Canyonlands National
Park is a U.S. National Park located in southeastern Utah near the town of Moab. It preserves a colorful landscape
eroded into countless canyons, mesas, and buttes by the Colorado River,
the Green River, and their respective tributaries. Legislation creating the
park was signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson on September 12, 1964.
The park is divided into four districts:
the Island in the Sky, the Needles, the Maze, and the combined rivers—the Green
and Colorado—which carved two large canyons into the Colorado Plateau.
While these areas share a primitive desert atmosphere, each retains its own
character. Author Edward
Abbey, a frequent
visitor, described the Canyonlands as "the most weird, wonderful, magical
place on earth—there is nothing else like it anywhere."
Recreation
Canyonlands is a popular recreational
destination. Since 2007, more than 400,000 people have visited the park each
year with a record of 776,218 visitors in 2016, representing a 22 percent
increase from the prior year. The geography of the park is well suited to
a number of different recreational uses. Hikers, mountain bikers, backpackers, and four-wheelers all
enjoy traveling the rugged, remote trails within the Park. The White Rim Road traverses
the White Rim Sandstone level of the park between the rivers and the Island in
the Sky. Since 2015, day-use permits must be obtained before travelling on the
White Rim Road due to the increasing popularity of driving and bicycling along
it. The park service's intent is to provide a better wilderness experience for
all visitors while minimizing impacts on the natural surroundings.
Rafters and kayakers float the calm stretches of
the Green River and Colorado River above
the Confluence. Below the Confluence, Cataract Canyon contains
powerful whitewater rapids, similar to those found in the Grand
Canyon. However, since
there is no large impoundment on the Colorado River above Canyonlands National
Park, river flow through the Confluence is determined by snowmelt, not
management. As a result, and in combination with Cataract Canyon's unique graben geology, this stretch of river
offers the largest whitewater in North America in heavy snow years.
As of 2016, the Island in the Sky
district, with its proximity to the Moab,
Utah area,
attracts 76.7 percent of total park visitors. The Needles district is the
second most visited, drawing 20.7 percent of visitors. The remote Maze district
accounts for only about 1.5 percent of visitors, while river rafters and other
river users account for the remaining 1.1 percent of total park visitation.
Political compromise at the time of the park's
creation limited the protected area to an arbitrary portion of the Canyonlands
basin. Conservationists hope to complete the park by bringing the boundaries up
to the high sandstone rims that form the natural border of the Canyonlands
landscape.
Geography
The Colorado River and Green River combine within the park dividing it into three
districts called the Island in the Sky, the Needles and the Maze. The Colorado
River flows through Cataract Canyon below
its confluence with the Green River.
The Island in the Sky district is a
broad and level mesa to the north of the park between Colorado and Green river with
many overlooks from the White Rim, a sandstone bench 1,200 feet (366 m)
below the Island, and the rivers, which are another 1,000 feet (305 m)
below the White Rim.
The Needles district is located east of
the Colorado River and is named after the red and white banded rock pinnacles which
dominate it, but various other forms of naturally sculptured rock such as
canyons, grabens, potholes, and a number of arches similar to the ones of the
nearby Arches National Park can be found as well. Unlike Arches National
Park, where many arches are accessible by short to moderate hikes or even by
car, most of the arches in the Needles district lie in back country canyons and
require long hikes or four-wheel-drive trips
to reach them.
The area was once home of the Ancestral Puebloans, of which many traces can be found. Although the items and
tools they used have been largely taken away by looters, some of their stone
and mud dwellings are well-preserved. The Ancestral Puebloans also left
traces in the form of petroglyphs, most notably on the so-called Newspaper Rock near the Visitor Center at the entrance of this
district.
The Maze district is located west of the Colorado and
Green rivers, and is the least accessible section of the park, and one of the
most remote and inaccessible areas of the United States.
A geographically detached section of the
park located west-northwest of the main unit, Horseshoe Canyon Unit, contains panels of rock art made by
hunter-gatherers from the Late Archaic Period (2000-1000 BC) pre-dating the
Ancestral Puebloans. Originally called Barrier Canyon, Horseshoe's
artifacts, dwellings, pictographs, and murals are some of the oldest in
America. It is believed that the images depicting horses date from after
1540 AD, after the Spanish re-introduced horses to America.
Wildlife
Mammals that roam this park
include black bears, coyotes, skunks, bats, elk, foxes, bobcats, badgers, two
species of ring-tailed cats, pronghorns, and cougars. Desert cottontails, kangaroo
rats and mule
deer are commonly
seen by visitors.
At least 273 species of birds inhabit
the park. A variety of hawks and eagles are found, including the Cooper's hawk,
the northern goshawk, the sharp-shinned hawk,
the red-tailed hawk, the golden and bald
eagles, the rough-legged hawk,
the Swainson's hawk, and the northern harrier. Several
species of owls are found, including the great horned owl,
the northern saw-whet owl, the western screech owl, and the Mexican spotted owl. Grebes, woodpeckers, ravens, herons, flycatchers, crows, bluebirds,
wrens, warblers, blackbirds, orioles, goldfinches, swallows, sparrows, ducks,
quail, grouse, pheasants, hummingbirds, falcons, gulls, and ospreys are some of
the other birds that can be found.
Several reptiles can be found, including
eleven species of lizards and eight species of snake (including one
rattlesnake). The common kingsnake and prairie rattlesnake have been reported in the park, but not confirmed by
the National Park Service.
