How Was Byrce Canyon Created:

Hoodoo Pronunciation: `hu-du noun:

Etymology: West African; from voodoo

1. A body of practices of sympathetic magic traditional especially among blacks in the southern United States
2. A natural column of rock in western North America often in fantastic form
3. Something that brings bad luck
4. Nonsense, hokum, bunkum

Transitive verb

1. To cast a spell on; broadly
2. To be a source of misfortune to

- Merriam - Webster online (wwwm-w.com)

The striking scenery that makes Bryce Canyon unique, has been created by the forces of nature sculpting the brilliantly-colored Claron Formation into a series of beautiful and unusual erosional features.

Bryce Canyon's beginnings take us back to the end of the earth's tumultuous Cretaceous Period, 65 million years ago. It was a time that brought cataclysmic changes worldwide, including the extinction of the dinosaurs.

Deposition:

The creation of this unique landscape can be traced back to a network of braided rivers and streams which transported a variety of sediments into a large freshwater lake that once covered southwestern Utah. Colorful minerals such as iron (yellow and red) and manganese (pink and violet) mixed with dissolved calcium carbonate to create this unusually colorful limestone, Over time, the water disappeared, leaving behind the multicolored Claron Formation from which Bryce Canyon's unusual scenery is carved.

Uplift & Faulting:

About 10-15 million years ago, a period of uplift began in the large region of the southwest known as the Colorado Plateau. Such tremendous stress on the earth's crust led to a period of faulting, stretching and fracturing, thereby creating a series of smaller plateaus.

The highest of these plateaus, the Table Cliff, is visible to the east of Bryce. Bryce Canyon has been carved from the eastern rim of the Paunsaugunt Plateau. The Paunsaugunt Fault, which separates these two plateaus, initiated the sculpting process by breaking the surrounding rock with vertical mini-fractures called joints. A series of perpendicular joints were also created by another earthquake zone called the Ruby's Inn Over-thrust Fault. Earthquakes along these two faults left a checkerboard pattern of fractures, priming Bryce Canyon for the forces of weathering and erosion.

Weathering & Erosion

Although Bryce Canyon receives a meager 18 inches of precipitation annually, it's amazing what this little bit of water can do under the right circumstances!

Sub-freezing nighttime temperatures and relatively warm days result in over 200 freeze-thaw cycles annually. During the afternoon, snow and ice will melt, and water seeps into the joints of the Claron Formation. Once the sun sets, tempera­tures plummet and the water re-freezes, expanding up to 9% as it becomes ice. Exerting tremendous force on the adjacent rock, this process, known as frost wedging, shatters and pries the weak rock apart.

At the same time, rain water, which is naturally acidic, is slowly dissolving away the limestone, rounding off the edges of these fractured rocks, and washing away the debris. The plateau continues to erode westward in a process called headward erosion.rock apart. In addition, rain water, which is naturally acidic, slowly dissolves the limestone, rounding off edges and washing away the debris.

Small rivulets of water run down Bryce's rim, forming gullies:

(A). As gullies are cut deeper, narrow walls of rock known as fins begin to emerge

(B). Fins eventually develop holes known as windows

(C). Windows grow larger until their roofs collapse, creating hoodoos.

(D). As old hoodoos age and collapse, new ones are born.

The conditions and processes at work here are not unique, but the distinctive way in which all of the elements operate together results in the fantastic scenery that makes Bryce Canyon is famous for its erosion. Ironically, the same forces that create Bryce Canyon’s spectacular scenery, also destroy it.

Hoodoos Cast Their Spell  

Hoodoo—a pillar of rock, usually of fantastic shape, left by erosion. Hoodoo—to cast a spell. At Bryce Canyon National Park erosion forms an array of fantastic shapes we know as hoodoos. Surrounded by the beauty of southern Utah, hoodoos cast their spell on all who visit. Geologists say that 10 million years ago forces within the Earth created and then moved the massive blocks we know as the Table Cliffs and Paunsaugunt plateaus. Rock layers on the Table Cliffs now tower 2,000 feet above their corresponding layers on the Paunsaugunt. Ancient rivers carved the tops and exposed the edges of these blocks, removing some layers and sculpting formations in others. The Paria Valley was created and later widened between the plateaus. The Paria River and its tributaries still carve the plateau edges. Carrying dirt and gravel, rushing waters gully the edges and steep slopes of the Paunsaugunt Plateau on which lies the nation­al park. With time, tall and thin ridges called fins emerge. Fins then erode into pinnacles and spires called hoodoos that, weakening and falling, add their bright colors to the hills below.

People have lived in the Colorado Plateau region for about 12,000 years, but only random fragments of worked stone reveal their presence near Bryce Canyon. Artifacts add details of human use at lower elevations beyond the park boundary. Ancestral Puebloan and Fremont cultural influence found nearby are studied by archeologists. Paiutes, who lived in this region when settlers and other people from the eastern states came to southern Utah, accounted for the hoodoos as the "Legend People" whom Coyote had turned to stone.

