GSENM, The Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, Utah

Author: Bob Therrien
www.gsenm.com

The Grand Staircase in southern Utah is an immense sequence of sedimentary rock layers that stretch south from Bryce Canyon National Park through Zion National Park and into the Grand Canyon. In the 1870s, geologist Clarence Dutton first conceptualized this region as a huge stairway ascending out of the bottom of the Grand Canyon northward with the cliff edge of each layer forming giant steps. Dutton divided this layer cake of Earth history into five steps that he colorfully named Pink Cliffs, Grey Cliffs, White Cliffs, Vermilion Cliffs, and Chocolate Cliffs. Since then, modern geologists have further divided Dutton's steps into individual rock formations.

Visiting Utah can be quite an experience. If you’ve heard about slot canyons and canyoneering, then you’ve probably read about southern Utah. The major airports to fly into the region are normally Las Vegas for southern Utah or Salt Lake City for northern Utah. Researching your trip normally means selecting your areas of interest from the following regions.

• Northern Utah - Central Utah - Southern Utah

The Grand Staircase can be accessed from Southern Utah. It is vast and very diverse. Some of the activities people enjoy are:

• Hiking
• Camping
• Biking
• ATV
• Scenic Drives
• Horseback Riding
• Wildlife
• Rivers

What makes the Grand Staircase worldly unique is that it preserves more Earth history than any other place on Earth. Geologists often liken the study of sedimentary rock layers to reading a history book--layer by layer, detailed chapter by detailed chapter. The problem is that in most places in the world, the book has been severely damaged by the rise and fall of mountains, the scouring of glaciers, etc. Usually these chapters are completely disarticulated from each other and often whole pages are just missing. Yet the Grand Staircase and the lower cliffs that comprise the Grand Canyon remain largely intact speaking to over 600 million years of continuous Earth history with only a few paragraphs missing here and there.

Many people drive into the GSENM on Cottonwood or Skutumpah Roads and enjoy
the hikes listed below. These road are very close to Kodachrome Basin State Park, which is very colorful and interesting.

• Willis Creek
• Bull Valley Gorge
• Lick Wash
• Hackberry
• Cottonwood Wash
• Wahweap Hoodoos

Unfortunately, the Grand Staircase is such a vast region of rock that no matter where you stand on its expanse, most of it will be hidden behind the curvature of Earth. Places such as Yovimpa Point and the north slope of the Kaibab Plateau are the exception where even a non-geologist can discern the individual chapters of this colossal history book--these immense steps of Dutton's Grand Staircase.
The sections or steps in the Grand Staircase are named for the dominant color of rock. You are standing on the top step known as the Pink Cliffs. The entire Pink Cliffs of Bryce are but a single step in the much larger Grand Staircase. Directly below you are the Grey Cliffs. As you look into the distance you can see Molly's Nipple which is part of the White Cliffs. Looking down into distant canyons near the horizon, you can just make out some red rock underneath the White Cliffs. This red rock makes up the Vermilion Cliffs. Hidden from view but directly under the Towering Vermilion cliffs are the comparatively diminutive, Chocolate Cliffs. The tree-covered hills that meet the horizon belong to the Kaibab Plateau — the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Some of the source content of this article was obtained from the National Park Service.