ABOUT THIS BOOK

Driving across I-70 in southern Utah one can’t help but wonder about the magnificent upturned rocks of the San Rafael Reef. With A Travelers Guide to the Geology of the Colorado Plateau in hand, you’ll soon discover that you were driving through Page and Navajo Sandstone formations, sharply folded into a monocline along one of the "Basin and Range" fault lines. Nearing Flagstaff, Arizona, on Highway 89, you will learn that Mt. Humphry of the San Francisco Peaks, a Navajo Sacred Mountain, was once an active volcano. Keep reading and you’ll find many things worth a slight detour.

A Traveler's Guide to the Geology of the Colorado Plateau will enrich and enliven all of your trips through the varied landscapes of the Colorado Plateau as you learn about the geological forces that have shaped its natural features. The mile-by-mile road logs will take you from Vernal, Utah, in the north to the southernmost reaches of the Plateau in Sedona, Arizona; from the red rocks of Cedar Breaks National Monument near Cedar City, Utah, to the edges of the soaring peaks of the San Juan Mountains near Durango, Colorado. The most comprehensive geological guide to the Colorado Plateau

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

Don Baars is a retired geologist with the Kansas Geological Survey. He lives in Grand Junction, Colorado

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction
Time Enough
Colorado Plateau Structures
How to Use This Book

I. The Paradox Basin
1. Grand Junction, Colorado, to Green River, Utah, via Interstate 70
2. Colorado National Monument
3. Crescent Junction to Moab, Utah, via U.S. 191
4. Utah 128, West Cisco Exit on Interstate 70, to Moab, Utah, along the Colorado River
5. Arches National Park
6. Utah 313 from U.S. 191 to Dead Horse Point State Park and the Island in the Sky District of Canyonlands National Park
7. Utah 279 to Potash and Beyond to Shafer Trail in Canyonlands National Park: A Scenic Byway
8. Moab to Monticello, Utah, via U.S. 191
9. Utah 133 to Canyon Rims Overlooks from U.S. 191
10. Utah 211 to the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park from U.S. 191
11. Needles District to Monticello, Utah, via County Road 136
12. Monticello to Bluff, Utah, via U.S. 191
13. La Sal Junction, Utah, through Paradox Valley to Naturita, Colorado, via Utah 46/Colorado 90
14. Whitewater to Placerville, Colorado, via Colorado 141 and 145 (Unaweep/Tabeguache Scenic and Historic Byway)
15. Utah 24 from Interstate 70 to Hanksville, Utah (including Goblin Valley State Park)
16. Hanksville South toward Hite and Blanding Utah, via Utah 95
17. Utah 276 from Utah 95 to Bullfrog, Utah, on Lake Powell

II. The San Juan Basin
18. Gallup, New Mexico, to Monticello, Utah, via U.S. 666
19. Albuquerque to Bloomfield, New Mexico, on U.S. 550
20. Bloomfield, New Mexico, to Aztec, New Mexico, and Durango, Colorado, on New Mexico 544 and U.S. 550
21. Durango to Cortez, Colorado, via U.S. 160 (including Mesa Verde National Park)
22. Flagstaff, Arizona, to Albuquerque, New Mexico, via Interstate 40 (including Petrified Forest National Park)

III. The Black Mesa Basin
23. Bluff, Utah, to Chinle, Arizona, via U.S. 191
24. Canyon de Chelly National Monument
25. Chinle to Chambers, Arizona, via U.S. 191
26. Chambers to Springervile, Arizona, via U.S. 191
27. Chimney Rock, Colorado, to Kayenta, Arizona, via U.S. 160
28. Kayenta to Cameron, Arizona, via U.S. 160

IV. Grand Canyon Country
29. Cameron, Arizona, to East Entrance to Grand Canyon National Park via Arizona, U.S. 64
30. South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park to Flagstaff, Arizona, via U.S. 180
31. Flagstaff to Marble Canyon, Arizona, via U.S. 89
32. Marble Canyon to Lees Ferry, Arizona
33. Wupatki and Sunset Crater National Monuments
34. Flagstaff to Sedona, Arizona, via U.S. 89A
35. Sedona to Flagstaff, Arizona, via Interstate 17

V. The Plateau Interior
36. Bluff, Utah, to Kayenta, Arizona, via U.S. 163
37. Hanksville to Capitol Reef National Park and Torrey, Utah, via Utah 24
38. Torrey to Boulder, Utah, via Utah 12
39. Boulder to Bullfrog, Utah, via the Burr Trail
40. Arizona 98 from U.S. 160 to Page, Arizona
41. Page to Bitter Springs, Arizona, via U.S. 89
42. Marble Canyon Bridge, Arizona, to Kanab, Utah, via U.S. 89A
43. Jacob lake, Arizona, to the North Rim of Grand Canyon via Arizona 67
44. Kanab, Utah, to Utah 12 via U.S. 89

VI. The High Plateaus
45. Green River to Salina, Utah, via Interstate 70
46. Salina, Utah, to Utah 12 via Interstate 70 and U.S. 89 (plus Utah 20)
47. Bryce Canyon National park via Utah 12
48. Mount Carmel Junction, Utah, to Interstate 15 via Utah 9 through Zion National Park
49. Cedar City to Cedar Breaks National Monument and Long Valley Junction, Utah, via Utah 14
50. Arizona-Nevada State Line to Hurricane, Utah, via Interstate 15 and Utah 9
51. Hurricane, Utah, to Fredonia, Arizona, via Utah 59/Arizona 389

VII. The Uinta Basin and Dinosaur National Monument
52. Green River to Helper, Utah, via U.S. 6 and 191
53. Helper to Vernal, Utah, via U.S. 191 and U.S. 40
54. Vernal, Utah, North on U.S. 191, the "Drive Through the Ages" Highway
55. Dinosaur National Monument Quarry
56. Dinosaur, Colorado, to Harpers Corner, Dinosaur National Monument
57. Vernal, Utah, to Grand Junction, Colorado, via U.S. 40, Colorado 64, and Colorado 139

Glossary
References
Geological Society Guidebooks
Acknowledgments

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