The Names of Canyonlands Scavenger Hunt

Devil's Kitchen, Ernie's County, Junction Butte, Canyonlands. Names can mean many different things and encompass fascinating stories, or just allude to where something is or what it looks like. Do this virtual ranger activity to explore the name of Canyonlands National Park!

It could help to look at some maps of Canyonlands for this activity.

NPS/Neal Herbert

The Island in the Sky

Candlestick Tower

Incorrect- This overlook is a small but beautiful overlook. Candlestick Tower, a tall and thin butte, that truly looks like a candlestick, stands separated from the rest of the canyon rim.

Grand View Point

Correct- This overlook is aptly named, having a grand view above the heart of Canyonlands National Park and the surrounding area. The deep canyons of the Green and Colorado rivers disappear between the massive rock formations of The Needles and The Maze. It is easy to feel small here above everything but the mountains on the horizon.

Shafer Canyon

Incorrect- This overlook looks down into the maw of Shafer Canyon. This steep and dramatic canyon was named after the Shafer family, ranchers who used the canyon as a route to move livestock back and forth from the mesa top to the inner canyons.

Green River

Incorrect- This overlook has the best view of a river from atop the Island in the Sky. Because of the lay of the land, views from the mesa top often look across the canyons of the Green and Colorado, which are deep enough that water is hard to see. At Green River Overlook, the Green River cut a large meander through the landscape, creating a wide enough canyon to be seen.

Potato Bottom

Incorrect. Potato Bottom has three backcountry campsites. The term "bottom" was used to name many flat and wide floodplain areas of the Colorado and Green Rivers within the park. Other "bottoms" include Anderson, Beaver, and Spanish Bottom.

Airport

Incorrect- The Airport area has four backcountry campsites. While there is not an airport here, the area is wide, flat and open enough that a plane could possibly land there, and the impressive Airport Tower butte stands over the area.

Gray's Pasture

Correct- This area is in the frontcountry of the Island in the Sky, high up on the mesa top above most of the backcountry. Visitors driving the paved park road cruise through Gray's Pasture, often marveling at the rolling grasslands that the Gray family used to raise livestock here before Canyonlands National Park was created.

Gooseberry

Incorrect- The Gooseberry area has two backcountry campsites. These campsites are named after the canyon that they sit at the head of, likely named after a berry producing shrub that grows within the canyon. Gooseberries are not native to the area however, but a close relative, the golden currant, is, so maybe there was a misidentification.

How could someone get to this view? NPS/Scott Chandler

Answer

Lathrop Canyon

This canyon has the only vehicular access to the Colorado River within Canyonlands National Park. The Lathrop family grazed livestock in the area and were highly influential in sharing the area with those interested in establishing the park.

NPS/ Kirsten Kearse

The Needles

Lost

Correct. Lost Canyon likely gets its name from the seemingly endless amount of canyons that cut into the Needles area. Not only can a hiker easily feel lost, but it can be easy to get lost, so be sure to follow the trail carefully here!

Elephant

Correct. Elephant gets its name from going by Elephant Hill, a rock formation that somewhat looks like an elephant to some people.

Chesler Park

Incorrect. The term "park" in this case is referring to almost the opposite of a canyon. At Chesler Park, the Needles open up and seem to circle around a grassland area, yielding huge views outward.

Big Spring

Correct. Springs are not plentiful, so whenever one was found it was a big deal. In this instance, a canyon was named for the big springs that it had.

NPS/Kirsten Kearse

Confluence Overlook

Incorrect. This one is tricky. A four-wheel-drive road almost gets to this overlook, but about one mile (one and a half kilometers) of hiking is still needed to see the junction of the Green and Colorado Rivers.

The Colorado River

Incorrect. No roads make it to the Colorado River in The Needles. A road does go to a beautiful overlook of the Colorado River, but it is still hundreds of feet below the canyon rim here.

Lavender Canyon

Correct. This canyon was named after yet another rancher of the area, not the flowering plant. The road to get here is notoriously sandy.