Capt. Clarence E. Dutton and John Wesley Powell explored this area in the 1870s and gave it many place names. Duttonn’s report gave the name Pink Cliffs to the Claron Formation. Names from the Paiute are Paunsaugunt, place or home beavers; Paria, muddy water or elk water; Panguitch, water or fish; and Yovimpa, point of pines. Paiutes were displaced by emissaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who developed many small communities in Utah. Ebenezer Bryce did such work in southwestern Utah and northern       Arizona. In 1875 Bryce came to the Paria Valley to live and harvest plateau timber. Neighbors called the canyon beh home Bryce's Canyon. Soon after 1900, people were con see the colorful geologic sights, and the first accommodations.

Utah prairie dogs live only in southwestern Utah. They are listed as a threatened spe­cies under the 1973 Endangered Species Act. They live in the parkas meadows and are members of the rodent family.

They require vegeta­tion sparse enough to see through and low enough to see over. They eat moist and nutritious grasses and grass-like forbs. Please respect their wildness. Do not try to get close to them or to any other wild animals in the park were built along the Paunsaugunt Plateau rim above Bryce's Canyon. By 1920 people were trying to protect the canyon's scenic wonders. In 1923 President Warren G. Harding pro­claimed part of the area as Bryce Canyon National Monument under the Powell (now the Dixie) National Forest. In 1924 legislation was passed to establish the area as Utah National Park, but the provisions of the legislation were not met until 1928. Legislation passed that year changed the name of the new park to Bryce Canyon National Park.

Each year more than 1.7 million people visit the park from all over the world and take delight in the sights, which are as varied as the hoodoo's shapes and colors. Open all year, the park offers recreational opportunities in each season. Hiking, sight­seeing, and photography are popular summer activities. Spring and fall months offer greater solitude. Winter quiet combines with the region's best air quality for unparalleled views and serenity. In all seasons the fantastic shapes and colors cast their spell and remind us how important it is to protect places like Bryce Canyon National Park.

Driving Along the Plateau Rim:

The 18-mile-long main park road affords out­standing views of the park and southern Utah scenery. From many overlooks you can see more than 100 miles on a clear day. On crisp winter days, only the curvature of the Earth restricts the view from Rainbow or Yovimpa points. As you drive south from the visitor center to Rain­bow Point, you gradually gain 1,200 feet of elevation. Watch how the forests change from ponderosa pine to spruce, fir, and aspen.

Drivers note: Unless you are using a camp­ground you must leave your trailer in the trailer turn-around area in summer or in the visitor center parking lot in winter.

Vehicles more than 25 feet long are not allowed at Paria View. All overlooks lie east of the road; to avoid crossing oncoming traffic, drive to the park's southern end, then make your stops at the overlooks on your return.

Fairyland Point: Lies one mile off the main road between the entrance station and park bound­ary, so many visitors miss it. Highlighted by the Sinking Ship, with the Aquarius Plateau and distant Navajo Mountain as its backdrop, this scenery rivals any in the park. In winter the road is not plowed; it is used as a cross-country ski trail.

At Sunset Point you look into Bryce Amphitheater:

Sunrise, Sunset, Inspiration, and Bryce points encircle Bryce Amphitheater, the biggest natural amphitheater in the park. The Queens Garden Trail stars at Sunrise Point –you can hike from there to either Thors Hammer or Wall Street. Inspiration Point offers the best views of Silent City. Under-the-Rim Trail starts at Bryce Point. Vast panoramas both point feature the Black Mountain in the south.

Paria View looks out over hoodoos in an amphitheater carved by Yellow Creek. The Paria River valley and south you can see the White Cliffs, carved out of Navoja Sandstone. In winter the road is not plowed; it is used as a cross-country ski trail.

Farview Point offers a panorama including its neighboring plateaus and mountains and, far to the southeast, the Kaibab Plateau of the Grand Canyon's North Rim. Here ponderosa pines begin to give way to Douglas fir and white fir.

Natural Bridge was not formed by a stream as true natural bridges are. More accurately an arch, it was carved by both rain and frost ero­sion acting from the top of the rock.

Agua Canyon displays contrasts of light and color that are among the most satisfying in the park. Look for small trees atop a hoodoo known as The Hunter. In the distance the rims of south­ern plateaus and canyons are visible.

Ponderosa Canyon shows off its multicolored hoodoos framed by pine-covered foothills and the Table Cliffs Plateau to the north.

Agua Canyon affords good views of the vertical cliffs that typify the southerly Paunsaugunt Plateau.

Yovimpa and Rainbow points offer expansive views of southern Utah. On most days you can see Navajo Mountain and the Kaibab Plateau' 90 miles away in Arizona. On a very clear day the view extends into New Mexico. The foreground is awash in the colors of long-eroded slopes and remnant hoodoos. The park road ends at Rainbow Point.

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