Canyonlands National Park
IUCN Category II (National Park)
Location:	Utah, USA
Nearest city:	Moab, Utah
Coordinates:	38°12′0″N, 109°56′0″W
Area:	337,597.83 acres   (337,570.43 federal) 1,366.21 km²
Established:	September 12, 1964
Visitation:	371,706 (in 2004)
Governing body:	National Park Service

Canyonlands National Park, located near Moab, Utah and the Arches National Park, was designated as a National Park on September 12, 1964. The park covers 527.5 mi² (1,366 km²). The World Conservation Union or International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) is an international organization dedicated to natural resource conservation. ... Yosemite National Park in the United States. ... Image File history File links Locator_Dot. ... Image File history File links US_Locator_Blank. ... Official language(s) English Capital Salt Lake City Largest city Salt Lake City Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 13th 219,887 km² 435 km 565 km 3. ... Moab is a city located in Grand County, Utah. ... September 12 is the 255th day of the year (256th in leap years). ... For the Nintendo 64 emulator, see 1964 (Emulator). ... The National Park Service (NPS) is the United States federal agency that manages all National Parks, many National Monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations. ... Moab is a city located in Grand County, Utah. ... Arches National Park preserves over 2,000 natural sandstone arches, including the world-famous Delicate Arch, in addition to a variety of unique geological resources and formations. ... Yosemite National Park in the United States. ... September 12 is the 255th day of the year (256th in leap years). ... For the Nintendo 64 emulator, see 1964 (Emulator). ... To help compare orders of magnitude of different geographical regions, we list here areas between 1,000 km² and 10,000 km². See also areas of other orders of magnitude. ...

Canyons carved into the Colorado Plateau by the Colorado River and Green River partition the area into three major districts: The Colorado Plateau, also called the Colorado Plateaus Province, is a physiographic region of the Intermontane Plateaus, roughly centered on the Four Corners region of the southwestern United States. ... Colorado River in the Grand Canyon from Desert View The Colorado River is a river in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, approximately 1,450 mi (2,333 km) long, draining a part of the arid regions on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. ... The Green River, a tributary of the Colorado, is shown highlighted on a map of the western United States The Green River is a tributary of the Colorado River, 730 mi (1,175 km) long, in the western United States. ...

• Island in the Sky to the north
• The Needles to the south-east
• The Maze to the west

Apart from the three major districts there is also a small detached section to the west, the Horseshoe Canyon. There are two places known as Horseshoe Canyon. ...

Geography

The Island in the Sky and Needles districts are accessible via paved roads from U.S. 191 which passes through Moab. The Maze is the most remote of the three districts and is only accessible from the west (Utah 24 or 95) via unpaved roads. There are no road connections between the districts within the park and traveling between them may take two to six hours by car. U.S. Highway 191 is a spur of former U.S. Highway 91 that has two branches. ... Moab is a city located in Grand County, Utah. ...

Island in the Sky is a broad and level mesa to the north of the park between Colorado and Green river with many spectacular overlooks over the White Rim, a sandstone bench 1200 feet (365 m) below the Island, and the rivers which are another 1000 feet (304 m) below the White Rim. Several mesas near Los Alamos, New Mexico. ... Colorado River in the Grand Canyon from Desert View The Colorado River is a river in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, approximately 1,450 mi (2,333 km) long, draining a part of the arid regions on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. ... The Green River, a tributary of the Colorado, is shown highlighted on a map of the western United States The Green River is a tributary of the Colorado River, 730 mi (1,175 km) long, in the western United States. ...

View from the Grand Viewpoint Overlook

The Needles district is named after the red and white banded rock pinnacles which dominate it but various other forms of naturally sculptured rock like 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, however, where many arches are accessible by short to moderate hikes or even by car, most of the arches in the Needles district lie in backcountry canyons and take long hikes or four-wheel-drive trips to reach. View from the Grand Viewpoint Overlook, Canyonlands National Park, Utah, Island in the Sky district. ... View from the Grand Viewpoint Overlook, Canyonlands National Park, Utah, Island in the Sky district. ... Arches National Park preserves over 2,000 natural sandstone arches, including the world-famous Delicate Arch, in addition to a variety of unique geological resources and formations. ... The Jeep Wrangler is a 4WD vehicle with a transfer case to select low range or high range 4WD. The Lamborghini Murciélago is a 4WD/AWD that powers the front via a VCU if the rear slips. ...

