Canyonlands

Canyonlands preserves an immense wilderness of rock at the heart of the Colorado Plateau. Wind and water have been the prime architects of this land, cutting flat layers of sedimentary rock into hundreds of colorful canyons, mesas, buttes, fins, arches, and spires. At center stage are two great canyons, those carved by the Green and Colorado Rivers. Surrounding the rivers are vast, and very different, regions of the park: to the north, Canyonlands National Park Utah National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Island in the Sky; to the west, the Maze; and to the east, the Needles. The areas share a common primitive spirit and wild desert atmosphere. Each also offers its own special rewards. Few people were familiar with these remote lands and rivers when the park was established in 1964. Prehistoric Indians, cowboys, river explorers, and uranium prospectors had dared to enter this rugged corner of southeastern Utah, but few others did. To a large degree, Canyonlands remains untrammeled today. Its roads are mostly unpaved, its trails primitive, its rivers free-flowing. Throughout its 8 4 8 square kilometers (527 square miles) roam desert bighorn sheep, coyotes, and other animals native to this land. Canyonlands is wild America. A Wilderness of Rock Island in the Sky Views from Island in the Sky reach from the depths of the Green and Colorado Rivers to the heights of distant mountaintops and above. They stretch across canyon after canyon after canyon to the horizon 160 kilometers (100 miles) distant. A broad, level mesa wedged between the Green and the Colorado, Island in the Sky serves as Canyonlands' observation tower. From its many overlooks sightseers absorb overwhelming vistas of almost incomprehensible dimensions. Closest to the mesa's edge is the White Rim, a nearly continuous sandstone bench 370 meters (1,200 feet) below the Island. Another 300 meters (1,000 feet) beneath the White Rim are the rivers, shadowed by sheer canyon cliffs, and beyond them lies the country of the Maze and the Needles. Outside the park's boundary three jagged mountain ranges abruptly break the pattern of the flat-topped canyon landscape. To the east rise the La Sals; observers will detect them. The many trails around the Island are good places to encounter wildlife, especially at dawn, at dusk, or during cooler months. Trails also lead to striking vistas, to arches, and to other outstanding geological features. Geologists would probably single out Upheaval Dome as the oddest geologic feature on Island in the Sky. Measuring 460 meters (1,500 feet) deep, the Dome does not look like a dome at all, but rather like a meteor crater or volcanic caldera. Is Upheaval Dome either of these? Was it produced by violence? Some believe so, but the most commonly suggested theory is that large, slow-moving underground deposits of salt pushed the layers of overlying rock upward. Millions of years of erosion wore away the center of the dome, leaving behind the strange hole that can be seen today. Geologists from around the country come to study Upheaval Dome. The Maze The Needles The Rivers The Maze country west of the Colorado and Green Rivers is Canyonlands at its wildest. It ranks as one of the most remote and inaccessible regions in the United States. There is the Maze itself, a perplexing jumble of canyons that has been described as a "30 square mile puzzle in sandstone." Beyond are the weirdly shaped towers, walls, buttes, and mesas of the Land of Standing Rocks, Ernies Country, the Dollhouse, and the Fins. Man comes to this wilderness of broken rock, little water, and stunted junipers and finds intangible resources hard to find elsewhere: Solitude, silence, and challenges demanding self-reliance. The 183meter (600-foot) descent to the bottom of the Maze is a plunge into the heart of this country. Until the park was created, only a smattering of individuals had explored these canyons. Even today visitors number only about 4,000 each year. Many come to see the ghostly figures The diversity of names in the Needles country reflects the diversity of the land itself. Devils Kitchen and Angel Arch. Elephant Hill and Caterpillar Arch. Gothic Arch and Paul Bunyans Potty. The Needles is a natural exhibit area where a startling landscape of sculpted rock forms— arches, rock spires, grabens, canyons, potholes—and prehistoric Indian ruins and pictog raphs are densely concentrated. The dominant landforms are the Needles themselves, naked rock pinnacles banded in orange and white. Water, wind, and ice created this jumbled terrain by eroding and fracturing.the bedrock. Grassy meadows such as the 389-hectare (960-acre) Chesler Park offer a striking contrast to the Needles' bare rock. And arches add a touch of the unusual to the region. Like Arches