Canyonlands: Island In The Sky

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

http://www.nps.gov/cany/planyourvisit/islandinthesky.htm

        We did not see any of these critters on the trail. But good to know what to look out for.

Island In The Sky canyon has many different layers of stone, and a variety of plants grow on the surface.

                                                             Shafer Canyon Overlook 

                                                                   Upheaval Dome
 There are two theories of how this dome was created. One theory is that a meteorite hit the area 200 million years ago, fracturing the rock and causing a larger crater which has since been partially  filled in with more rock layers. The other theory is that 300 million years ago, a salt sea dried up and was covered with layers of sediment. Over time, the salt rose, fracturing the other layers of rock. Water then eroded the salt. (Jonathan prefers Theory #1).

We hiked about 1/2 hour to a second outlook which showed the crater from a different angle.

Green River Overlook

Elevation: 6, 000 feet   Rim below: 1300 feet lower 

       For information about  the first European explorer to navigate the Green and Colorado  River:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wesley_Powell

                                                              Orange Cliffs Overlook

                                                       View from end of White Rim Trail 

                                                                         Pothole
Depressions form in the rock layers. These depressions, called potholes, fill with water after rains. Desert potholes often support many forms of life. They are miniature ecosystems with a wide variety of plant and animal life, for example fairy and tadpole shrimp. Many of these organism have the ability to go through their entire life cycle before the pothole dries up.

This is a living crust that covers much of the soil of a 130, 00 square mile area. Biological soil crusts are made up of a community of tiny organisms: cyanobacteria, algae, moss, fungi, and lichen. Biological soil needs five to ten years of undisturbed growth before it becomes visible as an irregular, blackish mat on the soil surface.

                                                                       White Rim Trail

                                                           A very full Juniper bush

                            Water and gravity sculpted these canyons over the last 10 million years.

Left view of canyon

  Right view of canyon