Devil's Kitchen

Correct. Those with a good four-wheel-drive vehicle that can make it over Elephant Hill eventually drive into the Devil's Kitchen. Spires of slickrock encircle the site and in the summer it can be blazingly hot, making it not only appear suitable for the devil, but also feel suitable.

Angel Arch

Incorrect. While Angel Arch is a famous image of Canyonlands National Park, it is located deep in a remote canyon. Fast and hardy hikers may be able to visit this spot in a day, but it is better done as an overnight backpacking trip. The arch really does look like an angel.

Roadside Ruin

Correct. This short trail goes to exactly as the words imply, a native american structure near the road. Sometimes there isn't a need to be creative.

Cave Spring

Correct. This trail goes into an alcove that has a very reliable spring. People have used it for hundreds of years, with evidence of native Americans, ranchers, miners and modern humans seeking shelter and water here.

Pothole Point

Correct. This trail circles a slickrock point covered in small natural basins that sometimes collect water after storms. Not only is this a great trail to admire The Needles, it is also a spot to witness the amazing lifeforms that call these places home until the water evaporates.

NPS/Kait Thomas

The Maze

The Maze

Incorrect. Named for the confusing network of difficult to traverse canyons, The Maze makes up most of the area west of the Green river within Canyonlands National Park.

The Orange Cliffs

Incorrect. This area is technically a part of the Glen Canyon National Recreation area but it must be travelled through to reach The Maze unless you get there by boat. It is named after the tall cliffs of orange Wingate Sandstone that extend north to south through the area.

The Grabens

Correct. This area is located in The Needles, southeast of the Green and Colorado rivers. Grabens are blocks of land that lie between two faults that drop downward relative to the blocks next to them, leaving long parallel canyons here.

Horseshoe Canyon

Incorrect. This area is a detached unit of Canyonlands National Park located west of the Green River. It was added to Canyonlands to protect the archaeological sites found in the area. Horseshoe Canyon is likely named after the abandoned meander located near its confluence with the Green River or the ranching history in the area.

Answer

Rocks. The erosion of the canyons of The Maze has left so many isolated towers of rock standing that it stands out to be named. Some of these rock formations can be seen from the other districts of Canyonlands with binoculars.

Which pictograph panel is this from? NPS/ Neal Herbert

Answer

The Great Gallery. This huge panel of pictographs dates back from 2000 BCE to 500 CE and is the defining panel for Barrier Canyon Style pictographs. Horseshoe Canyon used to be named Barrier Canyon because it blocked the travel of ranchers to the south.

These arches answer questions 10-13. NPS/ Scott Chandler and Neal Herbert

Arches of Canyonlands

Question 10 - Which of these arches is named after its resemblance to the figures of Stonehenge?

Druid Arch.

Question 11 - Which of these arches is a huge pothole arch?

Paul Bunyans Potty

Question 12 - Which of these arches does not have an official name?

Taylor Canyon's arch

Question 13 - Which of these arches is named for its impressive canyon rim location in The Island in the Sky?

Mesa Arch

NPS/ Emily Ogden

Bonus Question

Canyonlands National Park

Incorrect. Historically, the name Colorado River used to start in Canyonlands, as the river upstream of the confluence with the Green River was known as the Grand River until 1921, and the river downstream was the Colorado.

Colorado National Monument

Incorrect. This monument is named after the state that it welcomes visitors traveling from the west to.

Rocky Mountain National Park

Correct. The snowmelt of the Rocky Mountains fuels the Colorado River, and the national park named after that mountain range holds the official headwaters.

Yellowstone National Park

Incorrect. None of the water that originates in Yellowstone flows into the Colorado River. Some large and famous rivers flow through the park however, including the Yellowstone River and Snake River.

How did you do? Were you able to find all these places within Canyonlands National Park? While these places ere all named by someone who saw some significance in them, these places are also parts of many visitor's cherished memories. Have you ever thought about why the places you have visited have had the names they have? Have you ever personally named a spot that is important to you? We hope you enjoyed this virtual ranger activity.

Did you learn all you could?

Did you know that there is information about the names behind each of the places in this activity that reveals itself when you click on them? If you're interested in learning all you can from this activity, go click on all the answers, including the incorrect ones.

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