CANYONLANDS NATIONAL PARK

In September 12, 1964, President Johnson signed into law a Congressional bill establishing Canyonlands National Park in Southeastern Utah. This is our newest park, and the first major area to be added to the system since 1956. The occasion was attended by considerable ceremony. Present were Secretary of the Interior Udall, National Park Service Director Hartzog, interested senators and representatives, and leading conservationists.

Canyonlands National Park includes a sizable area surrounding the junction of the Colorado and Green rivers. This section of the Canyon Country has long been known to contain some of the most spectacular rock scenery in the world. But it is a barren desert labyrinth so incredibly rough that few have penetrated its depths. Except for river runners in boats, local cattlemen, prospectors, miners and intrepid jeep-borne wanderers, the area has remained largely an untrodden wilderness, some of it still unexplored.

However, the uranium, potash, oil and gas booms of recent years have enticed an ever-increasing number of motorized treasure seekers into the Canyonlands area. Their photographs and descriptions, augmented by air. reconnaissance, showed that here was one of the rarest and most significant examples of original America. Conservation-minded people throughout the nation became interested and urged that it be preserved in its natural state inviolate from commercial development.

As a result of the widespread enthusiasm, the National Park Service began a study of the region in 1959. The conclusion was that Canyonlands “is of unquestionable national significance. It would make a suitable in fact, an outstanding national park.” But its actual creation as a park might have taken years of struggle if it hadn't been for Stewart L. Udall. Canyon-lands is preeminently his park. Descended from pioneer Northern Arizona Mormon stock, he has known and loved the Colorado River Canyon Country since childhood. Upon his appointment as Secretary of the Interior by President Kennedy, Udall gave the Canyonlands proposal his blessing and focused the spotlight of national publicity on the area.

No other area on earth can match the Arizona-Utah Canyon Country's intricate, twisting gorges, soaring cliff-walled buttes, stone fins, spires, needles, towers, mono-liths and vaulting, symmetrical arches. Unique, too, are the colors. Everywhere the landscape is splashed and banded with brilliant rainbow hues, and the naked rocks glow as if from an inner light. About the size of the State of Maine, the entire region is rugged, stark and inhospitable, with large parts uninhabited. Yet it is a realm of breathtaking beauty which exerts a mysterious fascination, and almost everyone who knows the Canyon Country falls under its spell.

Glory and Desolation are All merged in One"

Notes for Photographers: CAMERA ADVENTURE IN AN UNEXPOSED SCENIC AREA BEWILDERING TO BEHOLD

"TRIANGLE ARCH" BY JOSEF MUENCH. Photo shows Triangle Arch in Lavender Canyon, Canyonlands National Park, Utah. Situated in the Needles Country, this arch, eroded out of towering red sandstone cliffs, is reached by jeep and a short hike in an area where the splendid scenery is exciting around every bend. 4x5 Linhof camera; Ektachrome; f.14 at 1/25th sec.; 6" Xenar lens; September; afternoon light.

"JUGHANDLE WINDOW" BY JOSEF MUENCH. Jughandle Window is reached by way of the northern park road, thence down the Shafer Trail (a jeep road). This natural window, towering high against the sky, is a break-off from the Wingate sandstone of the Island in the Sky plateau, from where countless minor gorges lead to the deeply set Colorado River. 4x5 Linhof camera; Ektachrome; f.16 at 1/10th sec.; 81/4" Tessar lens; November; partial backlighting.

"THE NEEDLES IN ELEPHANT CANYON" BY JOSEF MUENCH. A view of the Needles in Elephant Canyon, reached by jeep road and a short hike from Chesler Park. This is part of the fantastic scenery in the Needles Country, where every rock seems individually shaped and every view offers something new. 4x5 Linhof camera; Ektachrome; f.18 at 1/10th sec.; 6" Xenar lens.

