BGuthrie Photos: AZ -- Vermillion Cliffs National Monument

AZ -- Vermillion Cliffs National Monument:

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[1] VERM_120719_002_STITCH.JPG

[2] VERM_120719_004.JPG	[3] VERM_120719_010.JPG	[4] VERM_120719_019.JPG	[5] VERM_120719_022.JPG	[6] VERM_120719_025.JPG
[7] VERM_120719_035.JPG	[8] VERM_120719_044.JPG	[9] VERM_120719_054.JPG	[10] VERM_120719_060.JPG	[11] VERM_120719_064.JPG
[12] VERM_120719_072.JPG	[13] VERM_120719_076.JPG	[14] VERM_120719_080.JPG	[15] VERM_120719_085.JPG	[16] VERM_120719_092.JPG
[17] VERM_120719_095.JPG	[18] VERM_120719_101.JPG	[19] VERM_120719_117.JPG

Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. VERM_120719_019.JPG: Home on the Range Thundering herds of bison once common to much of the West were never a part of Arizona's natural history. But in 1905, a rancher by the name of "Buffalo Jones" Brought about 30 of the magnificent beasts to the Kaibab Plateau in an unsuccessful attempt to create a cross-bred range stock known as "cattalo." Over several years, he brought in more bison, but gave up his plans when they refused to stay where he put them. Jones shipped most of the herd to New Mexico, but stragglers eventually were purchased by the State of Arizona. The descendants of these bison can still be seen at House Rock Valley Wildlife Area off Highway 89A. Keeping Arizona Wild Arizona's native animals are adapted for life in wide open spaces. But human activities related to the country's western expansion encroached on wildlife habitat and caused stress on native animals. Bighorn sheep were virtually wiped out of northern Arizona and pronghorn antelope have been disappearing from much of their former range throughout the state. Successful reintroduction and management of both of these wildlife species by the Arizona Game and Fish Department is helping restore wildlife diversity and keeping Arizona wild.
2. VERM_120719_022.JPG: Comeback of the Condor: The California condor is a natural part of the northern Arizona landscape. Though it disappeared from the canyon country in the 1920s, efforts by several government and private entities are bringing the condors home. The Vermilion Cliffs release program began in 1996 with the release of six condors. The privately-funded Peregrine Fund has assumed responsibility for monitoring and feeding the condors until they became self-supporting. Biologists hatch and raise chicks in captivity, then continue to monitor the birds daily after releasing them. The condor was historically part of the northern Arizona landscape. Condors have been listed as an endangered species since 1967, but with help, the big birds may again soar through Arizona skies for years to come.
3. VERM_120719_025.JPG: Sharlot Hall on the Arizona Strip: As a journalist, poet, outdoorswoman, and historian with a burning desire to learn and experience life to the fullest, Sharlot Hall was passionate about the dramatic landscapes of Arizona. When the Hamilton Bill proposed to Congress that the territories of Arizona and New Mexico be joined and admitted into the United States as a single state, Sharlot took action to protect the unique identity of Arizona. Some say it was her influential poetry that swayed the Senate to drop the joint statehood clause from the Hamilton Bill. Sharlot became the territorial historian, appointed by Governor Richard E. Sloan. In later years, she restored the territorial governor's mansion in Prescott and opened it as a state museum. In her book, "Sharlot Hall on the Arizona Strip," Sharlot wrote about her stay at the Rock House Hotel. Look down into the valley (to the left of where you're standing) and you can see the privately-owned buildings of that historic inn.
4. VERM_120719_072.JPG: Ancient Pathways Century after century...people of many cultures followed the pathways at the base of these cliffs. over a thousand years ago, Ancestral Puebloans (Anasazi) in this area made baskets, pottery, and clay figurines that give us clues about their daily lives. Remnants of their cliff houses can be seen through out the Southwest. After the Ancestral Puebloans (Anasazi) left the area, Southern Paiute people survived here by hunting, gathering, and cultivation of plants. Plants were gathered or cultivated for food, medicine, construction materials or fuel. As European and American explorers and settlers found their way through this valley, lifestyles of the Southern Paiute changed forever. Today, descendants of those Southern Paiute families still live in the area.
