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Please note: Yesterday's Goblin Valley posting was the first of three Utah State Park diaries. And, yes, I have heard from others that the March Madness political stuff tends to push diaries too quickly off the recent posting list, but that's not in my purview to do anything about it. So, for those who missed the diary it can still be found at this URL: http://www.dailykos.com/...
Meanwhile, here's the second State Park setting I want to feature in this series, and like Goblin Valley, a very singular setting in all respects, including the enigma of what these so-called pipes and spires are really all about.
Location/Geography: In south central Utah, Kane County, and south of Cannonville. Closest towns: Tropic and Henrieville; also Bryce NP. Elevation: 5,760 - 5,920 feet. Great Basin Desert landscape. Area: 2,240 acres (3.5 square miles). Surrounded by Grand Staircase-Escalante NM
Spotlight: A strange, though inviting, spectacle of sandstone chimneys (pipes, really). What are these enigmatic shapes and how did they form? A landscape that once resembled Yellowstone (a common claim based on these ancient remnants of solidified sediments thought to be ancient geysers).
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Snapshot: Kodachrome Basin State Park is a colorful setting in a quiet, out of the way desert terrain (the Great Basin Desert). The park is famous for its mysterious sandstone pipes––mysterious because scientists can’t decide what, exactly, created these formation. Thus the freestanding pipes accenting this broad basin continue to puzzle geologists who debate their origin and purpose. These eroded, multicolored rock formations come in various shades––red, pink, yellow, white and brown. Because of the variation of color, the National Geographical Society renamed the area after the Kodak Film company (of course, with the company’s consent). After sundown, stargazing throughout this region is popular because the basin is not hampered by light pollution.
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