GSENM, The Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, Utah
Escalante State Park, Hole in the Rock Road, Cottonwood Canyon Road, Grosvenor Arch, Willis Creek Slot Canyon, Bull Valley George, The Devils Rock Garden, Dinosaur, The Petrified Forest, Calf Creek Falls, Skutumpah Road are many of the Adventure locations for you to explore!
Author: Bob Therrien
The Grand Staircase in southern Utah is an immense sequence of sedimentary rock layers that stretch south from Bryce Canyon National Park through Zion National Park and into the Grand Canyon. In the 1870s, geologist Clarence Dutton first conceptualized this region as a huge stairway ascending out of the bottom of the Grand Canyon northward with the cliff edge of each layer forming giant steps. Dutton divided this layer cake of Earth history into five steps that he colorfully named Pink Cliffs, Grey Cliffs, White Cliffs, Vermilion Cliffs, and Chocolate Cliffs. Since then, modern geologists have further divided Dutton’s steps into individual rock formations.
Visiting Utah can be quite an experience. If you’ve heard about slot canyons and canyoneering, then you’ve probably read about southern Utah. The major airports to fly into the region are normally Las Vegas for southern Utah or Salt Lake City for northern Utah. Researching your trip normally means selecting your areas of interest from the following regions.
· Northern Utah - Central Utah - Southern Utah
The Grand Staircase can be accessed from Southern Utah. It is vast and very diverse. Some of the activities people enjoy are:
- Hiking
- Camping
- Biking
- ATV
- Scenic Drives
- Horseback Riding
- Wildlife
- Rivers
What makes the Grand Staircase worldly unique is that it preserves more Earth history than any other place on Earth. Geologists often liken the study of sedimentary rock layers to reading a history book–layer by layer, detailed chapter by detailed chapter. The problem is that in most places in the world, the book has been severely damaged by the rise and fall of mountains, the scouring of glaciers, etc. Usually these chapters are completely disarticulated from each other and often whole pages are just missing. Yet the Grand Staircase and the lower cliffs that comprise the Grand Canyon remain largely intact speaking to over 600 million years of continuous Earth history with only a few paragraphs missing here and there.
Many people drive into the GSENM on Cottonwood or Skutumpah Roads and enjoy the hikes listed below. These road are very close to Kodachrome Basin State Park, which is very colorful and interesting.
- Willis Creek
- Bull Valley Gorge
- Lick Wash
- Hackberry
- Cottonwood Wash
- Wahweap Hoodoos
Unfortunately, the Grand Staircase is such a vast region of rock that no matter where you stand on its expanse, most of it will be hidden behind the curvature of Earth. Places such as Yovimpa Point and the north slope of the Kaibab Plateau are the exception where even a non-geologist can discern the individual chapters of this colossal history book–these immense steps of Dutton’s Grand Staircase.
The sections or steps in the Grand Staircase are named for the dominant color of rock. You are standing on the top step known as the Pink Cliffs. The entire Pink Cliffs of Bryce are but a single step in the much larger Grand Staircase. Directly below you are the Grey Cliffs. As you look into the distance you can see Molly’s Nipple which is part of the White Cliffs. Looking down into distant canyons near the horizon, you can just make out some red rock underneath the White Cliffs. This red rock makes up the Vermilion Cliffs. Hidden from view but directly under the Towering Vermilion cliffs are the comparatively diminutive, Chocolate Cliffs. The tree-covered hills that meet the horizon belong to the Kaibab Plateau — the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.
Some of the source content of this article was obtained from the National Park Service.
Research, read and share trip reports and pics here.
Activities to Enjoy: |
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| Hiking | Golf | ATVs | Boating |
| Camping | Ice Skating | Biking | Rafting |
| Hunting | Wildlife | Fall Colors | Scenic Drives |
| Museums | Lakes/Rivers | Snowmobiling | Dog Sledding |
| Horseback Riding | Fresh Water Fishing | ||
| Climbing/Canyoneering | Festivals/State Fairs | ||
| Alpine & Nordic Skiing/Snowboarding | |||
We’d Like to invite you to be a guest blogger on this site and to share some information by posting on http://www.adventurezonetours.com
Press Release:
National Parks, State Parks, National Monuments, and Wilderness Areas, All in One Website!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT OUR NATIONAL PARKS –
On AdventureZoneTOURS.com
Cedar City, UT (February 27, 2007) The good news is that the United States of America has protected some of the most unique and incredible places to see on earth, and to encourage visitors, AdventureZoneTOURS.com brings all the parks, monuments, and wilderness areas into one online message board where people can share information about these fantastic outdoors resources.
The bad news is that the National Parks face a budget crisis. Struggling to protect the historic, cultural and natural resources, the parks are short of funds for operating facilities, repairs to roads, bridges, trails and buildings. In 2006, a $814 million shortfall was reported. With the National Park Service covering almost 400 protected areas, NPS has fewer employees to service the growing number of visitors per year. Over 273,000,000 people visited the National Parks in 2005, with reports of declining visitors. AdventureZoneTOURS.com fills in the gap where information on locations and services are currently lacking. Instead of contacting a variety of parks or wilderness areas to compile your trip, now planning and previewing a vacation or adventure is just a click away on AdventureZoneTOURS.COM.
In a recent trend, volunteering has become very popular with more people
Bob
The Outdoor Adventure Message Board opens up to reveal historic park photos and a listing of U.S. States separated into travel regions. Click on search to find your park or any state region and there are sub forums for all the parks, monuments and wilderness areas in that region. You’ll find links to park maps, webcams and several interesting choices to pick from within a state region. Choose just the park to visit or check special interest message boards for posts on volunteer opportunities and travel for women only, men, training retreats, or shuttle posts.
For the activity-specific minded, AdventureZoneTOURS.com encourages users to share trip reports for a variety of outdoor activities from hiking, climbing, canyoneering, geo exploring, photography, ghost towns, mines, and cave to water sports such as boating, fishing, jet and water skiing, tubing, rafting, and scuba. Winter travel sports locations for snowmobiling, skiing and snowboarding are featured. Hunting locations, ATV and horseback trails as well as the most scenic areas for outdoor photography are also available as individual topic posts. To research or share your favorite adventure travel location, and for more information, log on to www.AdventureZoneTOURS.com.
