Capitol Reef National Park

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The Waterpocket Fold country can be explored fleetingly along Utah Highway 24, the major east-west highway through the park, and on the Scenic Drive, a gravel road that provides a 25-mile round-trip tour of the park. Utah Highway 24, built in 1962, follows the serpentine Fremont River as it winds its way through the Fold. Above the road tower the brilliantly colored cliffs and domes of Capitol Reef, the park's namesake. This especially majestic part of the Waterpocket Fold is named for its vaulted white rock domes and its nearly impassable ridges (pioneers sometimes called these ridges "reefs"). The Scenic Drive follows the west face of the Fold and leads into Grand Wash and Capitol Gorge, two deep, twisting, water-carved, sheer-walled canyons.

Along the Scenic Drive are trails that lead to overlooks, remote canyons, natural arches, and slickrock wilderness. There are spectacular views of the Waterpocket Fold country from highways and byways beyond the park boundaries, too. One such sweeping panorama can be seen along Utah Highway 12 west of the park from an elevation of more than 9,000 feet.

Roads

Notom-Bullfrog Road
The Notom-Bullfrog road intersects Utah Hwy 24 9.3 miles east of the Capitol Reef Visitor Center and extends south to Bullfrog Marina and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. This dirt road runs along the eastern side of the Waterpocket Fold and offers excellent scenery as well as marvelous hiking opportunities. Access to many of the park's backcountry trails, such as Lower Muley Twist and Halls Creek Narrows can be found off this road. While portions of the road outside the park are paved, the majority of the Notom-Bullfrog road is dirt and subject to changes in weather conditions. Visitors are advised to check with the Visitor Center before setting out.

Hartnet Road
The Harnet road, or western half of the Cathedral Valley Loop, begins 11.7 miles east of the Visitor Center off Utah Hwy 24. In order to take this route to Cathedral Valley, visitors must ford the Fremont River soon after leaving the highway, which may require a 4WD vehicle. The remaining 24 miles to the top of the loop afford expansive view of the Blue Flats and the South Desert. The northern end of the loop nears Thousand Lake Mountain, and the geology and topography change greatly with the subsequent gain in elevation. Conditions on the Hartnet road vary widely based on recent weather. At best, high clearance vehicles are recommended and visitors should check with the Visitor Center for the most current road information. A detailed travel guide, The Valley of the Cathedrals, is available from the CRNHA.

Caineville Wash Road
The Caineville Wash road, or eastern side of the Cathedral Valley Loop, begins 18.6 miles east of the Visitor Center. By taking this route into Cathedral Valley, visitors avoid the Fremont River Ford on the Hartnet side of the loop; however, those planning on driving the entire loop are encouraged to begin at the River Ford to be certain they are able to make the crossing. Sixteen and a half miles up the road, in Lower Cathedral Valley, are the Temple of the Sun and Moon, massive monoliths rising from the desert floor. Farther north in Upper Cathedral Valley, columns of spire-like formations dominate the landscape. Conditions on the Caineville Wash road vary widely based on recent weather. Check with the Visitor Center for current road information.

Burr Trail Road
The Burr Trail road, a cattle trailing route blazed by Mormon settlers in the late 1880s, extends from the town of Boulder on Utah Hwy 12 36.5 miles to the Notom-Bullfrog road. Much of the road lies outside the boundary of Capitol Reef and traverses the Circle Cliffs as well as some spectacular canyon areas such as Long Canyon and The Gulch. The 5.3-mile stretch of road inside Capitol Reef includes a breathtaking set of switchbacks rising some 800 feet in only one-half mile of horizontal distance. From Boulder to the western boundary of Capitol Reef, the Burr Trail Road is "chip sealed." Inside the park, it remains a graded dirt road and is subject to change due to weather conditions. Visitors should inquire about road and weather conditions before traveling.

The Scenic Drive

Stop 1
Most rock at Capitol Reef is sedimentary, meaning it was formed in layers from loose materials—sediments—like mud and sand. Geologists have classified the rock layers into various formations. Many formations also have different parts, or members. These layers entomb the landscapes and lifeforms of a younger planet Earth.

In the hill to the left, thin beds of reddish-brown rock known as shale were formed from silt and clay that came to rest in the quiet waters of lagoons, mud flats, and coastal flood plains. This 225 million year old rock is the Moenkopi Formation. Geologists believe that the Moenkopi, more than 950 feet thick in places, was laid down in a moist, tropical climate.

