Natural Bridges National Monument on SR-95 30-miles east of BlandingMay 20, 2007. There are two commercial campgrounds in Blanding. We decided to stay in the one with some shade so we picked it but both RV-Parks were OK: $19.80 for FHU, gravel interior roads and sites. It is located on US 191 on the south side of town behind the shell station (hint, it is easy to find since Blanding is very small).
Tour bus we saw on the Moki Dugway
As we were leaving Bluff on our way to Blanding we spotted that blue bus that was climbing the Moki Dugway yesterday. It was the same driver and he was still talking on his microphone. This picture is a good example of what the highway scenery looks like in southeastern Utah.
Uplifted rocks along fault line
Once we got situated in the RV-Park in Blanding we jumped in our Saturn and headed west out of Blanding on SR 95 on our way to Natural Bridges National Monument. Before getting to Natural Bridges we were treated to some exciting geology. Here you can see the back side of a rift. As you can see these sedimentary rocks are angled about 45-degrees. The other side is in a rift valley. We will get there in a minute.
Major uplift on edge of a fault
These rocks are almost standing on end. We are at the cutting edge of the fault.
Roadcut through sedimentary rock
This tremendous roadcut is allowing the road to egress from one side of the fault to the other. What a magnificent road cut through about 20-million years of sedimentary buildup.
Sandstone cliff
As we fall down the other side of the rift we pass through sandstone that looks very similar to the sandstone layers we saw in Canyon de Chelly.
Fault along edge of rift
This is the view from the valley floor on the west side of that north south trending fault. This block fell while the other side rose creating a lot of vertical movement.
Sandstone of the Cedar Mesa Formation
On the other side of the rift we start encountering another form of sandstone. This pale sandstone is known as the Cedar Mesa Formation.
Sandstone of the Cedar Mesa Formation
The Cedar Mesa Formation sandstone was formed from huge sand dunes.
Weathered sandstone formation
Cutler Formation consisting of sandstone, mudstone & shale colored by iron oxide
Towering above the Cedar Mesa Formation is the Cutler Formation laid down between 240 and 280 million years ago. The red pigment comes from iron oxide. This layer of sediment was laid down during a much wetter time and consists of mudstone, sandstone and shale.
This is Salvation Knoll and it has a good reason it is known as Salvation Knoll. At the call of Mormon church leaders in 1878, a company of pioneers was sent to colonized the San Juan Valley in southeastern Utah. Throughout the winter of 1879-1880 these Mormon pioneers built a wagon road, through the terribly rugged terrain between Escalante, Utah and the Four Corners area. As the main body of pioneers labored to widen the treacherous descent through the "Hole" or cleft in the rock above the Colorado River Gorge, four advance scouts traveled through this area, searching for the most feasible route between the Colorado River and Montezuma Creek. By the time the scouts reached this area they were lost and out of food. On Christmas morning 1879, George Hobbs climbed to the top of this knoll searching for a recognizable landmark. Hobbs recorded: "This was surely salvation knoll. For looking to the northeast... I discovered the Blue Mountains about ten miles away. This was the landmark we had been looking for for several days. "Although hindered by severe winter storms, the scouts George Hobbs, George Morell, Lemuel Redd, and George Sevy succeeded in plotting a wagon route through some of the most difficult terrain in North America.
Cutler Formation
This is a close-up of that Cutler Formation.
Mesa on horizon
Sometimes the view from the highway in southeastern Utah is priceless. This is one of those moments.
Sandstone mesa near Natural Bridges
At last we are nearing our destination. It seems like we should reach Natural Bridges just around this mesa.
Sandstone sedimentary formation with talus slope
Talus slope created by the rubble falling off the top of this cliff.
Natural Bridges National Monument
We finally arrive at Natural Bridges National Monument which is our destination for today.
In 1883, Cass Hite wandered up White Canyon from his mining claim on the Colorado River and "discovered" three stone bridges. He brought them to the attention of area residents and the scientific community. Nowhere else had three such monolithic structures been located in such close proximity. They were described as having "spans far greater than any heretofore known to exist." On April 16, 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt signed the proclamation creating Natural Bridges National Monument - Utah's first National Park Service area. At the time of the monument's establishment, little had been known of the location and character of prehistoric ruins near the bridges. Extraordinary cliff dwellings and mesa-top ruins deserved study and protection within the new monument. In response, the park boundary was expanded. Today, the three bridges - Sipapu, Kachina and Owachomo - their names taken from the Hopi Indian culture, are among the largest natural stone bridges in the world. Unlike national parks, which require an act of Congress to establish, national monuments can be created by presidential proclamation. And that is the method Roosevelt used in 1908 to create Natural Bridges National Monument. Roosevelt was a champion of establishing national parks, forests, preserves and refuges. Over 125 million acres of land were set aside during his tenure so that future Americans and people throughout the world could experience the natural and cultural riches of this nation. Roosevelt's proclamation which created Natural Bridges National Monument read in part: "Whereas, a number of natural bridges situated in southeastern Utah, having heights more lofty and spans far greater than any heretofore known to exist, are of the greatest scientific interest, and it appears that the public interests would be promoted by reserving these extraordinary examples of stream erosion...I, Theodore Roosevelt, President of the United States of America, ... do hereby set aside (this area) as the Natural Bridges National Monument..." April 16, 1908.
