What is Capitol Reef All About?
According to the Park Service brochures, the area accumulated sediments from shallow seas, rivers, tidal flats, and deserts, with an occasional sprinkling of volcanic ash, over hundreds of millions of years. Then, about 65 million years ago, the forces that created the Colorado Plateau also lifted up this deep, layered area, and erosion, rather than deposition, began to take over to remove the softer layers and leave the stark and spectacular formations there today. The park lies along the relatively narrow, 100-mile long boundary of the original uplift area where the folding and bending of the original rock layers was the more extreme. This is where the folding allowed erosion to cut horizontally across the rock types , creating the great variety in the rock exposed at this location. With variety come differences in how rocks are eroded, and today's impressive cliffs, turrets, and canyons are the result.

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