National Park to the north, the Needles country boasts a fascinating collection of natural rock spans. Angel Arch, located in a side canyon of Green and Colorado Rivers. Throughout this country the Anasazi Indians—the Ancient Ones —once ranged, growing corn, squash, and beans, hunting deer and bighorn, and gathering native seeds, fruits, and roots. This advanced culture was part of the same group of people that built the great stone pueblos of Mesa Verde in Colorado and Chaco Canyon in New Mexico. Traces of the Anasazi can be found in almost every canyon in the Needles. Many of their stone and mud dwellings and storehouses are remarkably well-preserved. Tower Ruin, built high on a cliff ledge in a side canyon of Horse Canyon, is an outstanding example of the Anasazi's rock architecture. The Anasazi also left a record in the petroglyphs they etched and the pictographs they painted on cliff walls, as did the Fremonts, a similar but distinct prehistoric culture. The meaning of the many figures, faces, handprints, and other im- Explorer John Wesley Powell recorded the first impressions of the Canyonlands region as seen from the Green and Colorado Rivers on his pioneer 1869 boat t r i p . " . . .we glide along through a strange, weird, grand region. The landscape everywhere, away from the river, is of rock . . . , " he wrote. More than a century later the rivers still run wild here. Above the confluence, the Green and Colorado meander slowly through deep, sheer-walled canyons. Below the confluence, the combined waters begin a 23-kilometer (14-mile) rush and tumble through the rapids of Cataract Canyon. It is one of the country's most treacherous white water stretches, rivaling any in the Grand Canyon. The Jekyll-and-Hyde personality of the rivers satisfies those looking forward to a quiet float, those eager for a helter-skelter river run, and those who want both. A lazy pace is best suited for investigating river life. As the only major ! £ National Geographic Society Reptiles like the collared lizard are among the more colorful of the Island's creatures. It was"... the splendor of the landscape, the perfection of the silence..." that writer Edward Abbey remembered after visiting the Island. Small bands of desert bighorn sheep scramble expertly up and down ter- First a cattle trail, then a road for uranium hunters, Shafer Trail today is a David Muench to the south, the Abajos; to the southwest, the Henrys. Rain that passes by the arid soil of Canyonlands keeps these mountains mantled in forests of pine and fir. On the Island, vegetation is much sparser. Open fields of Indian rice grass and other grasses and pinyon-juniper pygmy forests survive on less than 25 centimeters (10 inches) of rain a year. Coyotes, foxes, squirrels, ravens, hawks, and smaller birds share the food of these lands. Herds of cattle and horses once grazed these desert pastures, too; abandoned water troughs and fences are reminders of those bygone days. Many of Canyonlands' more than 300 desert bighorn sheep are concentrated on the rocky ledges below the White Rim. From the Island mesa the sheep look like tan fly-sized specks; only the sharpest environment of the Maze. Bob McKeever The claret cup cactus and other desert plants are well-adapted to the arid well-traveled 4-wheeldrive route that winds down the Island's edge. From one point of view the Maze's confusion of canyons are an inhospi- table no-man's-land, from another, an inviting refuge from civilization. rain few people travel. David Muench Explorations From U.S. 191 take Utah 313 south to the Island. From the end of this paved road an unpaved 2-wheel-drive road continues into and around the Island. (Paving of this road began in 1984; construction will continue for two years.) Facilities include: 4-wheel-drive routes; self-guiding and primitive trails; developed campground; primitive campsites; picnic areas; overlooks; commercial tours (from nearby towns). No water is available. Stephen Trimble painted on the walls of Horseshoe Canyon, which were left by Indians perhaps as many as 3,000 years ago. The haunting lifesize forms, known together as the Great Gallery, are considered among the finest examples of prehistoric rock art in the country. They are a fitting reminder of the otherworldly spirit of this region, where man comes and goes, but never stays. Explorations From Utah 24 or 95 take 2and 4-wheel-drive routes east to the Maze. Facilities include: 4-wheel-drive routes; primitive trails; primitive campsites; overlooks; commercial tours (from nearby towns). No water is available. Tower Ruin is one of hundreds of sites in the Needles where signs of Thea Nordling The Needles, massive sandstone spires created by erosion and fractur- ing, form a giant crazy quiit pattern over a large area of Canyonlands. ancient