The park is home to six confirmed
amphibian species, including the red-spotted toad,[21] Woodhouse's toad,[22] American bullfrog, northern leopard frog, Great Basin spadefoot toad, and tiger salamander.[26] The canyon tree frog was
reported to be in the park in 2000, but was not confirmed during a study in
2004.
Climate
The National Weather Service has maintained two cooperative
weather stations in the park since June 1965. Official data documents the
desert climate with less than 10 inches (250 millimetres) of annual rainfall,
as well as very warm, mostly dry summers and cold, occasionally wet winters.
Snowfall is generally light during the winter.
The station in The Neck region reports average
January temperatures ranging from a high of 37.0 °F (2.8 °C) to a low
of 20.7 °F (−6.3 °C). Average July
temperatures range from a high of 90.7 °F (32.6 °C) to a low of
65.8 °F (18.8 °C). There are an average of 43.3 days with highs of
90 °F (32 °C) or higher and an average of 124.3 days with lows of 32 °F
(0 °C) or lower. The highest recorded temperature was 105 °F
(41 °C) on July 15, 2005, and the lowest recorded temperature was −13 °F (−25 °C)
on February 6, 1989. Average annual precipitation is 9.07 inches (230 mm).
There are an average of 59 days with measurable precipitation. The wettest year
was 1984, with 13.66 in (347 mm), and the driest year was 1989, with
4.63 in (118 mm). The most precipitation in one month was
5.19 in (132 mm) in October 2006. The most precipitation in 24 hours
was 1.76 in (45 mm) on April 9, 1978. Average annual snowfall is
22.9 in (58 cm). The most snowfall in one year was 47.4 in
(120 cm) in 1975, and the most snowfall in one month was 27.0 in
(69 cm) in January 1978.
The station in The Needles region reports average
January temperatures ranging from a high of 41.2 °F (5.1 °C) to a low
of 16.6 °F (−8.6 °C). Average July
temperatures range from a high of 95.4 °F (35.2 °C) to a low of
62.4 °F (16.9 °C). There are an average of 75.4 days with highs of
90 °F (32 °C) or higher and an average of 143.6 days with lows of 32 °F
(0 °C) or lower. The highest recorded temperature was 107 °F
(42 °C) on July 13, 1971, and the lowest recorded temperature was −16 °F (−27 °C)
on January 16, 1971. Average annual precipitation is 8.49 in
(216 mm). There are an average of 56 days with measurable precipitation.
The wettest year was 1969, with 11.19 in (284 mm), and the driest
year was 1989, with 4.25 in (108 mm). The most precipitation in one
month was 4.43 in (113 mm) in October 1972. The most precipitation in
24 hours was 1.56 in (40 mm) on September 17, 1999. Average annual
snowfall is 14.4 in (37 cm). The most snowfall in one year was
39.3 in (100 cm) in 1975, and the most snowfall in one month was
24.0 in (61 cm) in March 1985.
Geology
A subsiding basin and
nearby uplifting mountain range (the Uncompahgre) existed in the area in Pennsylvanian time. Seawater trapped in the subsiding basin created
thick evaporitedeposits by Mid Pennsylvanian. This, along with eroded
material from the nearby mountain range, become the Paradox Formation, itself a
part of the Hermosa Group. Paradox salt beds started to flow later in the
Pennsylvanian and probably continued to move until the end of the Jurassic. Some scientists believe Upheaval Dome was
created from Paradox salt bed movement, creating a salt
dome, but more modern
studies show that the meteorite theory is more likely to be
correct.
A warm shallow sea again flooded the
region near the end of the Pennsylvanian. Fossil-rich limestones, sandstones, and shales of the gray-colored Honaker Trail
Formation resulted. A period of erosion then ensued, creating a break in
the geologic record called an unconformity. Early in the Permian an advancing sea laid down
the Halgaito Shale. Coastal lowlands later returned to the area, forming
the Elephant Canyon Formation.
Large alluvial
fans filled the
basin where it met the Uncompahgre Mountains, creating the Cutler red beds of iron-rich arkose sandstone. Underwater sand
bars and sand
dunes on the coast
inter-fingered with the red beds and later became the white-colored
cliff-forming Cedar Mesa Sandstone. Brightly colored oxidized muds were then deposited, forming
the Organ Rock Shale. Coastal sand dunes and marine sand bars once again became
dominant, creating the White Rim Sandstone.
A second unconformity was created after
the Permian sea retreated. Flood plains on an expansive lowland covered the
eroded surface and mud built up in tidal flats, creating the Moenkopi Formation.
Erosion returned, forming a third unconformity. The Chinle Formation was
then laid down on top of this eroded surface.
Increasingly dry climates dominated the
Triassic. Therefore, sand in the form of sand dunes invaded and became
the Wingate Sandstone. For a time climatic conditions became wetter and streams
cut channels through the sand dunes, forming the Kayenta Formation. Arid
conditions returned to the region with a vengeance; a large desert spread over much of western North America and
later became the Navajo Sandstone. A fourth unconformity was created by a
period of erosion.
Mud flats returned, forming the Carmel Formation and
the Entrada Sandstone was laid down next. A long period of erosion stripped
away most of the San Rafael Group in the area along with any formations that
may have been laid down in the Cretaceous period.
The Laramide orogeny started
to uplift the Rocky Mountains 70
million years ago and with it the Canyonlands region. Erosion intensified and
when the Colorado River Canyon reached the salt beds of the Paradox Formation
the overlying strata extended toward the river canyon, forming features such as
The Grabens. Increased precipitation during the ice
ages of the Pleistocene quickened the rate of canyon
excavation along with other erosion. Similar types of erosion are ongoing, but
occur at a slower rate.