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Escalante
is centrally located to numerous visitor
attractions and cities in southern Utah.
It is an excellent destination in itself,
in addition to serving as a stop over between
other scenic destinations.
The
Grand Staircase
Broad,
tilted terraces form the Grand Staircase.
From the south the terraces step up in great
technicolor cliffs: Vermilion,White, Gray,
Pink. Together these escarpments expose
200 million years of the earth's history
in a dramatic geologic library.
The
deep, brilliant red Moenkopi sandstone of
the Vermilion Cliffs, with their flared
bases of Chinle badlands, contain many fossils
of fish and early dinosaurs from the Triassic
Period. This step is easy to see near Kanab,
Utah (at the southern edge of the monument).
A
step north, the nearly unbroken line of
the White Cliffs is composed of Jurassic
sand dunes solidified into Navajo sandstone.It
was  formed
by the deposition of sand in ancient sand
dunes. This step is most easily seen in
the Escalante and Calf Creek areas.
Above
the White Cliffs, the younger, shaley Gray
Cliffs present a softer profile. Deposited
when an ocean covered the land, they contain
evidence of marine life: seashells, shark's
teeth, and beds of coal from compressed
swamp and marsh plants. This step is seen
in the central portion of the Monument,
especially along the Hole-in-the-Rock Road.
At
the top of the Grand Staircase, the limey
siltstone Pink Cliffs were deposited by
an ancient freshwater lake and now lie mostly
in Bryce Canyon National Park. This last
step was formed as mud, silt and limestone
were deposited in a series of lakes. In
this staircase of cliffs and terraces, the
Paria River and its tributaries have carved
a landscape of isolated mesas, valleys,
buttes, and narrow canyons easily seen around
the town of Tropic.
Bryce
Canyon National Park
Named for one of a series of horseshoe-shaped
amphitheaters carved from the eastern edge
of the Paunsaugunt Plateau in Southern Utah.
Erosion has  shaped
colorful Claron limestones, sandstones and
mudstones into thousands of spires, fins,
pinnacles and mazes. Collectively called
"hoodoos," these unique formations
are whimsically arranged and tinted with
colors too numerous and subtle to name.
Ponderosa pines, high elevation meadows
and fir-spruce forests border the rim of
the plateau, while panoramic views of three
states spread beyond the park's boundaries.
This area boasts some of the nation's best
air quality. This, coupled with the lack
of nearby large light sources, creates unparalleled
opportunities for stargazing.
From the town of Escalante: Travel west
on Utah 12 to the intersection with Utah
63. Turn south (left) to reach the park
entrance.
Capitol
Reef
The most scenic portion of the Waterpocket
Fold, found near the Fremont River, is known
as Capitol Reef: "capitol" for
the white domes of Navajo Sandstone that
resemble capitol building rotundas, and
"reef" for the rocky cliffs which
are a barrier to travel, like a coral reef.
Capitol Reef National Park was established
because of the scenic rock domes and narrow
canyons found along the trace of the Waterpocket
Fold. Indeed, the park boundaries were drawn
to encompass most of the Fold. Capitol Reef
is a place to enjoy the scenic majesty formed
by geologic processes, and also to appreciate
the interrelationships between the Earth
and all life found in the varied environments
within the park--from the forested slopes
of Thousand Lake Mountain, to the green
oasis of Fruita, to the barren Bentonite
Hills.
From
the town of Escalante: Travel north on Utah
12 to the intersection with Utah 24. Turn
East (right) on Hwy 24 for approx. 6 miles.
Turn Right toward park entrance.
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