"IN THE LAND OF STANDING ROCKS" BY JOSEF MUENCH. View is in the western part of Canyonlands National Park, Utah, in the Land of Standing Rocks and is reached by jeep. The Big Fins, in a remote and lonely land with immense stone figures watching over the continual work of erosion, are some 300 feet high, set side by side in a giant parade. 4x5 Linhof camera; Ektachrome; f.20 at 1/25th sec.; 81/4" Tessar lens; November; late afternoon light.

"DRUID ARCH" BY JOSEF MUENCH. Druid Arch, in the Needles section of Canyonlands National Park, is reached by jeep to Chesler Park, thence by trail to the head of Elephant Canyon. This arch is a massive and unique structure, eroded from sandstone. Its name suggests old-world monuments for religious purposes by the early-day Druids. 4x5 Linhof camera; Ektachrome; f. 12 at 1/50th sec.

"POTSY ROCK" BY ROBERT A. BAKER. Potsy Rock, large balanced rock in Needles area south of Chesler Park, supposedly named after a saddle horse belonging to the Indian Creek Cattle Company, Canyonlands National Park, Utah. 4x5 Linhof Super Technika camera; Ektachrome E1; f.22 at 1/10th sec.; 150mm Schneider Symmar lens; May; bright, sunny day mid afternoon; Weston meter reading 6.

"SALT CREEK BOTTOM" BY ROBERT A. BAKER. Taken along jeep trail up Salt Creek about mid-way between Cave Springs and Angel Arch in Canyonlands National Park, Utah. Ledges and seams in canyon walls in this area contain many small Indian ruins and food storage caches. 4x5 Linhof Super Technika camera; Ektachrome E1; f.20 at 1/10th sec.; 150mm Schneider Symmar lens.

"CASTLE ARCH" BY ROBERT A. BAKER. This arch is located near head of Horse Canyon, a major tributary of Salt Creek. A short climb to the right from the end of the jeep trail in Horse Canyon will reward the traveler with a view of this fragile arch. 4x5 Linhof Super Technika camera; Ektachrome E1; f.20 at 1/10th sec.

"IN HORSE CANYON" BY ROBERT A. BAKER. Taken in Horse Canyon, a major tributary of Salt Creek, just above the narrows in the jeep trail. The cottonwood bottom is one of the designated camping areas in the new park. 4x5 Linhof Super Technika camera; Ektachrome Ex; f.22 at 1/10th sec.; 150mm Schneider Symmar lens.

"VIEW FROM NORTH POINT" BY JOSEF MUENCH. View from North Point on the Orange Cliffs, overlooking Canyonlands National Park. A tremendous panorama reveals rugged canyons in complicated twistings and intervening flatlands that hide the Green and Colorado Rivers. The Abajo Mountains soar against the distant skyline. 4x5 Linhof camera; Ektachrome; f. 16 at 1/50th sec.; 6" Xenar lens; November.

"IN THE NEEDLES SECTION OF CANYONLANDS NATIONAL PARK" BY JOSEF MUENCH. Photo taken in the Needles Section of Canyonlands National Park, Utah. The approach to this area in Chesler Park is from Squaw Flat (proposed headquarters site) by jeep. Fantastic rock formations, eroded from layered sandstone, give the name to this section, portrayed here in the afternoon light. (Note the tiny figure). 4x5 Linhof camera; Ektachrome; f.16 at 1/10th second.

"CASTLE OF SEGOVIA" BY JOSEF MUENCH. The Castle of Segovia is in Elephant Canyon and is reached by foot trail from Chesler Park in the Needles Section. This tinted and layered sandstone formation erupts into the blue along the main drainage course in the rugged Needles area and was named "Castle of Segovia" by the photographer, because of its resemblance to the one in Spain. 4x5 Linhof camera; Ektachrome; f.14 at 1/10th sec.; 6" Xenar lens; November; early morning light.

