Wednesday, July 25, 2012

"Hoodos at Bryce Cast Their Spell"



As written in a U.S. Department of Interior brochure, Bryce is best known for the Hoodoos that cast their spell across the park. As stated in their brochure, a Hoodoo is a pillar of rock, usually of fantastic shape, left by erosion over much time. According to geologists, 10 million years ago forces within the Earth created and then moved the massive block known as the Table Cliff and Paunsaugunt plateaus. Rock layers on Table Cliff 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.

In the photos below, I have tried to capture the beauty of this land, all part of Bryce National Park in southwestern Utah.


"The Beauty of Zion National Park"

This past weekend, I had the wonderful opportunity to visit and explore Zion National Park in Southwestern Utah. Green canyons, red cliffs, blue skies, all color this beautiful park as you can see in these photos.

The Beauty of Snow Canyon!



This past weekend, I enjoyed a road trip to southwestern Utah. One of my special finds was a little know state park called Snow Canyon  which is tucked away in the hills west of St George, Utah, close to the transition between the Color Country of southwest Utah and the rather more barren Basin and Range landscape that persists all the way across Nevada. To one side of the canyon lie the Red Mountains, while a few miles away are the White Hills, and eroded sandstone rocks of both colors make up the cliffs at either side of the valley, while an even greater contrast is provided by a large mass of black lava, which originated from a cluster of volcanoes just beyond. The lava, plus associated cinder cones and caves are the main points of interest of what is a particularly colorful, scenic and little-visited location.