PART FIVE:
Selected Capitol Reef
National Park Viewpoints B:
Seeing the Park from the East Side
So what is this Waterpocket Fold business all about? Apparently 65 million years ago this huge spine of rock, running north-south for a hundred miles, was thrust into the air, lifted up on its western side, running from north of Capitol Reef all the way into what is now the Escalante arm of Lake Powell.
Erosion has made it what it is today, essentially a low and rather strange looking mountain range, with younger rocks on the eastern side (since it was lifted up along the western edge, exposing older rocks, some 270 million year old sandstones). Different rock layers, or even sections within the same rock layer with slightly different properties, influenced the way that erosion took and still takes place here and there, leaving domes and turrets behind.
What does "waterpocket" mean? These sandstones will have hollowed out bowls weathered into them that can at times fill with water, that's all. I think when they have water in them they are called 'bajadas.'
These are two views back to the central part of Capitol Reef, seen from the east, showing some of these interesting erosional features (on the next page we will be in the center of these formations)-- note the abrupt western edge and the gentler eastward slopes:
Moving southward also gave interesting views, at one point seeing over the lower portions of the Capitol Reef park formation to the Aquarius Plateau to the west of it:
From this location we also looked east at the drainage for this massive east-sloping area:
Then we look south along the Waterpocket Fold ridge, it has a break in it here, with the ridge jogging westward and then coming back southeastward. At the very southern end its cliffs amaze boaters in the Escalante arm of Lake Powell looking northward along this same ridge. (in the last 2 photos out of these 3, don't confuse the ridge coming in from the left with the Waterpocket Fold ridge which is on the right):
One surprising thing is that on this eastern slope there are some ranches, and a very nicely located bed & breakfast place as well (that is Boulder Mountain in the distance, one of the peaks on the Aquarius Plateau to the west of Capitol Reef):
Speaking of the Aquarius Plateau, more of it is visible from the east, looking over the southern part of Capitol Reef in these next two photos:
So now let's get right into the center of the higher areas of Capitol Reef National Park shown in the first two photos on this page. We will se the Fremont River, Navajo Dome, Capitol Dome, and some other sights.
Go to Third Capitol Reef Page: Central Capitol Reef National Park
Go Back to First Capitol Reef Page: Entering Capitol Reef National Park from the west.
Go to Grand Canyon National Park, North Rim (Arizona)
Go to Arches National Park, Utah
Go to Canyonlands National Park, Utah