"DEVIL'S LANE" BY JOSEF MUENCH. The Devil's Lane, in the Needles Section, is reached from Squaw Flat by jeep, not far from the junction of the Green and Colorado Rivers. Devil's Lane, really a canyon, is geologically termed Graben (sunken valley) where the center has sunk, leaving high walls on either side. 4x5 Linhof camera; Ektachrome; f.11 at 1/25th sec.; 6" Xenar lens; November; early morning side light.

"VIEW FROM GRANDVIEW POINT" BY JOSEF MUENCH. From Grandview Point in Canyonlands National Park. This overlook is reached by taking the Dead Horse Point road, thence branching off on a good graded road across the Island of the Sky plateau. Here one is looking down from this viewpoint into Monument Basin with its intricate pattern revealing the rugged grandeur and system of many-fingered canyons. 4x5 Linhof camera; Ektachrome; f.18 at 1/50th sec.

"THE DOLLHOUSE" BY JOSEF MUENCH. This view shows the Dollhouse in Canyonlands National Park above the Colorado River. This scene was taken in the Land of Standing Rocks and is only reached over the Old Spanish Trail from Spanish Bottoms by hiking up from the river. Bathed in the soft evening light, visitors enjoy the weirdly dissected rocks of Cutler sandstone, looking more like dolls, ready for some child to play with. 4x5 Linhof camera; Ektachrome; f.14 at 1/25th sec.

"JUNCTION OF THE GREEN AND COLORADO RIVERS" BY JOSEF MUENCH. Here is the junction of the Green (left) and Colorado Rivers, Canyonlands National Park. This setting is reached by jeep road from Squaw Flat in the Needles Section. 4x5 Linhof camera; Ektachrome; f.16 at 1/25th sec.

"UPHEAVAL DOME" BY JOSEF MUENCH. Upheaval Dome in Canyonlands National Park, Utah. By branching off the Grandview Point road and taking a graded road west, a short hike brings the visitor to this spot. Considered by geologists "a most unusual geologic feature," this "crater" several miles wide is actually a pocket rimmed by sandstone and pushed up by uneven earth pressures rather than a volcanic product. 4x5 Linhof camera; Ektachrome; f.16 at 1/50th sec.

"IN CATARACT CANYON" BY JOSEF MUENCH. View shows nature's architecture in Cataract Canyon, Canyonlands National Park. This scene was taken from a boat coming downstream from Moab near the junction of the Green and Colorado Rivers. Serene in solitude, magnificent in form, cliffs tirelessly lift above the brown waters of the Colorado River in one of the earth's mightiest canyon cuts. 4x5 Linhof camera; Ektachrome; f.11 at 1/100th sec.

"SANDSTONE FORMATION IN SALT CREEK AREA" BY ROBERT A. BAKER. View is typical of the huge colorful sandstone formation in the Salt Creek area. Taken in Horse Canyon, approximately four miles upstream from its junction with Salt Creek near Cave Springs, Canyonlands National Park, Utah. Piñon Pine, Juniper, Cottonwood and Oak Brush are the primary large plant growth and their green tones contrast well with the blue skies and red-orange hues of the sandstone cliffs. 4x5 Linhof Super Technika camera; Ektachrome Ex; f.19 at 1/10th sec.; 150mm Schneider Symmar lens; early May; bright, sunny day with some light cirrus cloud cover which softened shadows slightly; Weston meter reading 6.

CANYONLANDS from page II

Fifteenth in size among the national parks, it ranks near the top in beauty and grandeur. Furthermore, there is hope that some 1,000 square miles of federally owned land surrounding the Park may be designated as a semiwilderness buffer zone.

