![]() Sign up early for astronomy programs.įull moon hikes mean eerily well-lit hoodoos, but don’t forget your headlamp and jacket. The Grand Staircase stretches across millions of acres from Bryce to the The Grand Canyon, and this American treasure is well worth exploring.Navajo Trail to Queens Garden is one of the best 3-mile hikes anywhere and solace-seekers should consider the 8-mile Fairyland Loop.īryce Canyon’s pristine dark skies mean incredibly starry nights. What is buried helps us to make sense of what we find at the surface. ![]() It contains a wealth of plant and animal fossils that can teach us more about how Earth has developed, what it was like before humans were here to see it, and based on those findings and the trends discovered we are able improve the accuracy of our predictions about Earth’s future. The record tells a story in colorful brilliance of ancient sand dunes, of great seas that were here before the desert, and of the shocking voyage that our continental plate has made currently sailing West over an ocean of magma and lifting the Staircase miles into the sky. The Grand Staircase is a wonderfully displayed geological record spanning from 100 million years at the top of the Staircase to almost 2 billion years (including the “basement”, Vishnu Schist) at the bottom. The Grand Staircaseįor the geology buffs, Bryce Canyon is the start and the youngest of 5 massive layers of formations that make up The Grand Staircase. The elevation of the park is generally between 8,000-9,000 ft.īryce Canyon is out of the way, so while you’re in the area it is the perfect opportunity to see other nearby utah hiking spots like Zion National Park, or even to make a quick trip to the Grand Canyon. As if it wasn’t already super interesting to look at, there are also many natural arches, bridges and windows. The result is an alien landscape with columns of stone rising from the orange and tan slopes. While Bryce is not the only place with Hoodoos in the world, it has one of the highest concentrations of them. Headward erosion causes the amphitheaters to recede, leaving fins of soil that slowly whittle away to become many spire-like formations called Hoodoos (up to 200 feet high). Bring at least 2 liters of water per person and wear a hat for sun protection.Ĭlick here for a map of Bryce Canyon National Park. It’s typically a blissful 4-5 hr jaunt through the hoodoos but be aware that there is little shade.
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