"Canyonlands National Park" Canyonlands National Park by leafmcgowan

In the heart of Utah near the resort town o Moab lies one of North America's most scenic desert canyon playgrounds known as "Canyonlands". A pristine national park that presents a panorama of colorful landscapes and canyons, mesas, and buttes that have been carved out of the earth by the Colorado River and its tributaries. These rivers have created four districts - the Island in the Sky, the Needles, the Maze, and the rivers themselves - and this is what has become preserved as "Canyonlands". Primarily desert terrain, a multitude of micro-environments exist within the diverse terrain in the park awaiting exploration. The canyons and rivers have been explored for the last 10,000 years by a multitude of peoples - from prehistoric occupation and artwork to Euro-American settlers and homesteaders to modern day rock climbers. The Green River, the Colorado River, neighboring Horseshoe Canyon preserve and change these districts. No roads directly link each of the districts even though they appear close on the map so it makes the park requiring many days to get a full glimpse of all the districts contained within. The top sites in the park are: 1. Island in the Sky; 2. White Rim Road; 3. Needles; 4. Maze; 5. Orange Cliffs Unit (Glen Canyon NRA); 6. Horseshoe Canyon; 7. Green River; 8. Colorado River; and 9. Cataract Canyon. Rating: 5 stars out of 5. visited 8/24/08.