Geologists and geographers call the Canyon Country the Colorado Plateau Province. The name comes from the river, not the state. Large enough to be a distinctive and separate topographical division of North America, the region consists of a series of relatively level high plateaus deeply dissected by the Colorado and its tributaries. In the age-long processes of uplift and erosion, more or less horizontal layers of sandstone, limestone, quartzite, shales, conglomerates and volcanic rocks have been cut into and laid bare. In places, such as the bottom of the Grand Canyon and in Southwestern Utah, the earth's surface has been sliced down as much as a vertical mile to the basement complex of billion-year-old Archaen rocks, the oldest known. Above these are spread, one above the other, thousands of feet of later formations to the present time. From top to bottom, these exposed layers graphically portray one of the most complete and continuous sections of geological history in the world. They show that the region has been covered by shallow seas several times, and that there have been many uplifts and subsidences of the earth's crust, as well as severe faulting and explosive volcanic activity. Also fossils in the successive layers tell a fascinating story of evolving life, from the earliest trilobites, through the age of dinosaurs, to the dominance of mammals. Nowhere is the past more clearly revealed, and the entire area is a gigantic natural museum where even the layman finds geology exciting.

Canyonlands National Park is a microcosm of the incredibly rugged terrain typical of the Colorado Plateau Province as a whole. But here the forces which have shaped the region have produced a particularly striking variety of scenic and scientific wonders. Shaped somewhat like an hour-glass, the Park stretches north and south for thirty-five miles and varies in width from seventeen to nineteen miles at the ends to a minimum of seven and a half miles in the middle. The constriction occurs just north of the junction of the Colorado and Green. On a map the principal topographical features are the canyons of these rivers, which form a Y within the Park. Above the junction, the Green is the western prong of the Y and the Colorado is the eastern, while below, the latter continues southward as the stem.

Both rivers flow in canyons they have cut into the lofty plateau to depths of 2,000 to 3,000 feet. These consist of narrow inner gorges walled by almost continuous precipices, 1,000 to 1,500 feet high, topped by shelves, basins and terraces which extend back to the foot of the final cliffs outlining the plateau. This middle zone, between inner and outer canyons, is subjected to intense weathering and is an area of hanging valleys, tortuous side canyons, and monumental amphitheaters of sculptured rock. It is in this mid-zone that most of Canyonlands' amazing rock formations are found. The prevailing color is a rich red, shading off into pink, saffron, gold, brown and white, a land of riotous color.

Elevations range from 3,600 feet on the Colorado at the Park's south boundary to 6,500 feet on the highest part of the plateau, and biological conditions vary from Lower Sonoran desert plants and animals in the deep canyons to scattered piñons and junipers on the rims. But the climate of the whole area is extremely dry, with an annual average precipitation of only five to ten inches. This prevailing aridity retards the growth of vegetation and formation of soil, and is the reason for the sharp edges and fresh, clean-cut appearance of Canyon Country landscapes.

The rivers divide the Park into north, south and west sections, each separated from the others by profound canyons. The triangular northern part, between the converging Colorado and Green, holds a remnant of the plateau, aptly named Island in the Sky. Nearly level, it extends down from the north in a long, narrow tongue, irregularly scalloped by an almost perpendicular cliff which drops off a thousand feet to the basins and alcoves of the mid-zone. Most spectacular of these is Standing Rock or Monument Basin, which bristles with brick-red sandstone towers and pinnacles several hundred feet high. At the southern tip of the Island in the Sky is Grandview Point, commanding a sweeping panorama over hundreds of square miles of barren, rocky wilderness to distant blue mountains rimming the horizon. Also in the northern section is Upheaval Dome, a strange sandstone "blister" cut into on the west by a huge natural amphitheater with walls 1,200 feet high. Here erosion has bitten so deeply that a core of gleaming white mineral salts is exposed at the bottom.

Across the Colorado, to the south, is the Needles Country, where massive red sandstone has been worn into a fantasy of pillars, spires, and steeples some tall as thirty-story buildings. In places clusters of soaring rocks stand against the sky like city skyscrapers. Among them are Devil's Pocket, Chesler and Virginia parks, roomy, grass-floored openings. To the east of the Needles Country is a contorted stone labyrinth of canyons, fins and ridges which contains dozens of natural arches of all sizes. Largest are the superb Angel and Druid arches, two of the most impressive in the whole Canyon Country. This area, too, is scattered with numerous well-preserved cliff dwellings and pictographs of the prehistoric Indian inhabitants.