This area was once home of the Ancestral Puebloan Indians of which many traces can be found. Although the items and tools they used have been largely taken away by looters, many 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. Ancient Pueblo People, or Ancestral Puebloans is the preferred term for the group of peoples often known as Anasazi who are the ancestors of the modern Pueblo peoples. ... Petroglyphs on Newspaper Rock State Historic Monument, southern Utah, USA Petroglyphs are images incised in rock, usually by prehistoric, especially Neolithic, peoples. ...

The Maze district west of the Colorado and Green rivers is the most remote and inaccessible section.

The small detached section to the west, the Horseshoe Canyon unit, contains large panels of rock art made by hunter-gatherers who predated the Ancestral Puebloans. The most notable panel in the canyon is named the Great Gallery. There are two places known as Horseshoe Canyon. ...

Geology

Main article: Geology of the Canyonlands area

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 evaporite deposits 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. The exposed geology of the Canyonlands area is complex and diverse; 12 formations are exposed in Canyonlands National Park that range in age from Pennsylvanian to Cretaceous. ... Basin has several meanings: Look up basin in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The most general definition of a mountain range is a group of mountains bordered by lowlands. ... The Pennsylvanian is a geologic (sub)period lasting from roughly 325 million years before the present (BP) to 286 million years BP. As with most other geologic periods, the rock beds that define the period are well identified, but the exact date of the start and end are uncertain by... Evaporites are water-soluble, mineral sediments that result from the evaporation of saline water. ... The Jurassic period is a major unit of the geologic timescale that extends from about 200 Ma (million years ago) at the end of the Triassic to 146 Ma at the beginning of the Cretaceous. ... Upheaval Dome is a meteor crater in Utah, United States. ...

Mesa Arch, Canyonlands National Park

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. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (4408x1581, 946 KB) Summary Subject: Mesa Arch, Canyonlands National Park, Utah, USA Author: Michael Rissi, 2005 Licensing I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (4408x1581, 946 KB) Summary Subject: Mesa Arch, Canyonlands National Park, Utah, USA Author: Michael Rissi, 2005 Licensing I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU... A fossil Ammonite Fossils (from Latin fossus, literally having been dug up) are the mineralized or otherwise preserved remains or traces (such as footprints) of animals, plants, and other organisms. ... Limey shale overlaid by limestone. ... Sandstone near Stadtroda, Germany Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-size mineral or rock grains. ... Shale Shale is a fine-grained sedimentary rock whose original constituents were clays or muds. ... Severe soil erosion in a wheat field near Washington State University, USA. Erosion is the displacement of solids (soil, mud, rock, and other particles) by the agents of wind, water, ice, movement in response to gravity, or living organisms (in the case of bioerosion). ... An unconformity is a gap in time in rock layers, where erosion occurs while deposition slows or stops. ... The Permian is a geologic period that extends from about 299. ...

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 dominate, creating the White Rim Sandstone. Alluvial Fan in Death Valley An alluvial fan is a fan-shaped deposit where a fast flowing stream flattens, slows, and spreads typically at the exit of a canyon onto a flatter plain. ... General Name, Symbol, Number iron, Fe, 26 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 8, 4, d Appearance lustrous metallic with a grayish tinge Atomic mass 55. ... In geography, a bar is a linear shoaling landform feature within a body of water. ... This article is about the sand formations, for other meanings see Dune (disambiguation) Mesquite Flat Dunes in Death Valley National Park In physical geography, a dune is a hill of sand built by eolian (wind-related) processes. ... The most fundamental reactions in chemistry are the redox processes. ...

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. A dune in the Egyptian desert In geography, a desert is a landscape form or region that receives little precipitation - less than 250 mm (10 in) per year. ... World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ...

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 Cretaceous period is one of the major divisions of the geologic timescale, reaching from the end of the Jurassic period, about 146 million years ago (Ma), to the beginning of the Paleocene epoch of the Tertiary period (65. ...

