Bryce Canyon Park Utah
Visiting Bryce Canyon Park in Utah brings you to one of those landscapes that defy description and speaks to the soul of the onlooker with its spellbinding views of the most colorful and scenic rock formations found anywhere.
Bryce Canyon National Park, consisting of nearly 37,300 acres, is a desert wonderland with its own diverse fauna and flora. Human intervention at Bryce Canyon Park is at a minimum due to its lack of water.
Bryce Canyon History
What is so unique about the Bryce Canyon landscape?
The formation of Bryce Canyon is a geologic wonder. Spires and unique rock formations have drawn tourists from all over since the early 1900s. Early pioneers who settled around the Paunsaugunt Plateau rim just above Bryce’s Canyon were the first settlers to discover the spires of Bryce Canyon. The spires, which rise up from the ground, are also known as ‘hoodoos’, thus named by the Paiute Indians who inhabited the area long before the early settlers.
The Paiute inhabitants were later displaced by Christian emissaries who developed many a small community throughout Utah. In fact, Bryce Canyon is named after Ebenezer Bryce, a Mormon farmer who settled there in 1875.
The place names of Bryce Canyon however, still reflect the Paiute Indian heritage including;
- Paunsaugunt, which means the ‘home of beavers’
- Paria is ‘muddy water of elk water’
- Yovimpa refers to the ‘point of pines’
- Panguitch stands for ‘big fish’
Hoodoos & Spires
A hoodoo is a pillar like rock that has eroded into a fantastic rock formation. Colorful hoodoos seem to cast a spell. They can be exquisitely subtle sometimes yet amazingly harsh at other times. Over centuries, the Claron limestone, mudstones and sandstones eroded revealing a series of horseshoe shaped formations akin to amphitheaters.
The erosion in Bryce Canyon is due to many reasons. Ancient rivers combined with gravelly rushing waters made thin long ridges called ‘fins’. These same fins eroded further to form the spires or hoodoos, which were created due to a combination of rain, melting snow rushes and the expansion of freezing waters within the cracks. The thawing of spring ice is also credited for leaving behind natural arches, spires, mazes and what is known today as the Grand Staircase. The “pink cliffs” of these rock formations often turn to a myriad of colors giving way to beautiful and sometimes whimsical landscapes. One of Bryce Canyon’s more popular attractions is Thor’s Hammer, a hoodoo that looks like a hammer.
Bryce Canyon Activities
Hiking Bryce Canyon is always popular whether its backpacking during the day or moonlight hiking. Other Bryce Canyon activities available to visitors range from day hiking, moonlight hiking, camping, horseback riding, learning about the geological formations and telescope star gazing, which is always popular. The air over Bryce Canyon is clear and the lack of any light sources makes this the ideal place for looking skyward. There is no shortage of things to do in Bryce Canyon and the panorama offers views of three surrounding states.
Animals in Bryce Canyon
Wildlife thrives in this rather inhospitable landscape with surprising ease. There is a diverse range of mammals, many of which are from now protected. Some were reintroduced to the wild in a bid to stem extinction. Mountain lions, mule deer, black bear, elk, pronghorn antelope, foxes and the rodent called the Utah prairie dog all roam the grounds freely. In addition, more than 160 bird species call Bryce Canyon home, which is virtually a bird watcher’s paradise.
Bryce Canyon Park
The elevation of Bryce Canyon ranges from 7900ft to 9115ft above sea level and therefore the air here is thinner. The climate in Bryce Canyon can vary a lot and the weather can be rather chilly. Although the park is open all year, discretion and notifications of bad weather should be heeded for the traveler’s own safety. Bryce Canyon Park is a place where you can savor the best of magical sunrises though the sunsets are not that vivid due to being shielded by the western ridge. This is another wonder of Mother Nature that is our privilege to visit.
All Inclusive Tours by Caravan
Caravan Tours offers All Inclusive Tours and has been offering fully escorted travel tours for nearly six decades. Bryce Canyon is located less than 280 miles north of the Grand Canyon and is included as part of Caravan Tours’ all inclusive Grand Canyon Tours, which also includes visits to Lake Powell, Monument Valley and Zion National Park. Visit Grand Canyon Tours Reviews page to see what others have said about Caravan’s all inclusive Grand Canyon tour.
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