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Utah National Parks
Welcome to Canyonlands National Park, an oasis of canyons, mesas, and buttes carved out by the majestic Colorado River and her tributaries.
Park History: The scenery of Canyonlands National Park has been enjoyed by people for over 10,000 years. Long before the first white man set foot on North America, the land that is now Canyonlands National Park was occupied by various Native American hunter-gatherer tribes. Archeological evidence indicates that the earlier tribes (8,000BC-500BC) did not stay in one area for very long and few artifacts have been discovered. The more recent tribes, which include the Puebloan and Fremont tribes starting around 2,000 years ago began to rely on domesticated plants and animals for food including beans, squash, dogs, and turkeys. Today, traces of Puebloan buildings and art can be seen throughout the park. Around 800 A.D the Ute and Paiute tribes began to move into the region and by 1,300 A.D. most of the Puebloan people had moved south.
Some of the first Europeans to arrive in the region were the Spanish priests Escalante and Dominguez who arrived in the 18th century around the time the United States was born. Trappers and traders has succeeded where Escalante and Dominguez had failed, they discovered a path from New Mexico to California, which became the Old Spanish Trail. Soon American and French Trappers came to the region for the furs of beavers and otters. In 1869, General John Wesley Powell led a group from Green River Wyoming all the way to the Grand Canyon. When Powell stopped in the area that is now Canyonlands he wrote, “… The landscape everywhere, away from the river, is of rock – cliffs of rock; plateaus of rock; terraces of rock; crags of rock – ten thousand strangely carved forms.” In 1855, the Mormons arrived in Utah and set up a mission in Moab until they were pushed out by the Ute Tribe. Most of the newly settled Mormons became farmers, ranchers, and prospectors.
In the 20th Century, the nuclear arms race got many mining companies searching for uranium. Much uranium was discovered in Utah but not in the Canyonlands region. In the late 1950's and early 1960's, the superintendent of Arches National Monument Bates Wilson, began to advocate for the creation of a National Park in the area that is now Canyonlands. On September 12, 1964, his wish was finally granted when President Johnson signed the legislation creating Canyonlands National Park into law.
Wildlife: Canyonlands National Park helps protect the home of numerous wild critters including coyotes, porcupines, mule deer, and numerous song birds. Please treat their home with respect.
For the lover of the outdoors Canyonlands boasts hundreds of miles of trails, numerous boating opportunities, and so much more. Come on out and explore!
This was RecPlanet place of the day on September 5, 2015.
Canyonlands National Park
Utah
United States
38.455775, -110.198364
Map:
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