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. The Laramide orogeny was a 30 million year period of mountain building in western North America that started in the Late Cretaceous, 70 million years ago, and ended in the Late Paleogene 40 million years ago. ... White Goat Wilderness Area, Alberta, Canada The Rocky Mountains, often called the Rockies, are a broad mountain range in western North America. ... Variations in CO2, temperature and dust from the Vostok ice core over the last 400 000 years For the animated movie, see Ice Age (movie). ... The Pleistocene Epoch is part of the geologic timescale. ...

References

• National Park Service website
• Geology of National Parks: Fifth Edition, Ann G. Harris, Esther Tuttle, Sherwood D., Tuttle (Iowa, Kendall/Hunt Publishing; 1997) ISBN 0-7872-5353-7
• The National Parks: Index 2001–2003. Washington: U.S. Department of the Interior.

The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is a Cabinet department of the United States government that manages and conserves most federally-owned land. ...

External links

• National Park Service: Canyonlands National Park
• Travel guide to Canyonlands National Park from Wikitravel
• Photos of Canyonlands National Park - Terra Galleria
• Travel guide to Canyonlands National Park
• Photographic virtual tour of Canyonlands
• Guide to Canyonlands National Park on Compassmonkey.com
• Canyonlight photography tours Canyonlands area images.

National Parks of the United States

Acadia | American Samoa | Arches | Badlands | Big Bend | Biscayne | Black Canyon of the Gunnison | Bryce Canyon | Canyonlands | Capitol Reef | Carlsbad Caverns | Channel Islands | Congaree | Crater Lake | Cuyahoga Valley | Death Valley | Denali | Dry Tortugas | Everglades | Gates of the Arctic | Glacier | Glacier Bay | Grand Canyon | Grand Teton | Great Basin | Great Sand Dunes | Great Smoky Mountains | Guadalupe Mountains | Haleakala | Hawaii Volcanoes | Hot Springs | Isle Royale | Joshua Tree | Katmai | Kenai Fjords | Kings Canyon | Kobuk Valley | Lake Clark | Lassen Volcanic | Mammoth Cave | Mesa Verde | Mount Rainier | North Cascades | Olympic | Petrified Forest | Redwood | Rocky Mountain | Saguaro | Sequoia | Shenandoah | Theodore Roosevelt | Virgin Islands | Voyageurs | Wind Cave | Wrangell-St. Elias | Yellowstone | Yosemite | Zion The parks of the United States National Park system are one type of protected area in the United States and are operated by the National Park Service. ... File links The following pages link to this file: Image:Delicatearch. ... Acadia National Park preserves much of Mount Desert Island, and associated smaller islands, off the Atlantic coast of Maine. ... Arches National Park preserves over 2,000 natural sandstone arches, including the world-famous Delicate Arch, in addition to a variety of unique geological resources and formations. ... Badlands National Park, in southwest South Dakota, preserves 242,756 acres (982 km²) of sharply eroded buttes, pinnacles and spires blended with the largest protected mixed grass prairie in the United States. ... Big Bend National Park is a national park located in Texas, USA. For more than 1,000 miles (1600 km) the Rio Grande / Río Bravo forms the international boundary between Mexico and the United States; Big Bend National Park administers approximately one-quarter of that boundary. ... Biscayne National Park is a U.S. National Park located in southern Florida, due east of Homestead, FL. The park preserves Biscayne Bay, one of the top scuba diving areas in the United States. ... Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park is a United States National Park located in western Colorado. ... Bryce Canyon National Park is a national park located in southwestern Utah in the United States. ... Capitol Reef National Park is a United States National Park, in south-central Utah. ... Carlsbad Caverns National Park is a United States National Park located in the Guadalupe Mountains the southeastern corner of New Mexico, Eddy County. ... The Channel Islands National Park is a national park that consists of five of the eight Channel Islands off the coast of the U.S. state of California, in the Pacific Ocean. ... Located in South Carolina, the 34 mi² (89 km²) Congaree National Park is the largest tract of old growth bottomland hardwood forest left in the United States but one of the smallest national parks. ... Crater Lake National Park is a U.S. National Park located in Oregon whose most famous feature is Crater Lake. ... Cuyahoga River in the park Categories: Stub | National parks of the United States | Ohio landmarks ... Death Valley National Park is a mostly arid national park located east of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in Inyo County, California, USA with a small extension and exclave (Devils Hole) in Nevada. ... Denali National Park Denali National Park and Preserve is located in Interior Alaska and contains Mount McKinley, the tallest mountain in North America. ... Dry Tortugas National Park is a United States National Park, located in the Dry Tortugas islands of the Florida Keys. ... Everglades National Park preserves the southern portion of the Everglades (all south of Tamiami Trail), but represents only 20 % of the original wetland area. ... Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve is one of several large U.S. National Parks in Alaska. ... Glacier National Park is a National Park in the U.S. state of Montana. ... The area around Glacier Bay in southeastern Alaska was first proclaimed a U.S. National Monument on February 25, 1925. ... Grand Canyon National Park is one of Americas oldest national parks and is located in Arizona. ... Grand Teton National Park is a United States National Park located in western Wyoming, south of Yellowstone National Park. ... Great Basin National Park is a United States National Park, located in east-central Nevada near its border with Utah. ... Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve became a United States National Park by an act of Congress on September 13, 2004. ... The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a United States National Park that straddles the ridgeline of the Appalachian Mountains. ... Guadalupe Mountains National Park is located in the Guadalupe Mountains of West Texas and contains Guadalupe Peak, the highest point in Texas at 8,749 feet (2,667 m) in elevation. ... Haleakalā National Park is a United States national park located on the island of Maui in the state of Hawaii. ... Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, established in 1916, displays the results of 70 million years of volcanism, migration, and evolution—processes that thrust a bare land from the sea and clothed it with complex and unique ecosystems and a distinct human culture. ... Established from Hot Springs Reservation, Hot Springs National Park is a United States National Park in central Arkansas adjacent to the town of Hot Springs. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Isle Royale. ... A Joshua tree silhouetted by a rock Joshua Tree National Park is located in south-eastern California. ... Katmai National Park and Preserve is a United States National Park in Alaska, notable for the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes and for its brown bears. ... Established in 1980 by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, Kenai Fjords National Park is a United States National Park on the Kenai Peninsula in southcentral Alaska near the town of Seward. ... This Article is about Kings Canyon National Park, USA. For Kings Canyon, Australia, see Kings Canyon, Northern Territory. ... Established in 1980 by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, Kobuk Valley National Park is a United States National Park in northwestern Alaska north of the Arctic Circle. ... Established in 1980 by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, Lake Clark National Park and Preserve is a United States National Park in southwestern Alaska. ... Map of Lassen area showing hydrothermal features (red dots) and volcanic feature or remnant (yellow cones). ... Mammoth Cave National Park is a U.S. National Park in south-central Kentucky, encompassing portions of Mammoth Cave, the most extensive cave system known in the world. ... Mesa Verde National Park is a national park, located in southwest Colorado. ... Mount Rainier National Park is a United States National Park located in southeast Pierce County, Washington. ... Looking toward Magic Mountain from the Cascade Pass trail North Cascades National Park is a U.S. National Park located in Washington state. ... Olympic National Park is located in the U.S. state of Washington, in the far northwestern part of the state known as the Olympic Peninsula. ... Petrified Forest National Park is located in northeastern Arizona, along Interstate 40 between Holbrook and Navajo. ... Established in 1968 from unprotected land as well as small portions of existing state parks, Redwood National Park is a United States National Park on the northern coast of California between Eureka and Crescent City. ... Rocky Mountain National Park is located in the north central region of the U.S. state of Colorado. ... Saguaro National Park, located in the state of Arizona, is part of the United States system of national parks. ... Sequoia National Park is a national park in the southern Sierra Nevada, east of Fresno, California. ... Shenandoah National Park encompasses part of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the Piedmont region of Virginia. ... Established in 1978, Theodore Roosevelt National Park is a United States National Park comprising three geographically separated areas of badlands in western North Dakota. ... Established in 1975, Voyageurs National Park is a United States National Park in northern Minnesota near the town of International Falls. ... Wind Cave National Park is a United States national park 11 miles (18 km) north of the town of Hot Springs in western South Dakota. ... Established in 1980 by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, Wrangell-St. ... For the next-generation airliner series from Boeing, see Boeing Yellowstone. ... Yosemite National Park (pronounced Yo-SEM-it-tee, IPA ) is a national park largely in Mariposa County, and Tuolumne County, California, United States. ... Zion National Park is located near Springdale, Utah in the southwestern United States. ...