Utah National Parks

Canyonlands National Park

General Info  Maps   Photos   Sights to See    Park Activities

The Canyonlands National Park, located near Moab, Utah, has colorful canyons, mesas and buttes that were carved out by the Colorado River and its tributaries. Canyonlands is divided into three separate districts: Island in the Sky, the Needles and the Maze. While these areas possess a similar desert atmosphere, each has its own unique characteristics.

• U.S. National Park Service
• Utah.com
• History and Culture
• Nature and Science
• Curriculum Resources For Teachers
• Utah History Encyclopedia

Printable Chart (pdf)

• NPS Printable Maps
  Printable maps of the different areas of Canyonlands.
  
• Google Map
  Browser based map of the park. Click and drag maps to view adjacent sections immediately. View satellite images of the park that you can zoom and pan.
  
• The American Southwest
  Map of Canyonlands.
• MyUtahParks.com
  A very specific and useful map of Canyonlands National Park showing roads and entrances.

• Utah Collections
  A collection of pictures, videos and documents related to the park.
• Go-Utah.com
  Canyonlands National Park, Utah Photo Gallery - Beautiful photos, pictures, images.
• nps.gov
  US National Park Service photo gallery of Canyonlands.
• OhRanger.com
  Photos of Canyonlands National Park.
• USGS
  Canyonlands National Park: A Photographic Featuring Park Geology

• Arches - another fascinating geologic feature of the Needles; Angel Arch, Castle Arch, Fortress Arch and Wooden Shoe Arch are but a few found here. Most arches are well hidden in remote canyons and are reachable only by taking a long hike or a 4-wheel-drive trip.
• Cataract Canyon - view of the Green and Colorado rivers after they meet and undergo a turbulent change and pass furiously through this stretch of white water.
• Grand View Point Overlook - the views encompass 100 miles or more of canyon after canyon.
• Great Gallery - Ghostly, larger-than-life figures are painted on the walls in Horseshoe Canyon, a detached part of the park northwest of the Maze. These figures were painted 2,000 years ago by prehistoric people living in or near Canyonlands.
• Island in the Sky - the highest and northernmost section of the park. Formed of a broad, level mesa, it is bordered on the west by the Green River and on the east by the Colorado.
• The Maze - the westernmost section of the park, the most rugged and the most difficult to access. There are bizarre towers, walls, buttes and mesas in the Land of Standing Rocks, the Doll House and the Fins.
• The Needles District - found in the southeastern section of the park. An area of immense diversity, its arches, spires, canyons, pre-historic Indian ruins and fascinating pictographs vie for the viewer's attention.
• Upheaval Dome - an unusual geologic feature. This stone curiosity does not resemble a dome at all, but rather a meteor crater. Geologists from around the world have come to study it and debate its origin.
• White Rim - a nearly continuous sandstone bench that follows the contours of the mesa.

Park Activities