Utah is a state rich with national parks. In 2020, I visited both Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, both of which are close to the town of Moab. People who know me know that I love rocks, and I love deserts. Looking at this page on my website, your first thoughts might be that "these pictures are all rocks!" Yes, they are, and to my eyes, they are beautiful rocks. Rock lovers will look at the forms, the colors, the layers, the arches, the canyons, the flora, and the wild terrain. Perhaps you can also hear a slight whisper of wind in this otherwise silent terrain. About 14% of the land mass of Utah belongs to national parks. Utah has five national parks: Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Bryce Canyon, and Zion. The parks cover a total area of approximately 5,046 square miles out of the total land area of Utah, which is around 82,144 square miles.Therefore, approximately 6.1% of Utah's land area is protected by national parks. However, if you also include other types of protected areas such as national forests, wilderness areas, and wildlife refuges, the percentage of protected land in Utah increases to about 33%. What a blessing for our country, and for all people who love our beautiful planet! Check out the slideshow.
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Arches National Park
Arches National Park is in eastern Utah, adjacent to the Colorado River, about 4 miles north of Moab. More than 2,000 natural sandstone arches are located in the park as well as a variety of geological resources and formations. In fact, the park includes the highest density of natural arches in the world. The park itself consists of 76,680 acres of high desert located on the Colorado Plateau. The highest elevation in the park is 5,653 ft and the lowest elevation is 4,085 ft at the visitor center. The park receives an average of less than 10 in of rain annually. The geology of the park is complex. It lies above an underground layer of salt which is thousands of feet thick and was deposited some 300 million years ago. Although the park's terrain may appear rugged and durable, it is extremely fragile.
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Canyonlands National Park
Like Arches National Park, Canyonlands is located near the town of Moab, Utah. The park preserves a colorful landscape eroded into numerous canyons, mesas, and buttes by the Colorado River, the Green River, and their respective tributaries. Legislation creating the park was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on September 12, 1964. Near Canyonlands National Park is a state park named Dead Horse Point, with an absolutely stunning view of the Colorado River, 2000 ft below. I have a couple of pictures of the Colorado River around a horshoe-shapped rock peninsula. There is no railing at the viewpoint. I had to walk away and sit on the rock to catch my breath. Finally, I should mention the ancient petroglyphs in the canyons, some dated from 2000-1000 BC.
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