Lavelle-Kessler Red Rock Trip: Canyonlands South UT

The next day we made our way to the southern end of the Canyonlands park, a trip that took about an hour and half just to get to the entrance from Moab. But what a treat – the 22 miles from the southern entrance to the end (northern) of the road was fantastic. It’s like a scene out of a movie with incredibly huge rock formations that go on and on. Ann drove us in with her convertible top down while playing songs from the Beach Boys. Talk about a contrast in reality.

Canyonlands invites you to explore a wilderness of countless canyons and fantastically formed buttes carved by the Colorado River and its tributaries. Rivers divide the park into four districts: the Island in the Sky, the Needles, the Maze, and the rivers themselves. These areas share a primitive desert atmosphere, but each offers different opportunities for sightseeing and adventure. Read more...

For a sense of perspective, see the map below. The route from Moab to the south entrance is about 50 miles. You definitely need to come in from the south end to see Canyonlands from a different perspective.

Newspaper Rock.

The first carvings at the Newspaper Rock site were made around 2,000 years ago, left by people from the Archaic, Anasazi, Fremont, Navajo, Anglo, and Pueblo cultures.^[2] These petroglyphs, pecked into these rocks allow a glimpse of the life and world of the people who farmed the Puerco River Valley 650 to 2,000 years ago.^[3]

In Navajo, the rock is called "Tse' Hone'" which translates to a rock that tells a story.^[2]

The petroglyphs were carved by Native Americans during both the prehistoric and historic periods. There are over 650 rock art designs. The drawings on the rock are of different animals, human figures, and symbols. These carvings include pictures of deer, buffalo, and pronghorn antelope. Some glyphs depict riders on horses, while other images depict past events like in a newspaper. While precisely dating the rock carvings has been difficult, repatination of surface minerals reveals their relative ages. The reason for the large concentration of the petroglyphs is unclear, making the rock somewhat of a mystery.

The pictures at Newspaper Rock were inscribed into the dark coating on the rock, called desert varnish. Desert varnish is a blackish manganese-iron deposit that gradually forms on exposed sandstone cliff faces owing to the action of rainfall and bacteria. The ancient artists produced the many types of figures and patterns by carefully pecking the coated rock surfaces with sharpened tools to remove the desert varnish and expose the lighter rock beneath. The older figures are themselves becoming darker in color as new varnish slowly develops.^[3]

The location is near a stream and trail in an area with long expanses of otherwise impassable vertical cliffs. The carved face is located along State Route 211, the access road to Canyonlands National Park Needles District.

Group of students speculating how the petroglyphs. One thought they used an iPad.

Check out this valley floor. Look way down the valley. It seems to go on and on forever. What a remarkable view. The grandeur of this place cannot be overemphasized. You've got to see it to believe it (can exist). This is working pasture land for a ranch.