The isolated western portion of the Park is separated from the two others by Stillwater Canyon on the Green and the Colorado's famed Cataract Canyon. Since Major John Wesley Powell's first down-river boat trip in 1869, Cataract Canyon has been known as one of the Colorado's most hazardous stretches, and an awed water-borne explorer said of it: "Here grandeur, glory and desolation are all merged into one." The Major and his party took eight days to line their boats along the rugged banks to avoid running Cataract Canyon's "man-eating" rapids.

The western side of the Park is a long, narrow strip which includes the west walls and rims of the two canyons. Although there are spectacular views on top and the scenery is grand throughout, unfortunately the Land of Standing Rocks and the Maze were left outside the Park boundaries. But both are startling examples of ero-sion

...Quite unlike anything else on this planet

and well deserve inclusion. The first is an open valley perched more than a thousand feet above the Colorado. Here slender orange-colored pinnacles rise abruptly several hundred feet. They are widely spaced and each stands alone. Names such as the Totem Pole, Candlestick Spire and Lizard Rock indicate the shapes of these bizarre formations, and from a distance they resemble giant human figures. In fact, an alternate name for the area is "Land of Standing Men."

The valley breaks away to the north into the Maze. Little known and seldom entered, this is an intricate network of narrow ravines cut into bright red sandstone. There are several natural bridges in the depths of the Maze, as well as signs of ancient Indian occupation; and cattle-rustling trails made around the turn of the century can still be followed. For many years the Maze was part of the so-called Robbers' Roost, the hideout for the notorious Butch Cassidy and his "Wild Bunch." On the western side of the Park the Orange Cliffs form a backdrop, extending from the high plateau behind in thin ridges, cut by gaps, and left in places as isolated buttes.

Until recently the craters, mountains and "seas" of the moon were better known to the general public than were the hidden earthly wonders of Canyonlands. But this age-long seclusion has been suddenly shattered. In a narrow Arizona gorge, five miles south of the Utah line, twenty million barrels of cement were poured to create mammoth Glen Canyon Dam. Built by the Bureau of Reclamation, this colossal federal undertaking is the key unit of the Upper Colorado River Storage Project, which is designed to control the water resources of the Colorado River basin in Wyoming, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico. Completed in 1963, the dam stands 580 feet high and impounds the river's waters into a reservoir 186 miles long named Lake Powell in honor of the Colorado's famed explorer. With 1,500 miles of shoreline when full, the artificial lake invades hundreds of side canyons and backs up into the remotest reaches of Utah's rock wilderness almost to the south boundary of the new national park.

So, what was formerly a near-legendary no-man'sland is now easily accessible by boat, and Lake Powell is becoming one of the West's foremost water playgrounds. Realizing the tremendous future outdoor recreation potential of this highly scenic man-made body of water, Reclamation and the National Park Service jointly established the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in 1958. Administered by the latter agency, this 1,217,079-acre reserve encloses a large part of Lake Powell and provides boating, fishing and camping facilities, concessions for meals, lodging and services, as well as trails and some access roads.

These developments during the past five years have opened up the Canyon Country and are almost as revolutionary as the beginning of a new geological period. The ineffable wild quality has gone, and those who knew and loved the free, exhuberant Colorado regret its passing as they would mourn the loss of a unique and irreplaceable friend. In fact, the river's obituary is sympathetically expressed in two beautiful books published by the Sierra Club, one of the nation's largest and most influential conservation-outdoor organizations.

