Cedar Breaks

https://www.nps.gov/cebr https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cedar_Breaks_National_Monument Cedar Breaks National Monument is a U.S. National Monument located in the U.S. state of Utah near Cedar City. Cedar Breaks is a natural amphitheater, stretching across 3 miles, with a depth of over 2,000 feet. Crowning the grand staircase, Cedar Breaks sits at over 10,000 feet and looks down into a half-mile deep geologic amphitheater. Come wander among timeless bristlecone pines, stand in lush meadows of wildflower, ponder crystal-clear night skies and experience the richness of our subalpine forest. Cedar Breaks National Monument is located east of Cedar City, Utah, just a short drive from Interstate 15. The park is centrally located between Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks. For detailed driving directions, please visit our Directions & Transportation page by clicking the green button below. Cedar Breaks Visitor Contact Station Coming Soon! The National Park Service and Zion Forever Project are working with partners and supporters to enhance the view at Cedar Breaks National Monument and bring a new home for visitors at the park. The facility will serve the needs of the visitors in an efficient and sustainable way through modest design limiting the impact on the park’s dramatic landscape. Construction began in 2021, for visitor services please visit https://www.nps.gov/places/cedar-breaks-information-center.htm. The Cedar Breaks Visitor Contact Station will be centrally located in the national monument at the primary overlook. The visitor contact station will be a short walk from the Point Supreme parking lot and overlook. Point Supreme Campground Point Supreme Campground is surrounded by meadows of wildflowers in the summer! At 10,000 feet elevation, it is a comfortable place to camp during the hotter summer months. The Point Supreme Campground has 25 campsites and accommodates both tents and RVs. Camping is available from mid-June to mid-September. Note that the campground opening and closing dates may be vary & are subject to favorable weather. Camping Fee 24.00 This fee covers one night of camping for up to 8 people per site. Campers are required to pay the park entrance fee at the Point Supreme fee station. Senior or Access Pass Camping Fee 12.00 This fee covers one night of camping for up to 8 people per site. Must present a senior pass or access pass when reserving the site. Tent at Campground Red tent overlooking green meadow. Campsites overlook meadows of blooming flowers during the summer months. Meadow of Flowers Meadow of wildflowers. An explosion of wildflowers surrounds the Point Supreme Campground throughout the summer months. Restroom Facility Restroom building at Point Supreme Campground Restroom Building Campsite Campsite at Point Supreme Example of a campsite at the Point Supreme campground. Cedar Breaks Amphitheater The ground falls away from the viewer creating brilliant rock formations of pink, red, and orange. Cedar Breaks Amphitheater Cedar Breaks Information Center A small log cabin with a stone chimney on one side. This log cabin built in 1937 housing the information center and park store. Wildflowers Yellow sunflowers and orange paint-brush wildflowers in a meadow. Cedar Breaks is famous for wildflowers blooming throughout the summer! Bristle-cone Pine Tree Ancient Bristle-cone pine with sun shining through the branches. Ancient Bristle-cone pines grow along the rim at Cedar Breaks National Monument. Bluebells on the Rim Bluebell flowers growing on the rim of the Cedar Breaks Amphitheater. Bluebell flowers growing on the rim. The Civilian Conservation Corps As part of the New Deal Program, to help lift the United States out of the Great Depression, Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1933. The CCC or C’s as it was sometimes known, allowed single men between the ages of 18 and 25 to enlist in work programs to improve America’s public lands, forests, and parks. CCC men lined up in front of a building and looking at a flag pole with an american flag. California Condor Species description of the California Condor (Gymnogyps californianus). An adult condor with the wing tag label number 80 stands over a juvenile condor. NPS Geodiversity Atlas—Cedar Breaks National Monument, Utah Each park-specific page in the NPS Geodiversity Atlas provides basic information on the significant geologic features and processes occurring in the park. Links to products from Baseline Geologic and Soil Resources Inventories provide access to maps and reports. erosional features and rock strata The Civilian Conservation Corps at Cedar Breaks In 1934, on July 4th, the CCC made their first appearance at Cedar Breaks, “acting as traffic directors, assisting in getting many of the stalled cars up to the Breaks and serving a barbecue to some 3,000 people” at the official dedication ceremony and celebration for the new national monument. That, of course was just the beginning of the Cs’ involvement at Cedar Breaks National Monument. Civilian Conservation Corps crew at Cedar Breaks Arches National Park’s Free-Flowing Waters Visitors to Arches National Park experience natural free-flowing waters and have water to quench their thirst, thanks to an agreement between the National Park Service and the State of Utah. The sun sits just below the horizon behind Delicate Arch. Chessman Canyon Fire Provided Resource Benefit at Cedar Breaks National Monument Chessman Canyon Fire Provided Resource Benefit at Cedar Breaks National Monument Smoke coming off of Cedar Breaks National Monument's Chessman Canyon Fire Cedar Breaks National Monument Designated as an International Dark Sky Park Cedar Breaks National Monument and the International Dark Sky Association (IDA) are excited to announce the designation of Cedar Breaks as an International Dark Sky Park. This distinction recognizes Cedar Breaks as a sanctuary of natural darkness and for the opportunity it provides visitors to enjoy the night sky. A park visitor enjoys the view to the stars at Cedar Breaks National Monument Survival of the Southern Paiute The Paiutes have overcome insurmountable challenges and devastation as a people. Their long struggle to preserve the Paiute way and flourish continues. But they will not give up. Instead, they celebrate their achievements, promising that while “[t]he struggle is long and difficult… the Paiute will survive.” Native American man in ceremonial dress with orange cliffs in the background. California Condor Reintroduction & Recovery A tagged