consult a park ranger for expected weather and trail conditions. Thundershowers sometimes occur so suddenly and violently as to cause serious floods, and the “road” is closed when heavy rain is expected. However, if an unexpected storm occurs while you are up in the canyon, try to reach high ground and wait until the flood subsides. If you do not have time to get your vehicle out of the flood’s path, at least get yourself and passengers to a safe spot.
PAUL BUNYANS POTTY, on east wall of Horse Canyon. (Fig. 42)
Two and a half miles south of Cave Spring we reach the confluence with Horse Canyon, marked by a sign at the Y giving distances to points of interest up each canyon. Let us try Horse Canyon first. After about a mile we pass Paul Bunyans Potty on the left—one of the most aptly titled features of the park ([fig. 42]). Two miles south of the Y is Keyhole Ruin, nestled in a cleft high on the cliff to our left—a granary built by the Anasazi. Here we face another Y. The left fork leads half a mile east to Tower Ruin ([fig. 4]), one of the largest and best preserved Anasazi granaries in the park. The right fork takes us on up Horse Canyon, and in about 2 miles we pass Gothic Arch on the right. In 2 more miles, 4 miles from Salt Canyon, a short hike up the tributary to the right leads to Castle Arch and Thirteen Faces. Assuming we have taken photographs of the important features along the way, it probably is about time to return to camp at Squaw Flat, unless we choose to spend the night at Peek-a-boo Spring and primitive campground in Salt Canyon, about 1.2 miles above the confluence with Horse Canyon.
Another drive takes us up Salt Canyon 8½ miles past the confluence with Horse Canyon to another confluence and Y, which has a primitive campsite without water. One mile up the left, or southeast, tributary is a parking area where we begin the ½-mile walk to Angel Arch, considered by many people to be the most beautiful and spectacular arch in the park if not in the entire canyon country. Angel Arch was drawn for the front cover by John R. Stacy and is pictured in [figure 43].
ANGEL ARCH, along tributary of Salt Canyon. (Fig. 43)
FISHEYE ARCH, along upper Salt Canyon, looking north. Photograph by National Park Service. (Fig. 44)
From the last Y we can proceed only about 2½ miles farther up main Salt Canyon by vehicle, and the remaining features shown on the map ([fig. 1]) can be reached only on foot. The All American Man, a unique pictograph referred to earlier ([fig. 3]), is about 3½ miles up the canyon. Those hardy souls who wish to hike many additional miles to the head of Salt Canyon will be rewarded with views of four additional arches and several ruins. Two of these arches are shown in figures [44] and [45].
The more adventuresome may wish to explore upper Lavender and Davis Canyons by driving up the sand washes in a four-wheel-drive vehicle, but inquiry should be made from a park ranger regarding access to the canyon mouths and condition of the washes. Hand Holt Arch ([fig. 46]) and Cleft Arch ([fig. 47]) are two of the rewarding sights in Lavender Canyon, and [figure 48] shows one of the arches in Davis Canon.
WEDDING RING ARCH, along upper Salt Canyon. Photograph by National Park Service. (Fig. 45)
HAND HOLT ARCH, in Lavender Canyon. Note holes in sandstone formed by solution and wind scour. Photograph by National Park Service. (Fig. 46)
CLEFT ARCH, in upper Lavender Canyon, looking north. Photograph by E. N. Hinrichs. (Fig. 47)
ARCH, in upper Davis Canyon, looking northwest. Photograph by E. N. Hinrichs. (Fig. 48)
THE NEEDLES AND THE GRABENS
THE NEEDLES, looking southwest from Squaw Flat. (Fig. 49)
CHESLER PARK IN THE NEEDLES, aerial view looking northeast. Photograph by Walter Meayers Edwards, © 1971 National Geographic Society. (Fig. 50)
The northeastern edge of The Needles proper can be seen from Squaw Flat ([fig. 49]), but the true character of The Needles can be appreciated better from the air ([fig. 50]). You cannot get far into The Needles without traversing part of The Grabens, so we will consider them together. An aerial oblique view ([fig. 51]) shows The Needles in the foreground and The Grabens in the middle background. As shown on the map ([fig. 1]), you can hike into The Needles and The Grabens from Squaw Flat, but let us make the trip using a four-wheel-drive vehicle and several short hikes.
