06 February 2010

Canyonlands National Park is a United States National Park that is located in Utah's Canyon Country. The small town of Moab is the gateway to this and the nearby Arches National Park. It is divided into three districts not connected by roads interior to the park: the Island in the Sky, the Needles, and the Maze (including Horseshoe Canyon). The Island in the Sky offers sweeping vistas over the lower two districts; the Needles and the Maze are more rugged, backcountry districts that offer excellent backcountry hikes and camping.

Canyonlands National Park preserves one of the last relatively undisturbed areas of the Colorado Plateau, a geological province that encompasses much of the Colorado River and its tributaries. Carved out of vast sedimentary rock deposits, this landscape of canyons, mesas, and deep river gorges possesses remarkable natural features that are part of a unique desert ecosystem. Elevations within the park range from 3,700 to 7,200 feet above sea level.

The foundation of Canyonlands' ecology is its remarkable geology, which is visible everywhere in cliff profiles that reveal millions of years of deposition and erosion. These rock layers continue to shape life in Canyonlands today, as their erosion influences elemental features like soil chemistry and where water flows when it rains.

The desert animals that live in the park are mostly nocturnal and include kangaroo rats, woodrats (also called packrats) and most other small desert rodents, skunks, ringtails, foxes, bobcats, mountain lions, bats and owls. Other animals are most active during dawn and dusk hours and include mule deer, desert bighorn, coyotes, porcupines, desert cottontails, black-tailed jackrabbits, and many songbirds. The handful of animals likely to be seen during the day include rock squirrels, antelope squirrels, chipmunks, lizards, snakes, hawks, and eagles.

Plants in the park include drought escapers (those which make use of favorable conditions when they exist) and drought resistors (those capable of growing with little water). Drought escapers are usually annuals that grow only when enough water is available. Seeds may lie dormant for years if conditions are not favorable. Most grasses are escapers, as are wildflowers that bloom after seasonal rains during spring or late summer. Drought resistors are typically perennials. Many have small, spiny leaves that reduce the impact of solar radiation, and some may drop their leaves if water is unavailable. Spines and hairy leaves act to reduce exposure to air currents and solar radiation, limiting the amount of water lost to evaporation. Cacti, yuccas and mosses are examples of drought resistors. Yuccas have extensive taproots that are able to use water beyond the reach of other plants. Moss, a plant not commonly associated with deserts, thrives because it can tolerate complete dehydration: when rains finally return, mosses green up immediately. Wiki