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Show Qclt Creek Hosfs More Visit nrs Fetch Year IK Kran lUrnos. 1'r.vk flow-, Horn M ,10 M.'imi.nn tool - 1 plt.-u-i"i i 1 N .,ii.ul r.uK. to u. t-ol.M-.liU lilM'l- " i-oiiinu-Ui-o with 'If'reen Kivor. As it ts its I01W and often vuiu' route l. onuho c'l-ooK passes A ntSh foe distinct and J o out .COoKk- ones. V CvoK boons lite as n.-ril minor creeMets i'.h m i'10 mountain w,es and wooded mesas & liO o ttu .H.-.h Of Li Mu.M P-'Ks. lhts Lies KmW. depending on !hU-h of the several br.in.-hos you are moa- ,e Manti-l.a Sal I stional Korest. part is n-biio resource land un-je'r un-je'r the jufisdiction of ihe Bureau of Land Man -cement. flie second one ot y,lt Creek begins ibnipttv at the southern boundary of Canyonlands Sitional Park. Here, jfter several of the upper up-per finders of the creek hue joined into one, the uer course plunges deeply down through hard strata of Moenkopi "1T.i Cedar Mesa sandstone, sand-stone, then for about si miles follows a fairly straight course through a broad canyon-valley. Has valley is floored by wind and water deposited de-posited sand and sediments sedi-ments of recent vintage, the products of erosion of the several geologic ' layers of ancient sandstone sand-stone through which the fitfully flowing creek has cut in recent ages. The valley is walled with steep slopes of Cedar Mesa sandstone, often :o:?ed by remaining Moenkopi sediments. : The floor of the canyon is Rico Formation sedi ments, but these are , mostly covered by shift -Eg deposits of loose sr.d. Several major and minor canyons branch from the main one within : iis zone, and relatively j.xspoiled archeological ; sites can be found in some. Visitors should be : aware of the fact that this Tf " ' J - - r Angel Arch and The .Molar stand in magnificent solitude in one side canyon of Salt Creek. Several other lovely natural spans also grace this canvon, ?one is within the National Na-tional Park, and that disturbing dis-turbing these fragile, un-restored un-restored ruins or re- : 'v.o -N, i-v, :v. . '. . . : - -:- --'T sr-'- v- -:, -i; . r -:'f l -TUtJI; r-;-- Jc j -ij ..:.:, 'v-'n - - ' v.-.. v.-.. --vN' ire-,-V'J--o.t-"-;-' -.' v'"'.;:'--':-iv-',',')i';'vi'1 ' j ledge, rr Jump of Salt Creek is a series of rock season the Rico Formation. Depending upon the drop Waler cascades, trickles or seeps down this ' 10 disappear soon into the sands of the wid- moving artifacts of any kind, is against both state and federal laws. although few visitors spot them. Angel Arch is one of the highest natural spans in the world, considering consider-ing the height of its opening. Upper Jump The third zone of Salt Creek begins at the Upper Up-per Jump, where the ening canyon. The Upper Jump bars further progress to vehicles, but is the portal to still another fascinating fas-cinating segment of Salt Creek for those who care to hike. creek drops over a sharp rock ledge of medium height, and continues to about where Salt Creek Canyon and Horse Canyon Can-yon join. This third zone of Salt Creek is the better bet-ter known of all five, and is the main subject of this article. Salt Creek's fourth zone is open sand flats country. coun-try. Here, Salt Creek is little different from many other stream courses cour-ses within canyonlands country. This zone extends ex-tends from the Salt Creek Canyon-Horse Canyon confluence to the Lower Jump of Salt Creek. The fifth zone begins there and continues to the Colorado Col-orado River. The fourth and fifth zones were described de-scribed in a recent article arti-cle here (TI May 3, 1973). The middle or third zone of Salt Creek Canyon Can-yon is characterized by a narrow, very winding canyon. This canyon is formed by a fascinatingly fascinating-ly beautiful series of sheer walls, escarpments, escarp-ments, fins and mina rets of colorful Cedar Mesa sandstone. The canyon floor is a blend of wash and dune sand, held in place and landscaped land-scaped by a variety of trees, shrubs, grasses and seasonal plants. In many places, springs add moisture to the scene, plus additional color from the water-loving plants that grow there profusely. Different Moods The changins seasons create different moods and color combinations within this zone of Salt