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Show Springtime Opens Horse Canyon to Visitors Hv Fran U.muvs Muiv iiu11iiin ol' years I 'stupendous llUssot ud from far beneath ,hV o.riH- Mirl.u-0. As ,U m channeled aiul fumu-U-a up under and i0 lllOUS.Ulds ol tool ol ou'i lwin; redroek miuu in ponsO to unimaginable unimagin-able forces from Mill i'u lluM- below, the whole plUO.UI deserllandaboye it was pushed upward m s monstrous. ragged 'mountain range of broken brok-en sandstone rubble. As ages passed, (his broken rubblo eroded aw.. leaving high mountain poaKs of the int ruiv o igneous rock. On the lower slopes of these peaks were Kigali-tic, Kigali-tic, tilted slabs of reddish red-dish sandstone that had toon angled upward by the mountain - forming forces. et not so fractured frac-tured that they eroded away easily . Still lower on the mountain moun-tain flanks, on all sides, was a foothills country that was more gently tilted upward toward the distant peaks of this relatively rel-atively new and different tpe of mountain range. This country was not appreciably broken by the mountain - forming forces, but the slope imparted was enough to bring about a drastic change. Eons of water runoff from the lofty peaks wore into these baselands and in time created a spectacular series of deep canyons, radiating outward from the mountain peaks like spokes from the hub of a wagon wheel. Where is this strange mountain range, with its system of still stranger guardian canyons'? Well, actually there are three such ranges, each formed form-ed in the same general manner during the same period of geologic time, and all three are within southeastern Utah. Unusual Ranges Volumes could be written writ-ten about the geologic and human history of each of these unusual mountain ranges the La Sals, the Abajos and the Henrys but one chapter in one book of such a fascinating history hist-ory would be of especial interest to modern visitors vis-itors to canyonlands country. This chapter would deal with the series of canyons that radiate northwest from the Aba-jo Aba-jo Mountains, some of which are now protected within the boundaries of Canyonlands National Park. The names of most .'id .'' f 4''.r!JJ '.X 'A J 1 i it - - f "' .:s;tr:Y I I V-v't";fx i i ... .,r. y --4 , f 1 f-r v " , . . . &'- V '-r r ' ,1 Narrows within Horse Canyon provide natural "picture "pic-ture frames"' for scenic, photographs, and offer welcome shade and water during the warmer days of these wondrous canyons can-yons are commonplace and belie their novelty, complexity and beauty. Indian Creek. Cottonwood. Cotton-wood. Lavender. Davis. Horse. Salt, and a host of lesser gorges carve deeply into the colorful sandstone plateaulands that form the lower slopes of the Abajos to the northwest. Some of these canyons cut through and expose an awesome spanof geologic geo-logic time, ranging from the Dakota formation in the lower Cretaceous period to the Ilermosa in the upper Pennsyl-vanian. Pennsyl-vanian. a span of almost 200 million years. Most of the lengths of such canyons that are easily accessible, however, meander slowly through relatively level expanses expans-es of low er Permian formations. for-mations. Here, the canyons can-yons tw ist, loop and double dou-ble back on themselves, traveling three miles to make a mile of progress. The canyons are floored with sand that is captive ) "H .. ' 1 - ;L; -T :: rs, .. . 1 ' ". ps---Ji. ' V". r-V- ;-- . ;'.'?"-...; V 'i -.'---.- . -t " ' " w'k v ' t-"- " V; ThTcXrful walls of Horse Canyon tower above jthc winding Wn or The vehicle trail travels the sandy wash bottom and thus does no damage to the fragile desert scenery. of spring and summer. Tall cottonwoods add touches of beamy and color to Midi well-watered places. to the whims of windand water, and walled with b e a u l i f u I 1 rounded shapes and forms of eroded bright -lined Cedar Ce-dar Mesa Sandstone. Springs and intermittently inter-mittently - flowing streams moisten the canvons and for long periods of time provided life for a w hole culture of prehistoric Indians, the Anasais. This moisture also populates the canyons with cotton-woods cotton-woods and other trees and shrubs, as well as many species of w ildlife. Of especial interest to those who explore these canyons are the magnificent magni-ficent arches that grace the high pink-tinted walls in many places. The ruins of Anasazi dwellings, other rock structures and writings can also be seen, some in remarkable states of preservation. Outstanding Features One such can.xon that contains an exceptional number of outstanding features is Horse C'an-on. C'an-on. Exploring1 the colorful col-orful reaches of this long canvon can be exceptionally ex-ceptionally rewarding to those who are inspired by natural beauty, archeology arch-eology and the novel geology geo-logy of the lower slopes of such strange mountain ranges as the Abajos. The main part of Horse Canyon can be explored from an off-road vehicle trail that follows the sandy washbottom and thus does no damage to the fragile desert terrain ter-rain and plant life. Hiking Hik-ing is necessary, however, how-ever, for closer looks at some of the more fascinating features of the canyon. To get to Horse Canyon, Can-yon, drive into the Needles Nee-dles District of Canyonlands Canyon-lands National Park. Plan on at least one full day in Horse Canyon, plus still more time if you intend to explore other aspects of this -outstanding park. Limited Limit-ed camping is available within the park, but lent camping, trailer hookups hook-ups and more formal overnight accommodations accommoda-tions are available at Canyonlands Resort, near the park entrance. Vehicle Trail The vehicle trail that leads to Salt Creek and Horse Canyons is shown on Park Service maps. About two miles after this trail leaves the dirt road that goes to Cave Springs, a sing indicates a left turnontothellor.se Canyon trail, because Horse Canyon is a tributary tribu-tary of much longer Salt Creek Canyon. The novelty of this beautiful sidecanyon becomes be-comes apparent almost immediately, and continues con-tinues for as long as you care to explore. The huge span of Paul Bun-yan's Bun-yan's Potty graces a high wall on the left. Indian ruins can be seen within the cavern behind this arch and at several nearby locations, including in-cluding Tower Ruins which are high in a big cave-alcove behind a towering spire of red sandstone. Both Keyhole and Tower ruins are reached by a spur on the main vehicle trail. The main Horse Canyon Can-yon trail travels up mile after spectacular mile of colorful, twisting canyon. can-yon. At one point a hike up a side canyon takes you to Gothic Arch. Still other tributary canyons lead to archeological sites and other natural spans. Two other major arches can be spotted from the main trail. Castle Arch and For- tress Arch, but hiking is necessan1 for closer view s. Whets Your Appetite The vehicle trail ends near the view of Fortress For-tress Arch, but beautiful beauti-ful hiking goes on forever. for-ever. And. of course, if exploring Horse Canyon Can-yon merely whets your appetite for the kind of beauty and novelty that can be found in such canyons, there are still many others in this region re-gion to investigate, not to mention those to the south and west of the Abajos. Then, there are also the radiating canyons can-yons of the La Sals and Henrys, each somewhat different, and each fascinating fas-cinating in its own way. Indeed, there is no end of canyon exploring around the lower slopes of the unusual mountain ranges of canyonlands country. ' L''JlTi-. v-'V '' H , .' ........ - . , - Castle Arch can be viewed trom beside the vehicle leads to a closer view of this slender span. trail that penetrates Horse Canvon. An easy hike (Photo bv F.A. Barnes I |