Capitol Reef National Park: Red Cliffs, Petroglyphs and Badlands | p600.org
Capitol Reef National Park: Red Cliffs, Petroglyphs and Badlands
A photographic journey through Capitol Reef National Park and the desert east of it, from the Waterpocket Fold’s layered red cliffs and Fremont Culture petroglyphs to stark badlands, isolated buttes and the open roads of central Utah.
Petroglyph figures emerge from darker desert varnish in a narrow sandstone seam.
Contents
Capitol Reef National Park is defined by the Waterpocket Fold, a nearly 100-mile-long monocline of tilted sedimentary rock. This photographic sequence moves from the park’s red cliffs and sculpted sandstone to Fremont Culture petroglyphs along Utah Highway 24, then into the pale badlands east of the park.
Red cliffs and the Waterpocket Fold
Red Cliffs of Capitol Reef
Layered red cliffs rise above sparse desert vegetation in Capitol Reef National Park.
Chimney Rock at Capitol Reef
Chimney Rock stands beside the layered red cliffs of Capitol Reef.
Sandy Wash Between Red Cliffs
A sandy wash cuts between red cliffs and scattered desert vegetation.
Red cliffs, Chimney Rock and a sandy wash show several faces of Capitol Reef’s Waterpocket Fold landscape.
Road Through the Waterpocket Fold
A paved road curves through the red-rock landscape of the Waterpocket Fold.
A paved road cuts a clean curve through the layered red-rock country.
Layered Rock of the Waterpocket Fold
Contrasting sedimentary layers reveal the varied rock sequence exposed in the Waterpocket Fold.
Eroded Red Rock Layers
Rounded red strata and pale rock layers show the effects of differential erosion.
Contrasting sedimentary layers and rounded erosion patterns reveal how quickly the geology changes across the fold.
Fremont Culture petroglyphs
The petroglyph panels along Utah Highway 24 are associated with the Fremont Culture. The National Park Service notes human-like figures, bighorn sheep, other animals and geometric designs among the imagery visible from the roadside boardwalks.
Fremont Petroglyphs on Red Sandstone
Fremont Culture petroglyphs appear on a red sandstone wall above fallen blocks.
Fremont Culture Petroglyph Panel
A weathered panel preserves human-like and geometric Fremont Culture figures along Utah Highway 24.
Petroglyphs in Desert Varnish
Petroglyph figures emerge from darker desert varnish in a narrow sandstone seam.
Broad Fremont Petroglyph Panel
A broad Fremont Culture petroglyph panel stretches across the weathered sandstone surface.
Human-like, animal and geometric figures appear across several weathered sandstone panels, sometimes only faintly visible in the desert varnish.
Petroglyphs on a Narrow Rock Face
Faint petroglyph figures remain visible on a narrow vertical rock face.
Animal Petroglyphs in Sandstone
Small animal-like figures are pecked into a pale band of sandstone beneath an overhang.
Smaller petroglyph details continue across narrow rock faces and shallow sandstone recesses.
East into the badlands
Sandstone Towers East of Capitol Reef
Freestanding sandstone towers rise under a clear blue sky east of Capitol Reef.
Freestanding sandstone towers mark the transition from Capitol Reef’s red-rock scenery toward the more open desert to the east.
East of Capitol Reef, around Caineville and Factory Butte, the landscape changes sharply. The Factory Butte area is known for soft Mancos Shale badlands, where erosion produces smooth gray slopes, narrow ridges and deeply cut gullies.
Pale Cliffs Near Caineville
Pale cliffs and eroded slopes mark the transition into the Caineville desert east of Capitol Reef.
Caineville Badland Slopes
Deep gullies cut through soft gray-tan badland slopes near Caineville.
Butte Above Mancos Shale Badlands
A flat-topped butte rises beyond smooth gray-brown badlands in the Factory Butte area.
Rippled Badland Ridge
Closely spaced erosion lines texture a long ridge of soft gray-brown sediment.
Pale cliffs, gullied slopes and long ribbed ridges build a stark badland landscape around Caineville and Factory Butte.
Factory Butte and Mancos Shale Badlands
Factory Butte towers above sharply eroded Mancos Shale badlands east of Capitol Reef.
Factory Butte rises above sharply dissected Mancos Shale terrain, one of the most distinctive landforms east of Capitol Reef.
Mountains Beyond the Badlands
Distant mountains rise beyond bands of tan and gray badlands.
Smooth Badland Ridge Under Blue Sky
Fine erosion lines run down a smooth, sparsely vegetated badland ridge.
Long Mesa Across the Open Desert
A broad mesa stretches across the open desert beyond the badland country.
Beyond the main buttes, smooth ridges and broad mesas stretch into a much more open central Utah desert.
Across the open desert
Passenger Train Across the Utah Desert
A passenger train crosses the open Utah desert beneath a wide blue sky.
Trucks Under an Open Western Sky
Parked semi-trucks form a straight line beneath the open western sky.
Rail transport and parked trucks add a human scale to the final views across the wide Utah landscape.