Sandstone the Natural Bridges are carved out of
The light colored sandstone in this picture is what we are going to see the natural bridges carved out of.
Natural Bridges National Monument
Look closely in the center of this picture you will see one of the natural bridges. It would look much more impressive if the picture were taken down in the canyon but I don't have the time or energy to climb down there for a picture. While we are not trekking down to get a better look some people are.
Natural Bridges National Monument
How did all this geology come to be? That is the question posed by everyone who lays eyes on these marvels of nature. Geologist tell us, that 260 million years ago, dazzling white beach sand migrated inland from the shore of a warm sea. Blown by prevailing northwest winds, grain by grain this sand moved up the windward slope of large dunes until the weight at the top sent cascades of sand sailing down the opposite slope. These dunes retreated before ancient winds, forming cross bedded layers. Over long expanses of time, rainwater percolated down through the dunes, dissolving calcium carbonate. Slowly, this natural cement fused the individual grains of sand to form the Cedar Mesa Sandstone. Eons later this area was uplifted and meandering streams cut into the rising earth. Over millions of years the uplifting of the plateau combined with the cutting power of these meandering streams created these canyons we see today.
Is this a better view of that natural bridge of stone? It was still taken from the rim.
Horse Collar formation in Natural Bridges National Monument
This formation is know as the "Horse Collar". It is fairly easy to see how it got that name. Remember that meandering streams cut through this sandstone over millions of years. In a way this reminds me of the "Great Goosenecks of the San Juan" that we saw earlier on this trip.
Mudstone in Natural Bridges National Monument
This layer of mudstone was on top of the Cedar Mesa Sandstone. This looks to me like many different layers of mud laid down over millions of years.
Mesa fromed from Cutler Formation on top of the Cedar Mountain Sandstone at Natural Bridges National Monument
This is a good view of the "Cutler Formation" that was laid down on top of the pale colored Cedar Mountain Sandstone. The Cutler Formation consists of Shales and mudstone laid down from 240 million to 280 million years ago. Remember that the Cutler Formation is YOUNGER sedimentary rocks than the Cedar Mountain Sandstone that it rests on.
Cedar Mesa Sandstone at Natural Bridges
This is a closer look at the Cedar Mesa Sandstone that the Natural Bridges are composed of. Remember this is mostly quartz beach sand that has been cemented (bonded) with leached - dissolved calcium carbonate.
Cedar Mesa Sandstone at Natural Bridges
Kachina Bridge Naturan Bridges National Monument
The Kachina Bridge was named for the Hopi (Indians) kachina spirits.
Of course this would be a much better picture if it were taken from down in the canyon.
Owachome Bridge Natural Bridges National Monument
This is Owachome Bridge, a Hopi Indian word for rock mound. On the upper left side of the bridge is a rock outcrop which suggested the name for the bridge.
Rock mound or Owachome in Hopi Indian
And this is the rock outcrop for which the Owachome Bridge was named. I would have called it "cow patty" bridge.
This type of sandstone erodes into these cow patty shapes in many locations.
Mesa & Sandstone formations
Here is the start of some more of those cow patty shapes being formed. Note that while water is cutting deep into this sandstone in the background is a large mesa containing rock 50-million years younger that this Cedar Mesa Sandstone.
Bears Ears Buttes visible from Natural Arches
These two prominent buttes in the distance are called the Bears Ears. Several native American groups including the Navajos, Utes, and Pueblos consider this area sacred. The Bears Ears can be seen from as far east as Mesa Verde National Park in southwestern Colorado and as far south as Monument Valley in Arizona. To say these buttes are and were important landmarks for travelers in the Four Corners region would be an understatement.
Cedar Mesa Sandstone
More Cedar Mesa Sandstone.
View from rift valley of fault
We are back on SR 95 headed back to Blanding now. This is the valley side of that rift we examined on our way out to Natural Bridges. This time we are climbing out of the rift valley up the face of that fault. Note the angle of those darker rocks at the top of that cliff.
Climbing the "fault" face
Here we are going up the face of that cliff.
Awesome roadcut on fault
And this is just before we enter that awesome road cut.
Awesome roadcut on fault
Spectacular, what else can I say.
Volcanic ash
And finally, after all that sedimentary rock we pass this greenish colored volcanic ash. Is it getting that green coloring from copper? I would suspect so.
If you liked this Travel Adventure you might like one of these: Goosenecks on the San Juan River southern Utah
Click here for more Utah Travel Adventures
What a day! I wonder if it can get any better.
Until next time remember how good life is. Mike & Joyce Hendrix
|
|
||
|
|||
|
|
|||
