Bryce Canyon National Park

Long ago, there was a big lake here. Tiny bits of rock settled on the bottom and turned into stone.

Then the land was pushed up very high. Now ice and rain are carving the stone into towers.

Bryce Canyon's rocks began about 50 million years ago in a low area of lakes and floodplains. Streams carried tiny bits of rock down from higher land to the west, and the bits piled up and cemented together into layers of limestone, mudstone, siltstone and sandstone. That rock formed near sea level.

Today the park reaches 2,778 meters above sea level. The National Park Service explains that Earth's plates pushed the whole region up: one plate slid beneath North America, and over the last several million years the land of the Colorado Plateau rose high. At that height, the weather is just right for ice and rain to carve hoodoos.

NPS traces the rocks of the Claron Formation to a lake and floodplain system that appeared about 50 million years ago, when streams stripped sediment from highlands to the west into a low basin; the particles cemented into limestones, dolostones, mudstones, siltstones and sandstones near sea level. Britannica places the formation of Bryce's beds within the last 60 million years (the Cenozoic Era).

Uplift came from plate tectonics. The Farallon Plate was subducted beneath the North American Plate; its relatively shallow subduction raised the region somewhat, but most of the rise to today's altitude happened in the last several million years as the Farallon slab broke apart and heat lifted the Colorado Plateau. Britannica adds that from about 13 million years ago plateaus rose along faults, up to about 610 m above the surrounding land. NPS calls the result a "goldilocks zone" for erosion.

Pine trees and meadows grow on top of the plateau.

Deer, porcupines, chipmunks and prairie dogs live here. More than 100 kinds of birds fly around the park.

Bryce Canyon climbs through about 2,000 feet (about 610 meters) of height, so it has three different forest zones: spruce and fir at the top, ponderosa pine in the middle and pinyon pine and juniper lower down. The National Park Service says this variety supports more than 100 kinds of birds, dozens of mammals and more than a thousand kinds of plants.

Britannica lists deer, porcupines and chipmunks among the park's mammals, and woodpeckers, Steller's jays and ravens among its birds. Prairie dogs had disappeared from the park by the 1950s, but they were brought back in the 1970s.

NPS describes an arid park spanning 2,000 feet (about 610 m) of elevation and three climatic zones, spruce/fir, ponderosa pine and pinyon/juniper forest, supporting more than 100 bird species, dozens of mammals and over a thousand plant species; prescribed fire helps maintain natural systems on the forested Paunsaugunt Plateau. Britannica names fir, pine and aspen on the rim, pinyon pine and Utah juniper at lower, drier elevations, and lists deer, porcupines, chipmunks, woodpeckers, Steller's jay, the blue grouse and ravens. Prairie dogs, eradicated from the park by the 1950s, were reestablished in the 1970s.

The rocks also hold the past: NPS notes that faulting, uplift and erosion have exposed fossils of plants and animals from 40 to 130 million years ago, very different from those living here now.

People have visited this place for a very long time.

Long ago, hunters came here. Later, Paiute people came to gather pine nuts and hunt rabbits. Settlers dug a long ditch to bring water to their farms.

An archaeological survey shows that people have been coming to Bryce for at least 10,000 years, the National Park Service says. Paleoindians hunted huge animals here at the end of the Ice Age. Later, Pueblo peoples hunted in the forests and meadows, and Paiutes came to the plateau to harvest pine nuts and hold big rabbit hunts.

Mormon pioneers dug a 10-mile (16-kilometer) irrigation ditch to carry water from the plateau to the dry valley below, where they started the town of Tropic. The main amphitheater was named for Ebenezer Bryce, an early settler. It became a national monument in 1923 and Bryce Canyon National Park in 1928.

NPS cites a recent archaeological survey showing people have visited Bryce's hoodoos for at least 10,000 years, mostly passing through because winters are so harsh: Paleoindians hunting large mammals at the end of the Ice Age, Pueblo peoples hunting on the plateau, and Paiutes harvesting pine nuts and holding broad-scale rabbit drives. Mormon pioneers dug a 10-mile (16 km) irrigation ditch from the plateau top, making the valley below farmable and founding Tropic, Utah. Britannica says the amphitheater called Bryce Canyon was named for Ebenezer Bryce, an early settler.

Bryce Canyon National Monument was established under the U.S. Forest Service on June 8, 1923; on June 7, 1924 it was renamed Utah National Park and transferred to the National Park Service; on February 25, 1928 it became Bryce Canyon National Park, later enlarged to 35,835 acres. NPS credits the Union Pacific Railroad and the Civilian Conservation Corps with making it accessible to travelers.

Stay on the trails and away from cliff edges.

The rocks crumble easily, so never climb on them. Wear good shoes, drink water and wear a hat. Do not feed the animals.

The National Park Service warns that Bryce's rock forms crumbly cliffs and steep, gravelly slopes, so climbing on the hoodoos is both dangerous and against the rules. Stay on marked trails, keep away from cliff edges and wear hiking boots with good grip: the wrong shoes are the number one cause of rescues and injuries in the park.

The park is high, up to 2,778 meters, where there is about 70 percent of the oxygen most visitors are used to. Trails start at the top, so the way back is always uphill. Drink water often, wear a hat and sunscreen, and if you hear thunder, get into a building or vehicle right away. Watch wildlife from a distance and never feed it.

NPS safety guidance: the rock forms crumbly cliffs and gravelly slopes on which holds "support nothing heavier than chipmunks"; climbing and sliding are illegal and dangerous. Footwear not designed for hiking is the leading cause of rescues and injuries requiring hospital visits; traction devices are strongly recommended in winter. At up to 9,115 ft (2,778 m) visitors breathe about 70% of the oxygen they may be used to, and because trails begin at the rim, every return is uphill.

The daily temperature range can reach 50 °F (27 °C). Lightning is a year-round hazard: if thunder is audible, lightning is within about 10 miles (16 km) and visitors should shelter in a building or vehicle. NPS advises drinking 1 quart (1 liter) every 1–2 hours, sun protection, and watching wildlife from a distance, since fed animals become aggressive and can bite and transmit disease.