The gray band of rock just above the Moenkopi is a greenish-gray shale that was once volcanic ash. It's one part of the Chinle, a complex, 700-foot thick formation, which is rich in petrified wood. The Chinle ascends to the base of the reddish wall.

Stop 2
From here you can see the rugged western face of Capitol Reef. The tale of how these cliffs, canyons, and domes formed is complex, but the view from here tells the essentials of the story.

First, see how rock bands of differing thickness, colors, and textures lie one upon another like layers of a cake? The rocks of Capitol Reef were once sediments—silt, sand, clay, volcanic ash, and gravel—laid down in many different environments during the Age of Dinosaurs, and long before. The younger rocks lie on top of the older rocks.

Second, notice the tilting of the rock layers. When the Colorado Plateau was born, enormous pressures deep within the earth buckled the already ancient rock beds here into a 100-mile-long—but relatively narrow—"fold." Geologists called this the Waterpocket Fold because of numerous small potholes or "pockets" found in the area that can hold rainwater.

Third, study the maze of shapes carved out of the tilted rock layers. The Waterpocket Fold has been under heavy attack by erosion since its creation. Capitol Reef is one of its remnants. "Erosion" means not only the crumbling of rock by frost, plant roots, and internal water seepage, but also the blowing or washing away of the particles.

Remember these three elements of the geologic story—sedimentary rock, folding, erosion—and few landforms at Capitol Reef will remain a mystery to you for long.

Stop 3
The twisting Grand Wash spur road takes you into a world dramatically different from the dark red hills along the base of Capitol Reef. Avoid this road when a storm is threatening. Grand Wash is a narrow, steep-walled canyon subject to dangerous flash floods that often arrive with little warning.

Beyond a one-mile drive, foot trails lead into the narrowest, most spectacular part of the canyon and up to a graceful curve of stone arch on the canyon's north wall—Cassidy Arch. The arch was named for turn-of-the-century outlaw Butch Cassidy, who is thought to have hidden occasionally in Grand Wash.

Notice the holes at the base of a layer of yellowish-gray rock. This is the abandoned Oyler Uranium Mine, opened in 1904 when uranium was used in some "over the counter" patent medicines. This rock crumbles easily so keep back from the entrance.

Stop 4
At stop number one you saw the rock layers of the Moenkopi Formation that were once silt and clay. It wasn't hard to visualize their flood plain origin.

Look closely at the massive, sheer cliffs. Focus on the base of the wall below. Do you see sweeping lines that intercept one another at varying angles in the rock? This is crossbedding. Where crossbedding occurs on a large scale like this, it means that here once drifted the windswept dunes of an ancient desert.

Sediment becomes rock when it is buried and compacted by huge overlying loads of other sediment. Individual sand or clay particles are cemented together by minerals in seeping ground water.

As ages pass, the cement of the ancient rock is dissolved by weak acids in rainwater. Small cracks in the rock are widened by frost and plant roots. The rock washes away in chunks and particles. This is what geologists call weathering, part of the larger process of erosion.

Shallow holes you see here in the cliff are being excavated as erosion removes more weakly cemented sand grains.

A few small, weather sculpted arches can be seen in Shinob Canyon, which cuts in the south wall of Grand Wash to your right. Cassidy Arch is nestled high in the cliffs to your left.

Stop 5
There are more plants in Grand Wash than on the red hills at the start of the Scenic Drive. Although relatively naked stone—slickrock—dominates the landscape here, plants also are plainly visible.

Although the channel beyond the bank to your right carries no water most of the time, it does occasionally. Many plants thrive nearby. Some, like Apache-plume, are rarely found away from washes such as this. Other species here like rabbitbrush also tolerate drier environments. There can be too much water. In the continuing process of erosion, flash floods roar down the canyon carrying debris that crushes and smothers vegetation. Plant life survival means a compromise between a demand for water and a need for protection from floods.

Stop 6
The road now winds through an older, deeper part of the familiar red shales of the Moenkopi Formation. Here, however, fairly uniform layers of sandstone can be seen among the red shale beds, often forming small ledges. As in Grand Wash, the towering walls of Wingate Sandstone were deposited originally as dunes in a vast desert. If you take a close look at the thinner beds of sandstone here in the Moenkopi, you will see signs that this sand was deposited by water.

