Explore South Utah's Canyon Parks
Five of USA's Most Colorful Attractions Draw Worldwide Visitors
Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon, Arches National Park, Canyonlands and Capitol Reef National Park, though all part of the U. S. park system, are not look-alikes.
Down through the ages, the Erosion trio – wind, water and frost – have worked ceaselessly to create a geologic extravaganza in the southern half of Utah.. Located within a 200-mile circle, the five national parks, Zion, Canyonlands, Arches, Capitol Reef and Bryce Canyon, cover an incredible 1,339 square miles of spectacular natural displays.
A Hiker's Favorite
The major rock formations in Zion National Park, about 20 miles south of Cedar City, have an ecclesiastical ring to their names – Great White Throne, Angels Landing, Cathedral Mountain and the Pulpit. Luckily for non-hikers, they’re all easily seen from the roadside.
The sheer rock walls of Main Canyon have been carved by the Virgin River’s constant erosion. The park’s main road follows the riverbed and passes near or tunnels through some of the most brilliantly colored formations in the world.
River Rafters' Challenge
Two other rivers, the mighty Colorado and the Green, have contributed their share of erosive wonders in Canyonlands National Park, cutting down into the earth nearly 1,500 feet. The rivers join forces inside the park, then plunge through Cataract Canyon, the wildest for river-runners in the United States. From the Island in the Sky section in the park’s south to the Needles area in the north, rock fingers pointing heavenward, stream eroded arches, wind-weathered stone bridges and giant sandstone castles keep visitors in a perpetual state of awe.
Underneath the Arches
Second smallest of the parks, The Arches, boasts the largest concentration of stone walk-or-crawl throughs anywhere in the world – 89 – including the granddaddy of them all, 291-foot long Landscape Arch. Towers, monoliths and massive pinnacles round out the park’s rocky attractions.
More arches, pinnacles, scarps, gorges, petrified forests and petroglyphs carved by pre-Columbian Indians are featured at Capitol Reef. Described as having “the fantasy of Bryce Canyon and the grandeur of Zion, but with more color than either,” the park itself is shaped rather like a pinnacle. Huge domed formations capped with white sandstone, resembling the nation’s capitol, gave Capitol Reef its name. The domes are part of the Waterpocket Fold, a 100-mile-long bulge in the earth’s crust. Pockets eroded in the fold act as catch basins for thousands of gallons of water each time it rains.
Variety in Abundance
Technically, Bryce Canyon really isn’t a canyon at all, but rather a series of breaks in 12 enormous amphitheaters. Nearly 60 different colored layers of pink and white limestone make up its 1000-foot deep “canyon” walls. Each amphitheater has its own unique set of formations – one looks like ruins of a Gothic cathedral; another, vast columns of pink-shrouded monks marching in formation.
Wildlife in the parks is as varied as the scenery. Bryce, Zion and Canyonlands animals are largely of the desert variety and mostly nocturnal; mule deer, coyote, cougar small reptiles, rodents and birds life in Capitol Reef. Perhaps it’s those neet nooks and crannies that make the Arches a favorite hangout for the wild ones (although that human wild one, Butch Cassidy, chose Capitol Reef for his hideouts. Typical Great Basin desert mammals – deer, coyote and foxes – squirrels, kangaroo rats, rabbits, reptiles and small birds romp, slither and fly around the park’s 129 square miles.
Which park to choose? If you’ve time, take the Grand Circle Tour that begins either a few miles northeast of St. George, Utah or about 50 miles north of Williams, Arizona. Campgrounds are located in all the parks and motel facilities are available in nearby cities.
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