Location/Geography: Wayne, Garfield, Sevier, and Emery Counties, Utah. Area: 241,904.26 acres (978.9518 sq. km). Some 100 miles, lengthwise the ʻreefʼ is fairly narrow (378 sq. miles). Capitol Reef NP encompasses the Waterpocket Fold.
Spotlight: The Waterpocket Fold country provides a unique geographical and geophysical landscaping: Paleozoic and Mesozoic Era formations in spellbinding shapes created by major faulting and folding of the terrain. In short, wrinkles never looked so good!
Snapshot: Established as a national park in 1971, though at one time a national monument, but later recommended only as a national recreation area, Capitol Reef defines a massive crease and stress in the planet’s crust. The term reef refers to any rocky barrier, while a waterpocket is essentially a broad basin formed in many of the sandstone layers and eroded by water. With the majestic Henry Mountains backdrop, the Waterpocket Fold is formidable terrain in every respect. The park just might be the best kept secret of all national parks in the Southwest, mainly because it’s seldom crowded with visitors relative to other highly scenic places throughout the Colorado Plateau (especially the Grand Canyon). Impressive landmarks appear from the Fremont River to Pleasant Creek. Everywhere is seen something unique, something spellbinding in features, some 66 million years old. Newer and older layers of rock formations are also folded over each other are contorted into a classic S-shape. This revealing and warped landform may have been caused by colliding continental plates that also created the Rocky Mountains, and has since weathered rather nicely over millennia. The result has exposed layers of odd-shaped rocks (domes) along with surfeit and diverse fossils.
Kindly note: Before the tour gets started, all my photos currently stored on a photo storage site (ahem!) and their not permitting me access until I cough up money that I never knew was mandatory (because this "You have exceeded your bandwidth" forthwith notice came up out of the proverbial blue) comes down to this finer point: posting pics on future tours, including this tour underway, will be minimal until I find a better source to work with. Meanwhile, I say without reservation how using this other photo site is like inviting a persona non grata type home for supper. Any suggestions by the community are welcomed.