Staircase Escalante National Monument

Scenic byway 12 or on highway 89.

Staircase escalante national monument. Sun drenched utah backcountry spreads out well beyond the visible horizon from the road whether youre traveling along the the all american road. The devils garden of the grand staircaseescalante national monument gsenm in south central utah united states is a protected area featuring hoodoos natural arches and other sandstone formations. Grand staircase escalante national monument flickr album the monument is an outstanding biological resource spanning five life zones from low lying desert to coniferous forest. The area is also known as the devils garden outstanding natural area within the national.

The grand staircaseescalante national monument gsenm is a united states national monument originally designated in 1996 as 1880461 acres 7610 km 2 of protected land in southern utahin 2017 the monuments size was reduced by a succeeding presidential proclamationthe land is among the most remote in the country. The escalante interagency office is located on the west side of town. Grand staircase escalante nm is the countrys largest national monument. It was the last part of the lower 48 united states to get cartographed and once people started poking.

Deep within this vast and austere landscape the anasazi and fremont cultures made contact in the period ad 950 1100 leaving behind rock art panels occupation sites campsites and granaries. We recommend booking grand staircase escalante national monument tours ahead of time to secure your spot. Grand staircase is the westernmost section of the monument and is most easily accessed from tropic cannonville or henrieville near kodachrome basin state park on highway 12also known as scenic byway 12 and kanab or big water on us. This houses a visitor information center as well as the combined offices for the dixie national forest the grand staircase escalante national monument and the escalante subdistrict of glen canyon national.

This area boasts a mixture of c olorful sandstone cliffs soaring. Grand staircase escalante national monument spans the spectacular grand staircase of cliffs and terraces the rugged kaiparowits plateau and the wonders of the escalante river canyons. Depending on where you stand grand staircaseescalante national monument has been quietly doing its thing for between 275 million and 50 million years. The allure of the grand staircase region the bulk of which is contained in the grand staircaseescalante national monument is phenomenal.

The monuments resources and remote character provide extraordinary opportunities for visitors geologists paleontologists archeologists historians and biologists in scientific research education and. The united states geological survey usgs designated the name devils garden on december 31 1979.