But the human invasion is bound to increase and a choice faces the American people. Shall this grand rem-nant of our original natural inheritance be exploited by helter-skelter commercialism? Or shall the finest parts be preserved in an unspoiled condition according to a com-prehensive over-all plan for the benefit and enjoyment ofall? Canyonlands is an initial move in the latter direction.Further, Secretary Udall proposes a "Golden Circle"which would include most of the Canyon Country'snumerous national parks, national monuments, nationalforests, and state parks. Among these would be Arizona'sGrand Canyon and Kaibab Plateau, and Utah's Zionand Bryce Canyons, Rainbow Bridge, Arches, Bridgesand Capitol Reef National Monuments and MonumentValley. Besides adding new areas, such as Canyonlands,the Secretary hopes that several monuments may beenlarged and raised to park status. To complete the pic-ture, he visualizes a system of highways linking this price-priceless collection of scenic gems and making them easilyaccessible to those seeking recreation, relaxation, explora-tion and adventure. If accomplished, the Golden Circlewould undoubtedly be the world's top automobile trip invariety and grandeur.

CHESLER PARK

Thus it would seem that the wise decision for thefuture development of the Arizona-Utah Canyon Coun-try is to protect its unique landscapes from despoilationby private interests. That is, of course, the primary pur-pose of national parks. The National Park idea is dis-tinctly American, and is one of our most successfulventures in cooperative democracy. Since the establish-ment of Yellowstone by Congress in 1872, "dedicatedand set apart as a public park and pleasuring ground forthe benefit of the people," our park system has grown tomore than twenty-six million acres, and now consists ofthirty-two federally owned and administered parks andmore than one hundred and fifty monuments, parkways,recreation areas and historic shrines. To these came more than one hundred and ten million visitors in 1964. Furthermore, the national park concept has spread toalmost every civilized country and represents repre one of ourgreatest single contributions to world-wide appreciationand preservation of natural beauty.

The national park principle firmly endorses the prop-osition that the federal government has a responsibility forproctecting the best samples of American scenery for thewell-being, education and inspiration of their ownersthe people of the United States. In fact, national parkscan only be established by Congress, while the Antiqui-ties Act of 1906 provides that national monuments maybe created from federal lands by presidential proclama-tion. However, after Yellowstone, the nation's park sys-tem grew slowly and hapazardly for thirty-three years.By 1915 there were thirteen national parks and a scoreof national monuments, but they had no correlatedadministration and were handled as items in the Miscel-laneous Division of the Interior Department. To put thenational parks on a firm basis, Congress passed a bill in1916 which set up a separate bureau in Interior to takeover full administration of the Park System and to formu-late procedures for their management and use. Called theNational Park Service, the new bureau rapidly forgedahead, developing and expanding the parks into a uni-fied system which is today unrivalled by any othercountry on earth.

One of the basic policies of the National Park Service is that each unit shall exemplify a definite type ofscenery and, where possible, every park shall be thefinest of its kind. This principle was well expressed byRay Lyman Wilbur, Secretary of the Interior in President Hoover's Cabinet. He wrote: "If the National Parks are to serve their larger and ultimate purpose, it is imperative that there be no lowering of park standards, and no letting down the barriers of protection. Each of the major National Parks represents the highest type of its particular natural exhibit or phenomena, and each aspirant for park status must pass this test before admission to the system. Surely these magnificent areas are so few in number that our great country can afford to protect them and keep them intact. The educational and inspirational value of the National Parks is far greater than any material gain that might be derived through industrial utilization of their natural resources.

Wilderness. Such places are increasingly necessary as escape hatches from the watch-spring tensions of modern urban living. We Americans are proud of our national parks and appreciate the stimulation and refreshment of seeing notable examples of our native land much as they were before the coming of the White Man. In fact, when the establishment of Canyonlands was announced, thousands wanted to go. But, as yet, this brand-new park in undeveloped for casual motorists in the family car. No paved roads enter the area; lodging, meals and services do not exist; and improved campgrounds are lacking. The National Park Service has formulated a master plan designed to accommodate the expected flood of future tourists, but these projected facilities will cost millions of dollars and require years to complete. Meanwhile, improvements will go forward bit by bit, enabling visitors to see more of the Park each year.