Indians exist. Like other Needles' arches, Angel Arch is a creation of weathering by wind and water. F.A. Barnes Once in Cataract Canyon boats must plunge through one rapid after another; there is no turning back. Born high in the mountains of Wyoming and Colorado, the Green and Colorado Rivers converge deep in the heart of Canyonlands. David Muench Waiter Meayers Edwards Stephen Trimble Salt Creek Canyon, stands 46 meters (150 feet) high. The Wooden Shoe Arch, on the other hand, has just a small tunnel-like opening. Other arches are shaped like a caterpillar, a wedding ring, a horse's hoof. Most of the arches lie hidden in backcountry canyons and are welldeserved rewards for those who make the long 4-wheel-drive trips or hikes to see them. The Grabens lie at the end of another long 4-wheeldrive journey. To reach these vertical-walled, grass-carpeted valleys requires negotiating infamous Elephant Hill. With steep, rocky inclines and sharp switchbacks, Elephant Hill tests the skills of the most accomplished driver. Continuing past the Grabens, roads and trails lead to the Confluence Overlook, a point 300 meters (1,000 feet) above the meeting place of the ages remains largely a mystery. Unfortunately many pots, tools, and other items crafted and used by these prehistoric peoples are gone, stolen by pot hunters. Whitewater boat must obtain a permit at park headquarters. A limited number of individuals are allowed to run this dangerous Whitewater stretch each year. Boat launch sites are at locations north of the park, including Moab and Green River. There are no services along the rivers. The best times for trips are spring through fall. through September; Willow Flat never has water. A fee is charged at Squaw Flat April through September. Group campsites can be reserved in the Needles by contacting the park. Explorations From U.S. 191 take Utah 211 58 kilometers (36 miles) west to the Needles. The paved road continues into the park. Facilities include: 4-wheel-drive routes; self-guiding and primitive trails; developed campground; primitive campsites; overlooks; evening campground programs (seasonal); commercial tours (from nearby towns). Water is available May through October. water sources in the midst of a dry expanse, the rivers attract a variety of wildlife. Deer, fox, beaver, bobcats, and migratory birds find shelter in the riverside cottonwoods, tamarisks, and willows. Hanging gardens of lush maidenhair fern, monkeyflower, and columbine cling to the 370-meter (1,200-foot) high cliffs along water seepage lines. As in other corners of the park, cliffside stone houses and pictographs of ancient Fremont and Anasazi Indians are scattered along the rivers. Explorations Boating is popular above and below the confluence. Permits are required to float the rapids of Cataract Canyon. R iver access is in and near Green River and Moab. Float trips are offered in nearby towns. General Travel Information Canyonlands' first superintendent, Bates Wilson, invited visitors to "Come to our wilderness, but be ready to rough it." Today, many years later, that advice still holds true for much of the park. Park rangers strongly recommend that you stop for information at a ranger station, park headquarters in Moab, or the Monticello Information Center. Ranger stations are open daily. Brochures, hiking and driving guides, books, topographic maps, and up-to-date reports on park conditions are available at all park offices. Park activity schedules are posted. You also can receive information by writing: Superintendent, Canyonlands National Park, Moab, UT 84532; or calling (801) 259-7164. Climate The park's desert climate is characterized by hot summers, pleasant spring and fall months, and cool winters. Low humidity partially offsets the heat of summer. Precipitation is scarce; most falls in late summer and early fall thunderstorms. Light snowfalls occur in the winter. Seasonal temperatures are: Summer day, 27 to 38°C (80 to 100°F); night, 10 to 15°C (50 to 60°F) Spring, fall day, 15 to 27°C (60 to 80° F); night, -7 to -10°C (20 to 50°F) Winter day, 1 to 10°C (30 to 50°F); night,-17to-7°C(0to20°F) Exploring on Your Own By Road Driving in the park can mean a comfortable ride on a paved road or a tortuous 4-wheel-drive climb up a steep, rocky slope. Paved and 2-wheel-drive dirt roads on Island in the Sky and in the Needles lead to interesting natural features, overlooks, trailheads, picnic areas, and developed campgrounds. Fourwheel-drive roads wind throughout the park, offering trips as short as a day or longer than a week. One of the most popular, the 160-kilometer (100-mile) White Rim Trail, can be driven in two days or leisurely explored over many days. Primitive campsites are located along many of these roads. Always carry food, water, and tools for