How well do you know Bryce Canyon?
Bryce Canyon is famous for thousands of orange rock spires called hoodoos. Six questions, from easy to hard, with explanations.
Did you know?
- Bryce Canyon is named after Ebenezer Bryce, a settler who lived nearby in the 1870s. He is famously said to have described it as 'a hell of a place to lose a cow'.
- Thor's Hammer, a hoodoo with a large block balanced on top, is one of Bryce Canyon's best-known formations. It can be seen from Sunset Point and along the Navajo Loop Trail.
- The park's Astronomy Festival draws thousands of visitors each summer. Volunteers set up telescopes so visitors can view planets, star clusters and distant galaxies from one of the darkest places in North America.
A forest of stone
Bryce Canyon National Park protects a spectacular landscape of hoodoos, fins and windows carved into the colorful limestone of southern Utah. Unlike the deep canyons nearby, Bryce is a collection of amphitheaters along the edge of a high plateau. Its viewpoints, trails and night skies make it one of the most memorable parks in the American Southwest.
How hoodoos form
Hoodoos begin as walls of rock called fins. Freezing and thawing widens cracks, creating windows that eventually collapse, leaving tall spires. A harder cap of rock on top of many hoodoos protects the softer layers beneath, slowing erosion and giving them their distinctive shapes.
Colors in the rock
Bryce's hoodoos glow in shades of orange, red, pink and white. Iron oxides give the rock its reddish tones, while manganese adds purple hues. The colors change with the light, and sunrise at viewpoints such as Sunrise Point is especially dramatic.
Hiking among hoodoos
Trails such as the Navajo Loop and Queen's Garden descend from the rim into the amphitheater, winding between hoodoos. The famous 'Wall Street' section passes through a narrow slot with tall rock walls. The climb back up can be tiring because of the high elevation.
Winter at Bryce
Snow often dusts the hoodoos in winter, creating a striking contrast between white snow and orange rock. The park stays open year-round, and visitors can snowshoe and cross-country ski along the rim. Temperatures can drop well below freezing at night.
Protecting the landscape
Bryce Canyon became a national park in 1928. Its fragile rock formations and soils can be damaged by off-trail walking, so visitors are asked to stay on trails. Efforts to reduce light pollution also help protect the park's famous night skies.
Wildlife on the plateau
Despite its rocky scenery, Bryce Canyon supports a surprising variety of wildlife. Utah prairie dogs, a threatened species, live in the park's meadows, and mule deer, pronghorn and more than 175 bird species can be found. Ancient bristlecone pines, among the oldest living trees, grow on some exposed ridges.