5. VERM_120719_076.JPG: Explorers' Trails "We tarried a good while...and after a lengthy conversation drew forth nothing more useful than that we had suffered the sun's heat, which was indeed very fiery all the while the talk lasted. -- Father Silvestre Velez de Escalante, 1776. In 1776, Franciscan Fathers Francisco Atanasio Dominguez and Silvestre Velez de Escalante attempted to establish an overland route between Santa Fe and Monterey, California. They also hoped to carry their religious message to any native people they met along the way. The journey proved more difficult than planned. Too little food, too many mountains and extreme weather caused the expedition to turn back. Though their original purpose failed, they succeeded in opening the way for continuing exploration of the area. The road you travel today follows portions of the Dominguez - Escalante route.
6. VERM_120719_080.JPG: Pioneer Roads We found but little grass and no water to speak of, occasionally there was a little in holes along the bed of the river but it was so salty that it could not be used. We dug near the mouth of some of the large washes that came in where we found some water that was a little better. At Black Falls we found a little but it was not fit to use as the fish had died in it and it smelt very bad, like carrion. -- Joseph Fish, 1879. U.S. Highways 89 and 89A parallel the original route of the Old Arizona Road. This route was traveled many times by frontier scout Jacob Hamblin searching for a safe route to Lees Ferry and beyond. Imagine yourself traveling the Old Arizona Road on horseback or covered wagon as you continue your journey today. Before paved roads, and air-conditioned autos, life along the Arizona Strip was more than hard. Pioneers, ranchers, and miners desperately needed communication and transportation linkages with the outside world. Through the late 1800's, the Old Arizona Road linked settlements along the Little Colorado River to southern Utah through Lees Ferry and Kanab. It also linked Arizona settlements to St. George. Utah, through Fredonia, Pipe Springs, and the Arizona Strip. Arizona towns like Snowflake and St. John's sprung up after exploration of this route by Jacob Hamblin. When the St. George Temple opened in 1877, many faithful members of the Morman church traveled the rugged Old Arizona Road to be married in the temple. This portion of the road soon became known as the "Honeymoon Trail." You are traveling on the only paved road across 2.8 million acres of public land managed for a variety of uses by the Arizona Strip Bureau of Land Management. In the interior of the Arizona Strip you will find 4,000 to 5,000 miles of unpaved road which require advance travel planning and precautions to ensure a safe trip.
7. VERM_120719_085.JPG: Vermilion Cliffs National Monument Welcome to Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, an isolated and spectacular landscape. Tucked away in north-central Arizona, this Monument is a wonderland of geologic formations and rugged terrain that supports a rich array of desert wildlife and vegetation. There is even an experimental population of California condors, reintroduced to the area in 1996. A National Treasure: Vermilion Cliffs National Monument is a geologic treasure. Its centerpiece is the majestic Paria Plateau, a grand terrace lying between two great geologic structures, the East Kaibab and Echo Cliffs monoclines. The Vermilion Cliffs, which lie along the southern and eastern edge of the Paria Plateau, rise 1,500 feet in a spectacular array of multicolored layers of shale and sandstone. Along the east side of the plateau, the Paria sedimentary rocks eroded, forming spectacular natural amphitheaters, arches and massive sandstone walls in the 2,500-foot deep canyon. These dramatic cliffs were named by John Wesley Powell in 1869, as he embarked upon his expedition of the Grand Canyon down the Colorado River. The Monument was established on November 9, 2000, in keeping with the mission of the Bureau of Land Management National Landscape Conservation System to conserve, protect, and restore our nation's natural treasures for present and future generations. The colors are such as no pigment can portray. They are deep, rich, and variegated, and so luminous are they, that light seems to glow or shine out of the rock rather than to be reflected from it. -- Major Clarence E. Dutton, 1880.
Wikipedia Description: Vermilion Cliffs National Monument
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Vermilion Cliffs National Monument is located in Arizona, immediately south of the Utah state line. This National Monument, 294,000 acres (1,190 km2) in area, protects the Paria Plateau, Vermilion Cliffs, Coyote Buttes, and Paria Canyon. Elevations in the Monument range from 3,100 feet to 6,500 feet above sea level (944 to 1,981 meters).

