Capitol Reef National Park

Capitol Reef National Park is a US national park in the state of Utah. It gets its name for its appearance: white domes of Navajo sandstone resemble the US Capitol dome, and rock ridges resemble ocean reefs. The terrain includes red and white rock bands; a monocline called the Waterpocket Fold, which is a seam at a fault line lifted to an elevation of 7,000 feet (2,134 meters) by tectonic plates; river valleys; and freestanding monoliths of red-orange Entrada sandstone. The park was established primarily to protect and preserve these geologic features.

Many visitors explore thousand-year-old pictographs and other remnants of long-ago inhabitants. They can pluck and eat fruit from trees in the historic orchards. The park is designated an International Dark Sky Park, with so little light pollution that it provides one of the best views of the night sky in the country. By 2023, the National Park Service reported more than 1.2 million visitors to Capitol Reef; many of them camped in tipis, took llama tours, rode horses, hiked, and fished.

Background

Some of the sedimentary strata, or rock bands, in the park are 270 million years old. The rock in the western areas of the park is oldest, while the newest rock, about 80 million years of age, is in the eastern park. Much of the strata, which includes about 200 million years of rock formation, can be viewed at the Waterpocket Fold. The Waterpocket Fold is a 100-mile-long (161-kilometer-long) wrinkle in the earth. It was formed about 50 to 70 million years ago by a tectonic event called the Laramide Orogeny, which moved an ancient buried fault. The strata on the west side of the fold are more than 7,000 feet (2,134 meters) higher than the strata on the east. The fold was exposed only about 15 to 20 million years ago. The fold takes its name from water pockets, which are small depressions eroded by water in the sandstone. Water erosion continuously sculpts these rocks.

Within the last 20 million years, the uplift of the Colorado Plateau affected the flow of water in the region. Water eroded away the softer layers of shale, leaving slopes and small hills. Harder sandstone resisted water erosion, but in many cases, the force of gravity broke it away, creating tall cliffs. These monoliths are also sculpted by wind erosion.

Black boulders dot the landscape as well. These volcanic rocks formed 20 to 30 million years ago from lava flows. The rocks were pushed about the terrain by glaciers that covered the high plateaus at the end of the last ice age. The ice melt from the glaciers also shaped the land, creating mud and debris flows and in some places washing lava boulders downhill.

Humans have inhabited the park region for thousands of years. Early humans were primarily foragers. Many left their mark in the rocks in the form of carved petroglyphs and painted pictographs, which remain sacred in modern times. By about 500 CE, groups lived an agricultural existence and farmed beans, corn, and squash. Explorers and pioneers arrived during the nineteenth century and established apple, peach, and pear orchards.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued the proclamation establishing the 37,711 acre (15,261 hectare) Capitol Reef National Monument on August 2, 1937. A paved road was laid through the Fremont River canyon about 1960, and attendance was about 150,000 visitors a year in 1967. President Richard Nixon signed legislation establishing Capitol Reef National Park on December 18, 1971.

Overview

Park visitors may hike nearly 200 miles (322 kilometers) of marked trails, camp, fish, and go rock climbing, as well as view wildlife and the night sky. They may tour the park by road, bicycle, or horse or pack animal.

In addition to the Waterpocket Fold, visitors are drawn to the monoliths, desert dunes, valleys, and varied habitats of Capitol Reef. The park contains dry washes, perennial streams, pinyon-juniper, and rock cliff habitats, which are home to numerous amphibians, birds, fish, mammals, and reptiles.

The Waterpocket District includes a number of roads open to vehicles as well as hiking trails. The Waterpocket Fold may be viewed from Notom-Bullfrog Road. This drive also offers views of many of the water pockets. The fold may also be seen from the Burr Trail, which crisscrosses the area with multiple switchbacks, or sharply curved roads between very different elevations. A drive on either thoroughfare also offers views of the Henry Mountains.

The Fruita Rural Historical District is the most accessible area. Trails in this area offer views of canyons, water pockets, panoramas, petroglyph panels, a 133-foot (41-meter) natural bridge, and pioneer and Mormon heritage sites, including historic orchards and the Gifford Homestead store and museum. This area is also home to the Navajo sandstone features that resemble the Capitol dome.

Cathedral Valley District, which is not easily accessed, is the least visited region of the park. Road conditions may be severely affected by weather. Most high-clearance vehicles can navigate the roads well in good conditions, but visitors are warned to be prepared for sudden changes in the weather and prepare for the possibility of being stranded for several days if they experience a vehicle breakdown. Sudden storms can cause temperatures to plummet below freezing, and in summer, temperatures may be above 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius). Travelers should always carry plenty of water and other supplies. The Cathedral Valley Loop tour intersects many hiking trails and side trips. An unpaved road through Fishlake National Forest climbs from 6,800 feet (2,073 meters) to 9,500 feet (2,896 meters), offering panoramic views of desert country. Snow and mud keep this route closed during winter and spring. The volcanic ash that drifted over this region during the Jurassic period turned to bentonite clay, which when wet is slick and sticky. Walking or driving in wet clay may be impossible. Visitors may see monoliths, rock strata, a sinkhole, and Glass Mountain, which is composed of selenite crystals. This mound of crystals formed when groundwater washed dissolved gypsum downhill, where it crystallized and plugged up the course. The plug was exposed when sandstone around it eroded.

The park has recorded 5 amphibian species, 239 bird species, 13 native fish species, 71 mammal species, and 15 species of reptiles. Predators in the park include bears, coyotes, foxes, and mountain lions. Large mammals include elk, desert bighorn sheep, mule deer, and pronghorn antelope; smaller common animals include bats, marmots, and porcupines. Visitors spot canyon and rock wrens, owls, pinyon jays, and black-billed magpies, and occasionally spy golden eagles and peregrine falcons.

Bibliography

"Capitol Reef National Park." Utah.com, utah.com/capitol-reef-national-park. Accessed 15 June 2017.

Kulander, Charles. "What to Do in Capitol Reef." National Geographic, 27 Mar. 2017, www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/destinations/north-america/united-states/utah/national-parks-travel-guide/capital-reef-national-park/capital-reef-national-park-utah-activities/. Accessed 19 June 2017.

"Public Involvement." National Park Service, 26 July 2023, www.nps.gov/care/learn/management/publicinvolvement.htm#:~:text=Many%20of%20the%20park's%20parking,to%20accommodate%20the%20increased%20visitation. Accessed 5 Dec. 2024.

"Wildlife In and Around Capitol Reef." Capitol Reef Country, 15 Jan. 2013, capitolreef.org/blog/wildlife-in-around-capitol-reef. Accessed 19 June 2017.