Climate
Southeast Utah is part of the Colorado Plateau, a "high desert" region that experiences wide temperature fluctuations, sometimes over 40 degrees in a single day. The temperate and most popular seasons are spring April through May and fall mid-September through October, when daytime highs average 60 to 80°F and lows average 30 to 50°F. Summer temperatures often exceed 100°F, making strenuous exercise difficult. Late summer monsoon season brings violent storm cells which often cause flash floods. Winters are cold, with highs averaging 30 to 50°F, and lows averaging 0 to 20°F. Though large snowfalls are uncommon except in nearby mountains, even small amounts of snow or ice can make local trails and roads impassable.
History
From the 1880s to 1975, local ranchers used much of Canyonlands for winter pasture, constructing trails to move their stock across the rugged terrain. In the 1950s the growth of America's nuclear arms program created a high demand for uranium. To encourage prospectors, the Atomic Energy Commission offered monetary incentives and built almost 1,000 miles of road in southeast Utah. In Canyonlands, these roads include the popular White Rim Road at the Island in the Sky. Though the region produced substantial amounts of uranium, miners discovered very little in what is now Canyonlands. However, the newly created roads led to other discoveries. For the first time, much of Canyonlands could be seen from a car. Tourism slowly increased as more people learned about the areaâs geologic wonders. By opening canyon country to travel, the miners blazed the trail for the creation of a National Park.
In the 1950s and early 1960s, Arches National Monument Superintendent Bates Wilson advocated the creation of a National Park in what is now Canyonlands. On September 12, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed Public Law 88-590 establishing Canyonlands National Park. Initially consisting of 257,640 acres, Congress expanded Canyonlands to its present size of 337,598 acres in 1971.
Flora and fauna
The desert animals that live in the park are mostly nocturnal and include kangaroo rats, woodrats also called packrats and most other small desert rodents, skunks, ringtails, foxes, bobcats, mountain lions, bats and owls. Other animals are most active during dawn and dusk hours and include mule deer, desert bighorn, coyotes, porcupines, desert cottontails, black-tailed jackrabbits, and many songbirds. The handful of animals likely to be seen during the day include rock squirrels, antelope squirrels, chipmunks, lizards, snakes, hawks, and eagles.
Plants in the park include drought escapers those which make use of favorable conditions when they exist and drought resistors those capable of growing with little water. Drought escapers are usually annuals that grow only when enough water is available. Seeds may lie dormant for years if conditions are not favorable. Most grasses are escapers, as are wildflowers that bloom after seasonal rains during spring or late summer. Drought resistors are typically perennials. Many have small, spiny leaves that reduce the impact of solar radiation, and some may drop their leaves if water is unavailable. Spines and hairy leaves act to reduce exposure to air currents and solar radiation, limiting the amount of water lost to evaporation. Cacti, yuccas and mosses are examples of drought resistors. Yuccas have extensive taproots that are able to use water beyond the reach of other plants. Moss, a plant not commonly associated with deserts, thrives because it can tolerate complete dehydration: when rains finally return, mosses green up immediately.
Landscape
Canyonlands National Park preserves one of the last relatively undisturbed areas of the Colorado Plateau, a geological province that encompasses much of the Colorado River and its tributaries. Carved out of vast sedimentary rock deposits, this landscape of canyons, mesas, and deep river gorges possesses remarkable natural features that are part of a unique desert ecosystem. Elevations within the park range from 3,700 to 7,200 feet above sea level.
The foundation of Canyonlands' ecology is its remarkable geology, which is visible everywhere in cliff profiles that reveal millions of years of deposition and erosion. These rock layers continue to shape life in Canyonlands today, as their erosion influences elemental features like soil chemistry and where water flows when it rains.