Creek. Winter brings a time of subdued colors, vegetation bare of leaves, low sun and long, cold shadows, but adds a touch of chill. beauty by building crystalline white cascades and terraces ter-races of ice wherever spring water seeps, and patches of lasting snow in sheltered places. As the days grow longer long-er and warmer, spring dispels the whites and somber colors of winter. The higher sun strikes fire from the reddish cliff walls, and scattered , (Continued on page B2) Salt Creek Hcsfs More Visitors Each Yea CCont. from page Bl) sparks of color fmm blossoming wildflowers and leafing trees echo the warmth of the reflective cliffs and towers and fins of chromatic stone. Summertime brings such a blaze of brilliant color to Salt Creek Canyon Can-yon that the human eye can barely perceive all that is there. The high sun dispels most of the shadows of other seasons, sea-sons, and fills the few remaining with the luminescence lumi-nescence of bright light reflected from blazing canyon walls. Cotton-woods Cotton-woods and other canyon trees soak up the plentiful plenti-ful sunlight and throw it back in countless shades of green and gray and brown. Summer flowers add touches of other colors, col-ors, and the ice-white of winter is replaced by the softer white of drift sand in brush -dotted dunes. But autumn is the magic mag-ic time in the midsection of Salt Creek Canyon. Then, the brilliance of summer is tempered by a lowering sun, yet an almost tangible aura of color fills the lengthening lengthen-ing shadows cast by the high canyon walls. Shafts of warm sunlight spear through cliff notches to spotlight cottonwoods turned lemon yellow by night frosts. Amber-glowing Amber-glowing rock walls, streaked by darker mineral min-eral stains and lichens, serve as colorful backdrops back-drops beside which fea-thery fea-thery hedgerows of orange and yellow and amber tamarisk march on parade. The very air seems to glow with hues from the warmer end of the spectrum, and if color co-lor could ever be smelled or touched or tasted, it would be in late fall in the middle reaches of Salt Creek Canyon. Much To See But whatever the season, sea-son, there is much to see and do within this long and snake-like stretch of Salt Creek. There are sidecanyons to explore on foot, spring grottoes to enjoy, flowers and birds to find and study, Indian ruins and writings to give a sense of antiquity, an-tiquity, myriad forms and shapes of colorful rock to appreciate, and arches not as many as elsewhere, in other nearby canyons, but one that is matchless in its grace and beauty, magnificent mag-nificent Angel Arch. The trip to Angel Arch is made by hundreds, even thousands, of can-. can-. yonlands visitors each year, yet its lofty beauty remains unspoiled, majestic, ma-jestic, in a sidecanyon of Salt Creek remote and well-insulated from the rest of the busy world. From where the jeep trail leaves the Cave r Spring road near the entrance en-trance to the Needles District, it is roughly twenty miles to Angel Arch. This trail is traveled tra-veled by many in off-road off-road vehicles. A few hike the canyon, camping along the way and savoring savor-ing the beauty that is there to the fullest. But of all who travel this midsection of Salt Creek Canyon to Angel Arch, only a tiny few continue up the main canyon can-yon beyond the turnoff to this attraction, and of all who visit the Angel, not many know or notice that the same side can- 1 "i - - y Named as Outstanding Students in an awards assembly last Friday at the Junior High were Celeste Self, third: Deedee Walterschied, second and Tracy Turner, Tur-ner, first. lher beauui; spectacular seen beyondf Arch junction V canyon contij' -he veh elc . : abruptly at r ledges of Jump. Here 1 on the season ? cades or tricL;' down stairsieDi;: mg stone makes pools ari r fs of soft SandJ; trap unwary feet. Beyond Jump is another' . pother distinct V Salt Creek, a, f! ' must be explore'. t But that is V story, for anofte. For now, the b-" variety offered", narrow, wind.- of the midsectif Creek is eno cupy anyone f0r"-or f0r"-or more, even j casual survevj;. Later willbetV for other aspect marvelous wa'er-after wa'er-after the manv'-and manv'-and beauties b-- -Lpper Jump h' absorbed and J ed to the fullest'"' |