Creation and designation

Established on November 9, 2000, by a Presidential proclamation by Pres. Bill Clinton, Vermilion Cliffs National Monument was carved from existing lands already under the management of the U.S. Government in extreme northern Coconino County, Arizona, immediately south of the border with the state of Utah. The monument is administered by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, an agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior. The Vermilion Cliffs themselves run along the southern and eastern edges of this National Monument. Much of the Monument's land consists of the Paria Plateau, a flat area extending northward from the tops of the cliffs.
Vermilion Cliffs

The Vermilion Cliffs are steep eroded escarpments consisting primarily of sandstone, siltstone, limestone, and shale which rise as much as 3,000 feet (910 m) above their bases. These sedimentary rocks have been deeply eroded for millions of years, exposing hundreds of layers of richly colored rock strata. Mesas, buttes, and large tablelands are interspersed with steep canyons, where some small streams provide enough moisture to support a sampling of wildlife.

Flora and fauna

More than twenty species of raptors including bald eagles and golden eagles, peregrine falcons, and several hawk species have been observed. The endangered species of bird, the California condor, has been re-introduced into this region recently due to its remote location and lack of human habitation. Desert bighorn sheep, pronghorns, and mountain lions make up most of the large mammals found here, with about 30 more species of smaller mammals. Several examples of rare fish species, such as the flannelmouth sucker and the speckled dace live in the streams of this National Monument. The Welsh's milkweed, a threatened plant species that grows on sand dunes, and helps stabilize them, is known to exist only in this National Monument and one other area in neighboring Utah.

Human settlements

Human settlement in the region dates back 12,000 years, and hundreds of Native American pueblos are spread across this National Monument. The remains of the natives' villages, with houses, granaries, burial areas, and associated ruins, can be found here. This National Monument also contains one of the largest number of rock art sites in any nationally-protected area. Many of these petroglyphs are believed to be among the oldest in the United States.

The first white explorers into the region were Spanish missionaries and explorers from the 1776 Dominguez-Escalante Expedition. Later, Mormon explorers searched the region during the 1860s, some of them settling on land that is now within the monument. They built one of the first ferry crossings on the Colorado River in 1871. That same year, John Wesley Powell ventured through this region during his scientific explorations of the Colorado River plateau.

Below the Vermilion cliffs runs the historic "wedding trail", a wagon route for Mormons who journeyed to have their marriages sealed in the temple at St. George, Utah, and then to return. The route, through remote country, was otherwise seldom used. Historical markers denote this history.

Today, the region surrounding the monument is relatively unspoiled with virtually no permanent inhabitants remaining and limited road access.

Vermilion Cliffs
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Vermilion Cliffs are the second "step" up in the five-step Grand Staircase of the Colorado Plateau. Reddish or vermilion-colored cliffs are found along U.S. Highway 89 and U.S. Highway 89A near Kanab, Utah (and near Navajo Bridge in Arizona). They extend from a location near Page, Arizona, west for a considerable distance, in both Arizona and Utah. 112,500 acres (45,500 ha) of the region were designated as the Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness in 1984, and an even greater area was proclaimed Vermilion Cliffs National Monument in 2000. Famous locations in the cliff area include Lee's Ferry, Glen Canyon (a national recreational area), The Wave, Coyote Buttes, and others.

The cliffs sat astride an important route from Utah to Arizona used by settlers during the 19th Century. The area was thoroughly explored by the Mormon pioneer and missionary Jacob Hamblin who started a ranch at the base of the cliffs in House Rock Valley. Modern U.S. Highway 89A basically follows the old wagon route past the cliffs through House Rock Valley and up the Kaibab Plateau to Jacob Lake.

The Vermilion Cliffs are made up of deposited silt and desert dunes, cemented by infiltrated carbonates and intensely colored by red iron oxide and other minerals, particularly bluish manganese. In the spring, after a good winter rain, the valley between Highway 89 and the Vermilion Cliffs will be covered with a carpet of desert mallow and other spring flowers.
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