Bryce Canyon National Park (Utah) - Natural Geological Museum. It is located in America, in Utah. In addition to Bryce Canyon, there are two more national parks. Bryce Canyon is distinguished from them by the fantastic remains of ancient rocks, painted in different colors.
Park history
Bryce Canyon National Park has been known since the 18th century. But rare travelers did not always report its beauty. They were more attracted to furs, which were mined in these parts. In the late 1840s, Mormons began to settle in the park. But the terrain was not suitable for agriculture. Because of the early frosts, it was difficult to grow plants.
In the 1870s, Ebenezer Bryce came to the area with his family. His wife was in poor health, and he hoped that a climate change would benefit her. Bruce and other settlers built an irrigation canal to provide livestock water. Ebenezer did a lot for the park, for example, paved the way to the gorge. This allowed logging. After a while, he and his family moved to Arizona, but the area was already used to calling him by the name of Bryce Canyon Park.
Park location
Bryce Park is located in the USA, in the southwestern state of Utah. This canyon is more like a huge natural amphitheater located in the eastern part of the Pauntsaugant plateau. Bryce Park is higher than neighboring national parks. Therefore, there are fewer tourists in it. The canyon is located at an altitude of 2400-2700 meters above the sea. And its southern edge is located at an altitude of 2100 m.
Description of the park
The main attraction of Bryce Canyon - unusual geological columns. They are called Hoodoos. These unusual rock formations were built by nature itself. They appeared due to the effects of erosion. And now this huge park consists of an array of different colors and fantastic shapes.
Shades of rock formations - red, purple, white, yellow. This color is created due to the many oxidized trace elements that form over 60 shades of the listed colors.
Bailey's surveyor described the formations of rock formations as breaking off perpendicular to a surface hundreds of pounds in depth. And there is a feeling that there is no bottom. But there are many bizarre cliffs of various shapes and configurations, as if hanging on the walls. There are secluded grooves, picturesque ruins and deep caves. Many rocks look like battlements and spiers.
Bryce Canyon is a cold park due to its geographical location. In winter, temperatures are below zero. There is always a lot of snow in the park. But the route routes are constantly being cleared. The main observation platforms were built along the roads from north to south. Some sculptural formations have their own separate names. For example, the castles of the Queen and Gulliver, etc.
The legend of the park
In the park hundreds of years before the arrival of the first Europeans, the Indians from the Peyut tribe lived. They have their own legend about the emergence of a fantastic career. The Indians claim that hoodies are ancient people who turned to stone as a punishment for misconduct before the gods.
Why the picturesque canyon has been unknown for so long
Bryce Canyon was unknown for a long time, since there were no roads to it. And there are no big cities nearby either. Only one old dirt road led into the canyon, but it was difficult to drive along it at any time of the year. Guarded the park and huge snowdrifts, making it inaccessible to travelers for several months.
"Declassified" beauty
In Utah, Humphrey was appointed head of the Sevier National Wildlife Refuge in 1915. Part of Bryce Canyon belonged to him. Seeing the stunning view of the park, Humphrey began to promote tourism in the area.
But he had a modest budget. Therefore, at first only a dirt road was laid to the plateau and advertising photographs were taken. In 1916, an article was published that opened the world to fantastic terrain. The following year, hiking trails were built for the hoodoo. Humphrey personally showed wonderful cliffs to guests. As a result, Bryce Canyon began to gain increasing fame. Subsequently, it was designated as National Park.
Bryce Canyon Development
More active development of the park began in the 1920s. The Forest Service and the Park Service, the Union Pacific Railway Company and the Utah government helped in this. They all had their own reasons, but the common goal coincided. Active construction of roads and the development of caravanning began. The infrastructure has been improved.
The railway company invested $ 5 million and created the “Big District Tour”, which allows tourists to travel in the park by bus. Thanks to the common efforts, the number of routes along the canyon grew. Now the park is visited by almost two million tourists annually.
Bryce Canyon Attractions
The main feature of Bryce Canyon Park - unique geological natural figures of different colors. The park looks like a huge horseshoe amphitheater. The plateau itself was formed almost 10 million years ago. Pressure lifted the rocky strata, causing cracks and faults.
As a result, Utah formed a high plateau. Erosion cracked the rock, and limestone, thanks to ice and water, assumed bizarre forms. Now this is a huge landscape of labyrinths.
They represent thin tall spiers protruding from the arid cavity. In Bryce Canyon, the hoodoos are most concentrated. Their sizes range from human height to a 10-story building. The erosive network of layers on which they depend is called the Claron Formation, consisting of several types of rock.
Bryce Canyon has 8 well maintained routes on its territory. Some of them intersect, allowing you to make more complex trips in the park. The total length of hiking trails is 80 km. There are several ski runs. The main occupation of tourists is landscape photography. The photos are impressive. The color of the rocks changes with the help of sunlight. Landscapes are more saturated and contrasting.
Flora and fauna of the canyon
Spruce-fir forests, Oregon pine and alpine meadows grow along the edges of the canyon. The park has 400 species of different plants and 160 species of birds. The canyon is replete with wildlife: snow leopards, moose, antelopes, foxes, etc. Mountain lion - the largest cat among the North. America. It has other names - North American lynx or red cat. This is the most dangerous predator in the park.
Small cute marmots are found in the canyon - furry, greasy, with long claws. But in the park warning signs “Do not iron and do not fit!” Hang everywhere. A bacterium that causes bubonic plague was found on these animals. Therefore, tourists are asked to stay away from these animals.