THE NEEDLES AND THE GRABENS, aerial oblique view looking west over Chesler Park in foreground, The Grabens to the right, and Cataract Canyon behind. Photograph by U.S. Army Air Force. (Fig. 51)
Ordinary passenger cars now can go 2¾ miles west of Squaw Flat to Soda Spring, at the east base of Elephant Hill, but beyond Soda Spring four-wheel-drive vehicles should be used. Some people conquer the hill in dune buggies or on motorcycles, but this is considered quite dangerous. Both sides of this short (1¼ miles) but formidable hill have switchback curves too sharp to negotiate in the regular manner, so special driving techniques must be followed. On the east side, you must drive out on a flat rock, jockey back and forth until turned completely around, then proceed up the hill. On the west side, you descend a 40-percent grade to a shelf, back down a narrow stretch of about 30-percent grade and back sharply to the left onto a flat rock, then go forward again. On the return trip the whole procedure is carried out in reverse order.
West of Elephant Hill, the road reaches a Y, at which you must turn left on a one-way road; the right-hand road is for later one-way return to the Y. Why the left-hand fork is one way soon becomes apparent, for the road leads into a narrow shallow graben, called Devils Pocket ([fig. 51]), between rock walls, and is barely wide enough for one car. After about 2 miles the graben widens out into a beautiful spot called the Devils Kitchen, which contains several picnic tables tucked into shady recesses in the sandstone walls. This is the starting point for two trails leading southward by different routes to Chesler Park, from which other trails lead to Druid Arch or back to Squaw Flat.
From the Devils Kitchen, the road turns abruptly westward for about half a mile to another Y in about the middle of Devils Lane, one of the larger grabens and one of two whose entire length is traversed by roads, as shown on the map ([fig. 1]). Only the left fork is a two-way road, so let us take the left fork 2¾ miles southwestward to the next road junction. About halfway down Devils Lane, a fault crossing the graben has created a narrow steep ridge appropriately called SOB Hill, because the road over it creates a challenge that some vehicles fail to meet on the first attempt!
The next road intersection is now shown on the map ([fig. 1]) as a sharp turn leading southwest to Ruin Park and Beef Basin. The abandoned left fork (not shown) leads east into Chesler Park. This park, shown in [figure 50] and near the bottom of [figure 51], is a beautiful natural meadow of several hundred acres fenced by a natural wall of needles and containing a central island of needles. Because of vehicular damage to meadow vegetation, the National Park Service found it necessary to close the road. To reach Chesler Park now, vehicles must go right a short distance to the Chesler Canyon turnoff, then left about half a mile to a parking area. From here, a ½-mile hike east through the narrow Joint Trail gets us to the south side of Chesler Park, where we join the abandoned road to reach the northeast corner of the park and the trails into The Needles proper ([fig. 1]).
This change adds 1¾ miles (one way) to the hike to Druid Arch, making the round trip about 11½ miles. At the old trailhead, near the northeast corner of Chesler Park, is a sign proclaiming the need for rubber-soled shoes and water, and I strongly support these admonitions, for much of the hike is on bare smooth sandstone and includes steep slopes and generally dry waterfalls. The hike should not be attempted by anyone not in good physical condition, and it should not be undertaken alone; two or more people should travel together.
As shown in [figure 52], the trail to Druid Arch from Chesler Park starts out on bare Cedar Mesa Sandstone marked by a succession of rock cairns, two of which are visible and without which the trail would soon be lost. The trail drops rapidly down into Elephant Canyon, which is then followed southward 2 miles to the arch. This canyon has cut through the Cedar Mesa into the underlying Rico Formation, and much of the canyon is quite narrow and steep sided, as shown in [figure 53]. Although much of the Rico consists of red beds laid down above sea level by ancient streams, the trail crosses several thin beds of dark-gray hard limestone containing fossil marine seashells and ancient sea anemones whose original calcium carbonate parts have been locally replaced by jasper (red iron-bearing silica). When at last the weary hiker makes the steep climb out of the canyon and rounds the final bare-rock curve, the sudden and striking view of Druid Arch ([fig. 54]) seems worth every bit of the effort—at least it was to me and my hiking companion.
After my friend and I hiked to Druid Arch and after the length of this route was increased to a round-trip distance of 11½ miles, a new route was constructed having a round-trip length of only 8½ miles. This new trail starts at the end of the passenger-car road at the east edge of Elephant Hill, goes 1¼ miles southwest to join an older trail in Elephant Canyon, then follows this canyon 3 miles south to the arch.