California condor flies free. NPS Photo/ Don Sutherland A wing-tagged California condor flying in the blue sky. Wildland Fire in Douglas Fir: Western United States Douglas fir is widely distributed throughout the western United States, as well as southern British Columbia and northern Mexico. Douglas fir is able to survive without fire, its abundantly-produced seeds are lightweight and winged, allowing the wind to carry them to new locations where seedlings can be established. Close-up of Douglas fir bark and needles. About The Southern Paiute “Paa” ute means water ute, and explains the Southern Paiute preference for living near water sources. The Spanish explorer Escalante kept detailed journals of his travels in the Southwest and made notes concerning Southern Paiute horticulture, writing in 1776, that there were “well dug irrigation ditches” being used to water small fields of corn, pumpkins, squash, and sunflowers. Southern Paiute boy by wickiup shelter. SW CA Condor Update - 2017-01 (January) From January 2017: An update from Grand Canyon National Park on the California Condor recovery program for the Arizona/ Utah population. A condor flying wild and free. World CA Condor Update - 2018 An update on the world California Condor population for 2018. A close-up of the pink bald head of a California condor with a ruffle of black feathers. World CA Condor Update - 2016 Population Status An update on the world California Condor population for 2016. A close up of the pink bald head of a California condor with a ruffle of black feathers. World CA Condor Update - 2017 An update on the world California Condor population for 2017. A close-up of the pink bald head of a California condor with a ruffle of black feathers. SW CA Condor Update – 2020-02 An update on the Southwest California Condor Meta-Population for 2019 from Grand Canyon National Park (updated February 2020). A condor flying wild and free. What We’re Learning and Why it Matters: Long-Term Monitoring on the Northern Colorado Plateau Knowing which key natural resources are found in the national parks, and whether they're stable or changing, helps decisionmakers make sound choices. The Northern Colorado Plateau Network is building that knowledge. After more than ten years of monitoring, we've learned a lot about park ecosystems, how they're changing, and what they may look like in the days to come. Find out what we’ve learned and how it’s being used to help managers plan for the future. Man stands in a stream, looking down at a handheld gauge. Series: Geologic Time Periods in the Cenozoic Era The Cenozoic Era (66 million years ago [MYA] through today) is the "Age of Mammals." North America’s characteristic landscapes began to develop during the Cenozoic. Birds and mammals rose in prominence after the extinction of giant reptiles. Common Cenozoic fossils include cat-like carnivores and early horses, as well as ice age woolly mammoths. fossils on display at a visitor center Series: National Park Service Geodiversity Atlas The servicewide Geodiversity Atlas provides information on <a href="https://www.nps.gov/subjects/geology/geoheritage-conservation.htm">geoheritage</a> and <a href="https://www.nps.gov/subjects/geology/geodiversity.htm">geodiversity</a> resources and values all across the National Park System to support science-based management and education. The <a href="https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1088/index.htm">NPS Geologic Resources Division</a> and many parks work with National and International <a href="https://www.nps.gov/subjects/geology/park-geology.htm">geoconservation</a> communities to ensure that NPS abiotic resources are managed using the highest standards and best practices available. park scene mountains Paleogene Period—66.0 to 23.0 MYA Colorful Paleogene rocks are exposed in the hoodoos of Bryce Canyon National Park and the badlands of Badlands and Theodore Roosevelt national parks. Extraordinary Paleogene fossils are found in Fossil Butte and John Day Fossil Beds national monuments, among other parks. fossil skull with teeth expsoed Cenozoic Era The Cenozoic Era (66 million years ago [MYA] through today) is the "Age of Mammals." North America’s characteristic landscapes began to develop during the Cenozoic. Birds and mammals rose in prominence after the extinction of giant reptiles. Common Cenozoic fossils include cat-like carnivores and early horses, as well as ice age woolly mammoths. fossils on display in a visitor center Monitoring From Space: Using Satellite Imagery to Measure Landscape Conditions on the Ground Scientists from the Northern Colorado Plateau Network travel thousands of miles each year to collect data on plants, soils, and water across network parks. But it would be impossible to cover every square inch of the Northern Colorado Plateau with boots on the ground. Instead, we simultaneously monitor the parks with boots in space—satellite data that provide information at a much broader scale. Satellite and Earth in space Changing Patterns of Water Availability May Change Vegetation Composition in US National Parks Across the US, changes in water availability are altering which plants grow where. These changes are evident at a broad scale. But not all areas experience the same climate in the same way, even within the boundaries of a single national park. A new dataset gives park managers a valuable tool for understanding why vegetation has changed and how it might change in the future under different climate-change scenarios. Green, orange, and dead grey junipers in red soil, mountains in background Series: Geologic Time—Major Divisions and NPS Fossils The National Park System contains a magnificent record of geologic time because rocks from each period of the geologic time scale are preserved in park landscapes. The geologic time scale is divided into four large periods of time—the Cenozoic Era, Mesozoic Era, Paleozoic Era, and The Precambrian. photo of desert landscape with a petrified wood log on the surface 50 Nifty Finds #18: Portable Posters Many visitors to national parks today collect passport stamps, magnets, or other items to recall their trip and to show others where they’ve been. In the 1920s and 1930s the “must have” souvenirs weren’t created to be collected. National Park Service (NPS) windshield stickers served a practical administrative purpose; they were evidence that the automobile license fee drivers paid at some parks had been paid. Even so, Americans embraced their colorful, artistic designs. Four colorful Rocky Mountain National Park windshield stickers.