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All tagged Canyons
Make sure you bring an extra memory card for your camera, because nearly every square inch of this park is picture worthy. Two thousand foot tall sandstone bluffs seem irresponsibly tall, yet millions of people make the pilgrimage to climb these cliffs every year. Towering vertical walls feel like the world’s largest tunnel is missing its ceiling. It’s easy to see how some might feel religious in such an incredible natural sanctuary.
The Grand Canyon is known worldwide and is considered one of the 7 wonders of the world, but it was not made a national park until 1919. Despite its remoteness, it is the second most visited National Park in the U.S.
Some of the greatest views available at a state park can be found at Dead Horse Point. A nearly 360 degree view of the precipitous canyons that make Canyonlands National Park so spectacular, the Colorado River, and the La Sal Mountains can be found at the end of UT-313, roughly forty minutes from Moab, Utah. The magnificent views and peculiar name make this state park a local favorite. You may see Dead Horse Point T-shirts and hoodies in Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. The park got its name form the narrow end of the mesa. Cowboys would herd wild horses toward the cliffs, where they would be cornered between fences and the sheer cliffs. The most docile would be broken and tamed, and for reasons unknown, the rest were left for dead.
A marvelous maze of canyons stretching across eastern Utah. Second only to the grand canyon, this massive expanse of cliffs was carved by the Green and Colorado Rivers. Three distinct districts (Island in the Sky, Needles, and the Maze) are comprised of spectacular rock formations sculpted by the force of wind and water.
This vertical rock wall canyon is bested only by the Grand Canyon in inspiring awe in those who gaze upon its wonder. Shear rock walls, hundreds of feet high loom over the valley below. Views are so vast, it’s difficult to get a sense of scale of objects on the canyon floor. Chelly is pronounced “Shay”
Colorado is usually only associated with the Rocky Mountains, but the state shares 1/4thof the four corners monument with the Southwest. Being only forty miles from the eastern Utah border, Colorado shares the red sandstone cliffs and canyons southern Utah is famous for. The plateau from which these canyons are carved sits high above the city of Grand Junction, the Rio Grande River Valley, and Interstate-70. If you’re traveling through Grand Junction, set aside an hour so you can at least take the scenic drive through the park.
In 1872 Yellowstone became the first National Park in the world, and for good reason. The natural wonders contained within the border of the park are like the greatest hits of public lands. Mountains, canyons, waterfalls, wildlife, and an assortment of geothermal phenomena let you experience the majesty of the natural wonders found within this beautiful country.
One of the newest national monuments. An enormous bridge spans the even more impressive canyon that splits the New Mexican high desert in two.
The San Juan River cuts deep here and nearly doubles back on itself in multiple locations. This spectacular sight is only a few minutes off of Rt. 261 in Utah and is only 45 minutes from the famous Monument Valley. If you’re in the area and have a little time to spare, the views here are incredible.
Ancestral Puebloan Ruins tucked into alcoves in spectacular canyons. The relatives of modern day Navajo Native Americans once subsisted here in the harsh dry desert. Around the year 1300, a major mass exodus of nearly the entire Southwest led to the abandonment of countless ancestral villages, including those here at Navajo National Monument.