The sweeping lines of crossbedding that form in dune sands are missing here. The surfaces of many slabs are covered with ripple marks and mud cracks that formed when wet mud dried under a hot sun. Sometimes the tracks of an extinct, primitive reptile called Chirotherium can be seen in the rock slabs. This sandstone was laid down not by desert winds, but by the gently moving, shallow waters of coastal tidal flats.

Stop 7
This is Slickrock Divide, separating two large drainages. Between stop number two and this hill, streambeds channel rain runoff and debris to the flash floods that thunder down Grand Wash. South of here, streambeds channel their waters into Capitol Gorge. When rain does come to Capitol Reef, it often descends in torrents. Thin patches of soil can do little to absorb and hold it. Poets sometimes speak of water as "carving the face of the land". However, the main role of rushing water in shaping Capitol Reef is not to gouge, but carry away the materials already loosened by weathering. Gravity draws loosened debris to washes where it can be picked up by moving water. In desert thunderstorms, this slow process of gravitational "creep" is accelerated by deluges that wash down every slope and flush loose debris into channels that soon fill with a tumbling, red torrent.

Stop 8
At stop number one, the Chinle Formation rested directly on top of the Moenkopi. Here, a not-too-thick layer of sandstone—the Shinarump—caps the uppermost bed of the Moenkopi and lies below the few visible greenish-gray remnants of the Chinle. The yellowish-gray Shinarump is very distinct and you can see clearly a small remnant of the Chinle. Shinarump is found only here and there at Capitol Reef, which hints at the way it was deposited. Apparently, the Shinarump sediments were laid down in the channels of rivers that meandered across a coastal plain 200 million years ago. Shinarump is composed of sands and gravels like those in many shallow river beds today. This sandstone is often rich in uranium. The old mine tunnels you saw at stop number three were dug into Shinarump. Shinarump also affects the number and variety of plants growing here today. This rock rubble forms a protective cover that slows down the rate of erosion, traps precious moisture and changes the texture of the soil. Plants gain a foothold more easily.

Stop 9
The final two stops lie along the Capitol Gorge spur road, longer and more winding than Grand Wash. Although a through road from 1884 to 1962, the drive now ends about two miles from here. The awesome narrows you will now enter are worn through Wingate Sandstone, the same formation that forms the sheer cliffs along the west face of Capitol Reef and the towering walls of Grand Wash. For some, Capitol Gorge is erosion's most dramatic handiwork at Capitol Reef National Park.

The right fork of the road here leads to Pleasant Creek, one of the few perennial streams in the park.

Consider the weather before you proceed into the gorge.

Stop 10
Soaring to your front left is an eroded layer of sandstone that, like the Wingate, was once desert sand. This sandstone is the Navajo Formation, over 1,400 feet thick in places. Its white, rounded domes inspired a name for Capitol Reef.

The Wingate and Navajo—both formed from ancient deserts—seem to erode differently. The Wingate tends to make sheer cliffs; the Navajo rounded domes. The reason lies in the rock layers upon which these "petrified deserts" rest. The Wingate lies on the soft beds of the Chinle Formation. Because this softer rock erodes more rapidly and undercuts the Wingate, the massive sandstone often breaks away to form sheer cliffs. By contrast, the Navajo rests on the reddish rock layer that forms the base of the canyon walls on both side of you. This water-deposited sandstone—the Kayenta Formation—provides a firm foundation. The Navajo is undercut less often than the Wingate and erodes away in smoother contours.

Kayenta lies just above the Wingate and just below the Navajo Formation. It is about 350 feet thick and 190 million years old.

Stop 11
The drive ends here, deep within Capitol Gorge. All around in soaring summation rest elements of the Capitol Reef geologic story. Dune lines in Navajo Sandstone walls whisper of the ancient landscapes and sediments that became rock. Rounded domes and deep canyons proclaim eloquently the power of erosion. And the rapid changing of rock layers along the fairly level Capitol Gorge spur road testifies to the tilting and bending of the Waterpocket Fold.

A short stroll down the canyon takes you by the vandalized remains of some ancient rock art or petroglyphs. American Indian farmers of the Fremont Culture cultivated their crops along the streams of Capitol Reef until about 1300 A.D.

In 1884 it took Mormon pioneers eight days to clear the first road through the Gorge, and settlers had to remove heavy debris after every flash flood. When Utah Hwy 24 was opened in 1962, the road was closed. Early travelers recorded their passage on the canyon walls at the Pioneer Register.