emergencies. In remote areas, travel in the company of a second vehicle. By Trail Both short walks and long hikes lead to some of Canyonlands' outstanding features. Short trails (less than 0.6 kilometer/1 mile) on the Island and in the Needles will take you to overlooks, to arches and other geologic oddities, and to Indian ruins. Some trails have wayside exhibits or brochures, which can be picked up at trailheads or ranger stations. Longer trails penetrate wilder regions. Trails are generally primitive, marked only with rock cairns. They are rugged and require strenuous exertion. Do not hike alone. Stay on trails. Carry a map and water. Obtain a backcountry permit if you plan to camp. Guided Tours Four-wheel-drive tours, hiking trips, horseback rides, and river float trips are operated by commercial tour guides. The tours vary widely in the territory covered, length, cost, and amenities provided. Tours operate out of Moab, Monticello, and Green Riveryear-round. Reservations are usually required. A list of Park Service concessioners is available from the park. By River Motorboats, rafts, and canoes can navigate the quiet upper waters of the Green and Colorado. Persons boating above the confluence are asked to pick up a backcountry permit. Anyone planning a trip below the confluence through Cataract Canyon in a raft or specialized Campgrounds and Picnic Areas Two modestly developed campgrounds are open year-round on a first-come, first-served basis. Willow Flat, on Island in the Sky, and Squaw Flat, in the Needles, have picnic tables, grills, and toilets. Squaw Flat has water April Primitive campsites are located along 4-wheeldrive roads and in other remote areas. None have water. Backcountry permits, which are required for primitive camping as well as some other backcountry activities, are available at ranger stations and park headquarters. Private campgrounds with utility hookups are located in nearby towns. State parks, Bureau of Land Management areas, and the Manti-LaSal National Forest also have campgrounds; the closest are shown on the map. Picnic areas on the Island and in the Needles have tables, grills, and toilets, but no water. Safety and Regulations Be prepared for the heat. Carry at least four liters (one gallon) of water per person per day. Rest occasionally to avoid overexerting yourself. • Watch your step at overlooks and other cliff edges. Walk carefully on slickrock surfaces; it is easy to get stranded, and both adults and unsupervised children have been killed and injured in falls. • Stay with companions in the backcountry; separation can mean getting lost. If you do become lost, stay where you are. Wandering will endanger your life and make finding you difficult. • Most animals, including poisonous snakes and scorpions, rarely cause injuries unless disturbed. Do not harass wildlife. • Help preserve Indian ruins, pictographs, and other artifacts. Leave them undisturbed; simply entering a ruin or touching a pictograph can cause damage. • Flashfloods can occur without warning. Never camp in a dry wash or drive across a flooded area. • Stay off fragile cryptogamic crust. This black, crunchy soil is actually a delicate, living community of lichens and algae that plays a vital ecological role. • Avoid overexposure to cold, wet conditions— especially on the rivers—which can lead to hypothermia. 9GP0: 1984-421-578/484 Canyonlands A Travel Advisory This map shows the main features of the park —its prominent natural features and its main roads, trails, and visitor services. Services are very limited: there is no drinking water (except seasonally in Squaw Flat Campground in the Needles), food, gasoline, stores, or lodging. Full services are available in Moab. Green River, Monticello, Hanksville, and other nearby towns. Canyonlands Resort, just east of the Needles, has gasoline, food, and camping supplies. Stop at a ranger station and check on park road and trail conditions; storms can leave areas impassable. Detailed maps and guides of 4-wheel-drive routes and hiking trails are available. For longer trips USGS topographic maps are essential. They are sold at ranger stations. Unpaved 2-wheel-drive roads can be negotiated by National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Canyonlands National Park Utah Unpaved roads regular passenger vehicles. Four-wheel-drive roads are generally too steep, too rocky, too rough, too sandy—simply too hazardous—for 2-wheeldrive vehicles. High clearance 2-wheel-drives can travel some of these roads under good conditions. Check with a ranger for more information. Off-road driving is prohibited. J 2-wheel-drive road 4-wheel-drive route Rapids J Spring available seasonally 0 Water EaSS Self-guiding trail ILL] Ranger station G S Boat launch ElJ Picnic area C±J Campground A . Primitive campsite