Canyonlands passes this rigid test and is of national park caliber in every way. Geologically it contains perhaps a greater diversity of erosional features than any other comparable area in North America, and ranks as possibly the world's foremost exposure of red rock canyons. Scenically the Park displays a cross-section of all the features of the Canyon Country at their best. Plant and animal life, while not of major significance, supplements the scenery and is representative of the region as a whole. Mule deer, rodents, birds and reptiles characterize the wildlife population, and bighorn sheep are reported to dwell among the crags of the Colorado and Green river canyons. Traces of prehistoric man are found throughout the area, with a concentration of interesting Indian campsites, granaries, ruined villages and pictographs in the southeastern quarter of the Park. But perhaps Canyonlands greatest value is that it offers an opportunity to view a colorful and exciting geological extravaganza from above, then descend into its midst and experience the silence and immensity of the remote wilThe plan includes centers with overnight accommodations, restaurants, service stations, and trailer parks. There will be opportunities for boating, river tours, trips by four-wheel-drive vehicles to out-of-the-way spots among the jagged rocks and hidden basins; and riding horseback and hiking over maintained trails. In addition, visitor centers, museums, interpretive programs, roadside exhibit shelters, and picnic grounds will be spotted at various outlooks and points of interest. All these projects apply to the northern and southern sections of the Park. No development at present is contemplated for the more isolated western section, which will continue to be reached by graded desert dirt roads from paved Utah 24, between Green River and Hanksville.

The northern section as far as Grandview Point will be reached by paved road from U. S. 160, and an eventual extension is projected down to Upheaval Bottom on the east bank of the Green River. Here a second tourist center is proposed, having a motel, coffee shop, and services, as well as provision for boating, river trips and jeep tours. Some facilities also will be located at the Neck, northern entrance to the Island in the Sky. At present Grandview Point is accessible with standard cars by a fair dirt road, which is being black-topped this year as far as Deadhorse Point. This superb outlook on the plateau rim is within a 4,500-acre Utah state park and is near the northeast corner of Canyonlands. A new The greatest problem in developing the new park for the expected heavy visitation is water. Except for the rivers and a small spring at Squaw Flat, the supply is meager. But unless adequate water resources can be found, the integrated Master Plan will remain a visionary dream. The Park Service is now engaged in water exploration, and is drilling test wells on the northern plateau and probing Squaw Spring for possible additional supplies. Unless sufficient water is found, it may be necessary to tap the rivers. However, this would require pumping, desilting and purifying at enormous cost.

approach road into the northern section by way of the Colorado River Canyon and Monument Basin is being considered as a possibility.

Although open all year, Canyonlands is primarily a summer park, and probably full facilities will not be in operation during the winter. Because of this seasonal character, permanent administrative headquarters are likely to be located in the town of Moab on U. S. 160, a few miles east of the Park boundary. The present dirt road from the highway into the southern section is scheduled for paving as far as Squaw Flat, which will be the principal park visitor center, with full tourist accommodations. Beyond, good graded roads are planned to the confluence of the Colorado and Green, Tower Ruin, and to Devil's Pocket, Chesler and Virginia parks in the Needles Country. Jeep trails will penetrate the rocky fastness on the south to Horse Canyon, Angel Arch and the Jump, where campgrounds will be available.

Temporarily Canyonlands is administered by the Superintendent of Arches National Monument on U. S. 160, five miles north of Moab. Information about the latest developments, maps and descriptive literature may be obtained at the Monument's Visitor Center. There are no overnight accommodations or services at Arches, but Moab is a popular stop for tourists and has excellent motels, restaurants, gas stations and auto repair shops, campgrounds and trailer parks. Both at Moab and Green River, Utah, to the north, boat trips may be made on the Colorado and Green into the heart of the Canyonlands area, while well-organized, all-expense jeep tours are available for those who like to rough it in wild country with reasonable comfort. So, even though undeveloped, there is no need to postpone exploration of the still little-known marvels of our newest national park. It will prove to be an unfolding adventure in superlatives, not quite like anything else on earth.