TRAIL TO DRUID ARCH, near its beginning at northeast corner of Chesler Park, marked only by rock cairns, two of which are visible. (Fig. 52)
UPPER ELEPHANT CANYON, containing trail to Druid Arch. (Fig. 53)
DRUID ARCH, from end of arduous trail shown in figures [52] and [53]. (Fig. 54)
After returning to our vehicle west of Chesler Park and backtracking over SOB Hill to the intersection in the middle of Devils Lane, let us proceed northward on a one-way road to and beyond the Silver Stairs for a closer look at Devils Lane and other grabens to the west and for a look at the confluence of the Green and Colorado Rivers. But first let us pause and reflect upon the possible origin of The Grabens.
Geologists have different opinions as to just how grabens and complex systems of joints have formed, but all seem to agree that tensional forces were involved. Some think that solution of salt and gypsum from the Paradox Member of the Hermosa Formation by ground-water movement allowed the brittle Cedar Mesa Sandstone and other overlying rocks to sag, producing tension cracks and faults. Others believe that removal of the salt and gypsum occurred by plastic flowage toward the Meander anticline (see [p. 108] and [fig. 61]), whose axis follows the Colorado River southwest from The Loop, past the confluence, and to and beyond Spanish Bottom. Some suppose that compaction due to the weight of the abnormally thick pile of sedimentary rock underlying the area may have caused the sagging, cracking, and faulting. The rock deformation may have resulted from a combination of these and possibly other things, of course, but whatever the cause, the resulting features are very striking. There was room to show only two of the named grabens within the park on the map ([fig. 1]), but all are shown in [figure 51], and several appear in [figure 59]. A diagramatic cross section of a typical graben is shown in [figure 55]. The tension faults shown in figures [55] and [56] are called normal faults, in contrast to faults formed by horizontal compression, which are called reverse faults (figs. [75], [76]).
The Grabens range in width from about 7 or 8 feet at the north end of Devils Pocket to nearly 2,000 feet at the south end of Red Lake Canyon, but the average width is about 500 feet. The floors of The Grabens are covered by soil and grass, but the displacement along the faults is believed to approximate the height of the walls—nearly 300 feet. That The Grabens are of fairly recent origin is attested by the fact that most of the walls are vertical fault faces showing little sign of erosion ([fig. 57]); that no through drainage has yet been established in Cyclone Canyon, which is a series of basins with low divides between; and that several pre-existing streams were interrupted or diverted by the faulting.
A SIMPLE GRABEN, formed by tension in directions indicated by horizontal arrows. Downdropped central block is the graben; stationary or uplifted blocks on sides are called horsts. From Hansen (1969, p. 123). See also [figure 76]. (Fig. 55)
CUTAWAY VIEW OF NORMAL FAULT, resulting from tension in and lengthening of the earth’s crust. Note amount of displacement and repetition of strata. Compare with [figure 76]. From Hansen (1969, p. 116). (Fig. 56)
Now let us continue our journey northward along Devils Lane. Just before reaching the Silver Stairs we may wish to pause long enough to take in the distant view to the northwest toward Junction Butte and Grand View Point. (See [frontispiece].) After descending the steep Silver Stairs in a narrow cleft between rock walls, we reach another intersection: a two-way road continuing northwest goes to our destination, and a one-way road turning right returns to Elephant Hill via part of Elephant Canyon ([fig. 58]).
About 2 miles to the northwest we cross the north end of Cyclone Canyon, the largest graben. It contains a road 3½ miles long and is well worth seeing. About one-half mile from the south end, an old trail follows Red Lake and Lower Red Lake Canyons to the Colorado River across from Spanish Bottom (figs. [1], [61]).
From near the north end of Cyclone Canyon (figs. [1], [59]), we drive west three-fourths mile to a parking area and hike one-half mile to an overlook for a spectacular view of the confluence of the Green and Colorado Rivers (figs. [59], [60]) and of the northern part of Cataract Canyon ([fig. 61]). These and other canyons are discussed in the next chapter.
WEST WALL OF CYCLONE CANYON GRABEN, a nearly vertical fault face showing little sign of erosion. (Fig. 57)
LOWER ELEPHANT CANYON, followed by jeep trail from near Silver Stairs to Elephant Hill. (Fig. 58)
THE CONFLUENCE FROM THE AIR, and some of The Grabens. See also [figure 51]. Vertical aerial photograph by U.S. Geological Survey. (Fig. 59)
