| Bryce Canyon Overlook ~ VI: Photograph by JL Gardner. I made the trip to Bryce Canyon the same weekend I toured and photographed Zion. I couldn't have asked for better weather and seeing these places in "off season" (not as many tourists) really made this adventure even more of a treat!
Here's something about Bryce Canyon from the National Park's website ( http://www.nps.gov/brca/naturescience/index.htm): "Bryce Canyon National Park is a scientist's laboratory and a child's playground. Because Bryce transcends 2000 feet (650 m) of elevation, the park exists in three distinct climatic zones: spruce/fir forest, Ponderosa Pine forest, and Pinyon Pine/juniper forest. This diversity of habitat provides for high biodiversity. Here at Bryce, you can enjoy over 100 species of birds, dozens of mammals, and more than a thousand plant species."
"It is the uniqueness of the rocks that caused Bryce Canyon to be designated as a national park. These famous spires, called "hoodoos," are formed when ice and rainwater wear away the weak limestone that makes up the Claron Formation. However, the hoodoos' geologic story is also closely tied to the rest of the Grand Staircase region and the Cedar and Black Mountains volcanic complex. In short, Bryce has enough fascinating geology to fill a textbook."
And here's something about Bryce's "walls and narrows": "Walls or fins are narrow walls of rock, bound by joints or fractures on either side. As weathering and erosion open the cracks wider and wider they form narrows or slot canyons. The wall left standing in between two slot canyons is called a fin. As fins develop, differential erosion accentuates different rock hardness leaving them with a rugose appearance." |
