Canyonlands National Park - 2011

The Wooden Shoe

Just thirty miles northwest of Moab and Arches National Park is Canyonlands. This spectacular wilderness of rock lies in the heart of the Colorado Plateau. Water and gravity, this land’s prime architects, have cut layers of sedimentary rock into hundreds of canyons, mesas, buttes, fins, arches, and spires. In the center are two canyons carved by the Green and Colorado rivers. Surrounding the rivers are vast, very different regions. To the north is “Island in the Sky”, to the east is “Needles”, and to the west the very remote “Maze”. Canyonlands was established in 1964 and very few people had traveled the remote land and rivers. Only Indians, cowboys, river explorers, and uranium prospectors had dared to enter this rugged corner of southeastern Utah. Canyonlands still remains largely untrammeled – its roads are mostly unpaved, trails primitive, and rivers free-flowing. Canyonlands is considered “Wild America”.

Island in the Sky is a broad mesa wedged between the Green and Colorado Rivers. Closest to the mesa’s edge is the White Rim. It is 1,200 feet below the top of the canyon and 1,000 feet about the two rivers. You will notice the rim in the pictures.

The Needles unit is very different than the others. The rock formations are very different and rise above the grassy meadows. The Needles are rock pinnacles banded in red and white. Many small arches can be found similar to the Wooden Shoe. Early Puebloans farmed this area as there was adequate water, arable land, and good building sites. In the late 1800’s pioneering cattlemen settled in this area. In 1926, there were 7,000 to 10,000 head that ranged over 1.8 million acres. This widespread ranching operation required cowboys to stay out on the range with the cattle. They lived in isolated outdoor camps such as the one near Cave Springs, which was used from the late 1800’s to 1975. The camp was established at Cave Springs because of the reliable water source that was available. Today, there is still a working cattle ranch that has been greatly down scaled from earlier times.

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