Canyonlands National Park

Not far from Arches National Park is Canyonlands National Park so naturally we zipped on over there after our Arches visit ... but definitely not the same day!  Each of these parks is a minimum of a one-day visit or more.  If you are a hiker, then you could spend at least two or more days in each park.  Since we have Sadie with us (and dogs aren't allowed on national park trails) we aren't avid hikers anymore, although we did some great hikes in Rocky Mountain National Park.

So, let's begin by saying "Hello!" to this next national park on our Utah national park whirlwind tour!

Honestly, we really didn't know much about this park other than its strategic location next to Arches. So, this one-day tour through the park was a pleasant surprise.  The key word for this national park (as it will be for the next one, Capitol Reef) is PANORAMA.  The spectacular panoramas we saw were breathtaking and hard to catch on film.  We did our best for you (and  posterity, of course) but truly it wasn't good enough (sorry to say).  

Canyonlands preserves a wilderness of rock at the heart of the Colorado Plateau.  Water and gravity, this land's prime architects, cut flat layers of sedimentary rock into hundreds of canyons, mesas, buttes, fins, arches, and spires. At center stage are two canyons carved by the Green and Colorado Rivers.  Surrounding the rivers are vast, very different regions:  Islands in the Sky on the north, The Maze on the west, and The Needles on the east (we only visited the Islands in the Sky region).  They share a common primitive spirit and wild West atmosphere.  Few people knew these remote lands and rivers well when the national park was established in 1964.  Only American Indians, cowboys, river explorers, uranium prospectors had dared enter this rugged corner of southeastern Utah. Canyonlands remains largely untrammeled--its roads mostly unpaved, trails primitive, and rivers free-flowing.  Bighorn sheep, coyotes, and other native animals roams its 527 square miles. Canyonlands is wild America!

One of the first features before you enter the park are two side-by-side buttes the Monitor and the Merrimac--aptly named after two iron-clad Civil War ships.  The Merrimac (on the left) was named after the Confederate ship called "The Virginia" by the Southern forces.  The Monitor was the Union ship sent to destroy the Merrimac. The resulting sea battle changed maritime warfare forever.

The Monitor and Merrimac buttes are composed of Estrada sandstone, the very same that forms many of the arches in Arches National Park.  

The Merrimac

 The Monitor

Cairns are a feature in many of the Utah National Parks.  They are used by Park Rangers to mark trails.  I really liked this particular cairn.  They ask that you don't remove stones from a cairn nor move them from their locations.  They really do help establish a trail and give great direction!

One feature of the Colorado Plateau that makes it so beautiful is the many and varied colors of the rock layers. The coloration is due to the various minerals found in the rocks.  These colors react to weathering by coloring the rocks. The prominent reds and yellows in the landscape are formed when the iron in the rocks is exposed to the atmosphere.  The black sheen seen on many rocks, especially on cliff faces, is formed by manganese.  (This black sheen is called "desert varnish.")  Purples and greens are caused by clay minerals in the Morrison and Chinle formations.

Let's continue our tour through this amazingly colorful landscape.  The first stop was Shafer Canyon Overlook in the Island of the Sky region of the park.

 

 

 

 

 

Can you see some of the similarities between the landscape below and at Arches?

 

Our next stop was Mesa Arch ... yup, there's a great arch in Canyonlands too!

Didn't Gary get an excellent shot through the arch?  It could almost be considered a window because of the fabulous features you see through it.

This is more scenery from the Mesa Arch overlook.

 

The next stop on our journey was the Green River Overlook at 6,000 foot elevation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Here we are waving "hello" from the picnic area after lunch.

After lunch we continued our drive to Buck Canyon Overlook.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Yes, it's another arch!

 

 

 

Our last and final overlook was Grand View Point, elevation 6,080 feet.

 

 

 

 

I'll finish this blog off with a nice video panning one of the scenic overlooks -- wish I could remember which one it was, but everything seems so jumbled and out of order when mixing photos from three different electronic devices!

Psalms 104:24

O LORD, how many are Your works!  In wisdom You have made them all; 

the earth is full of Your possessions.