Canyonlands National Park in Utah is known for its canyons and diverse geological features, created by the erosion of the Colorado and Green Rivers. The park is divided into four districts, offering hiking, camping, and whitewater rafting. The park was established in 1964 after a decade of advocacy by Bates Wilson. The area has been relatively free of human habitation, and only the toughest wildlife can survive there.
Canyonlands National Park is located in southeastern Utah where the Colorado River and Green River meet. As the name suggests, the area is known for numerous canyons and other diverse geological features. This landscape was created over thousands of years as the erosion of the two rivers and their smaller tributaries carved numerous channels into the earth. Canyonlands National Park covers approximately 527 square miles (about 1,365 square km) of land and is one of the most popular national parks in the state of Utah.
The park is generally divided into four main districts with boundaries based on river paths. North of where the rivers connect is Island In The Sky, which is a mesa positioned well above most land. South of the Colorado River is the district called The Needles, so named for the appearance of the sandstone pillars that are common in the area. West of the rivers is The Maze district, considered by many to be the most difficult terrain in the park. The areas of the two main rivers and the grand canyons surrounding them are also counted as one separate district.
One of the main attractions for some visitors to Canyonlands National Park is hiking. There are numerous trails of varying lengths and difficulty. The park also has campgrounds, mountain bike trails, and many people enjoy whitewater rafting on the Colorado and Green Rivers.
A man named Bates Wilson was largely responsible for initiating interest in creating the park. He was the superintendent of Arches National Monument from about 1949 until the early 1970s. Wilson discovered archaeological sites in the southeastern Utah desert and began lobbying for the establishment of a national park. It took more than 10 years of advocacy; in 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed a bill that created Canyonlands National Park.
Much of the land surrounding the park has been relatively free of human habitation over the centuries. Native Americans and early Western pioneers considered the area a difficult wilderness to survive in. Some parts of the park remain quite primitive, with many dirt roads and terrain that hasn’t changed substantially in thousands of years.
Because the land is mostly rugged, Canyonlands National Park is not known for its diversity of wildlife. As a general rule, only the toughest animals can survive in the area. Some of the larger wildlife that can be found are bighorn sheep, coyotes, mule deer, and white-tailed antelope. There are also smaller animals living in the park that are well adapted to survival in the wilderness, including many rodent and reptile species.
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