60 Interesting Bryce Canyon Facts That Will Make You Spell-Bound!

Bryce Canyon national park is one of the five national parks in Utah state, which are collectively called the Mighty Five.

Bryce Canyon National Park is located within the Colorado plateau geographic territory of North America. This national park is located in Southwestern Utah and has many distinct rocks formed by the continuous actions of wind and water.

The rocks at Bryce Canyon Paria valley give the same view as Aquarius Plateau. Paria is Paiute for word which translates to 'elk water' or 'muddy water.' In southern Utah, the yellow creek campsite is often visited by people who plan to stay for at least a day in the Bryce Canyon area. Millions of years ago, this area was covered by an ancient lake that covered several thousand miles of area, which is currently northwest Colorado and southwest Utah. The total area of Bryce Canyon National Park is over 56 sq mi (145 sq km). On June 7, 1924, it was transferred to the National park service. National park service or NPS is the agency of the US Department of Interior that controls and manages several hundred national parks, historical sites, monuments, and some other designated properties of the federal government. In this article, we will discuss more facts about Bryce canyon that you might have never heard before.

Bryce Canyon Location

In this paragraph, we will be discussing the location and timings to visit Bryce Canyon, National Park.

Bryce Canyon National Park is located around 4.5 mi (7.25 km) south of the intersection of Highway 12 and Highway 63. This park is open 24 hours a day year-round.

The closest major airports to Bryce Canyon are in Nevada, Las Vegas, and Salt Lake City, and all of them are around 270 mi (435 km) away from the park

However, the visitor center located 1.5 mi (2.4 km) inside the park is open year-round, but for fixed hours which change every season.

The timings are, in Summer (May-September) 8:00 a.m. -8:00 p.m., in Fall (October) 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m., in Winter (November-March) 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., in Spring (April) 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

On Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day, the visitor center, and fee booth are closed.

The Vehicle parking fees differ depending on the type of vehicle such as a Private Vehicle is charged $30 for 7 days, every motorcycle is charged $25.

Every individual has to pay $15 to get the entry pass.

The Bryce Canyon National Park is only 40 mi (64 km) away from Zion National Park.

History And Origin Of Bryce Canyon

Bryce Canyon has never always been like what it seems to be today. But over course of millions of years, we get to see these otherworldly landscapes here. In this segment, we will be talking about the origin and history of Bryce Canyon National Park.

The Bryce Canyon National Park is located on the eastern edge of the Paunsaugunt Plateau in south-central Utah. Bryce Canyon National Monument was initially established on June 8, 1923, with the aim to preserve 'unusual scenic beauty, scientific interest, and importance.'

On June 7, 1924, this National Monument's name was changed to Utah National Park.

However, on February 25, 1928, its name was once again changed from Utah National Park to Bryce Canyon National Park

The next legislation enlarged the area of the park to 56 sq. miles (35,835 acres)

Bryce Canyon National Park is known for its unique geology, which consists of a series of horseshoe-like amphitheaters cut from the eastern edge of the Paunsaugunt Plateau in the southern part of Utah State.

The area where Bryce Canyon Park is located was first explored, surveyed, and documented in 1875,

However, Franciscan friar Silvestre Escalante led a group of explorers who traveled near the region in 1776.

Around during the survey of this area by Major John Wesley Powell in 1875, LDS Church sent Mormon pioneer Ebenezer Bryce here.

Ebenezer Bryce was born in Scotland and was a carpenter by trade.

He settled in Clifton with his wife originally and also built the oldest Mormon chapel which is continuously in use in nearby Pine Valley.

Soon, he relocated while constructing a timber road to the rim and paved the way to Bryce Canyon.

Ebenezer Bryce is certainly most known for saying that the confusing maze of Bryce Canyon was a 'helluva place to lose a cow.'

The region came to be known as 'Bryce's Canyon' and the name remained even after the Bryce family and many local settlers.

But the interest in the remote Bryce Canyon was hyped among people when Union Pacific expanded the rail services in the early 1900s.

One of the most distinctive features of Bryce Canyon are hoodoos. They are a type of natural geologic feature that creates an amazing landscape.

The continuous process of weathering and erosion of the sedimentary rock layer forms hoodoos, which are pillars of sandstone. One of the most famous examples of colorful hoodoos is Thor's hammer.

The water has carved Bryce's Canyon for millions of years. Water splits rock as it freezes and then expands when in cracks. This process repeats around 200 times a year. In around the next 50 years, the current rim will be cut down for another.

In reality, Bryce's canyon is not even a real canyon but a natural amphitheater naturally sculpted into the eastern flank of Paunsaugunt Plateau through a course of millions of years of water and wind erosion.

Three tribes of Native Americans are said to have lived before colonization - the Anasazi and Fremont, and the Paiute.

What is Bryce Canyon known for?

There are many points that not only visitors but local people love to watch frequently in one of the Mighty Five national parks in Utah, the Bryce Canyon National Park. In this paragraph, we will be discussing things that are unique to this National park.

The Bryce Canyon receives almost 100 in (254 cm) of snow every year.

Dixie National Forest is also one of the places in Bryce Canyon National Park that is very popular among visitors.

There are three parts or sections of Dixie National Forest in Bryce Canyon.

Every section encompasses a major plateau and the inclination in height ranges from 6,000 ft (1828 m) to over 10,000 ft (3048 m) on average.

Boulder mountains are the main element in the building of The Markagunt section.

Ponderosa Pine Forest is found in the southwest part of the park.

The rainbow point is the highest altitude point in the park Bryce Canyon at 9,105 ft (2,775 m) and Yellow creek has the least altitude of 6,620 ft (2,020 m)

The Bryce Canyon is not the actual canyon because it is not formed from the erosion which began from a central stream.

In southwestern Utah, Bryce Canyon national park is most visited for its Pink Cliffs and the landscape formed by them.

There is also a collection of large natural amphitheaters along the eastern side of the Paunsaugunt Plateau.

The series of amphitheaters goes more than 20 mi (30 km) from north to south in the park Bryce canyon and the largest amphitheater is Bryce amphitheater which is 12 mi (19 km) long and 3 mi (5 km) wide, with a depth of 800 ft (240 m).

Bryce Canyon is popular for its worldly unique and beautiful geology.

There are three life zones in this park, the highest are being spruce/fir forest, mid elevated areas being Ponderosa Pine forest and the lowest area being Pinyon Pine/juniper forest.

This diversity in habitats is the main reason behind high biodiversity in this park.

Wildlife And Other Activities At Bryce Canyon

Bryce Canyon is known worldwide for its beautiful landscapes and diverse wildlife inhabited in this area. In this section, we will be discussing Wildlife and activities that visitors enjoy in Bryce Canyon.

The wildlife in Bryce canyon national park is found in its cliffs and canyons, high mountain plateaus, pinyon forest, gorges, alpine juniper, and other places, which have different kinds of species inhabited to them.

Some unique wildlife that one can spot in Bryce Canyon National Park is mule deer, Rocky Mountain elk, the Utah prairie dog, pronghorn, North American Porcupine, Green Basin rattlesnake, tiger salamander, and short-horned lizard.

This park alone has 59 mammals, at least 15 reptiles and amphibians, and 210 bird species that live in the park, and are also found in the five-mile surrounding area.

Since the boundaries are a human concept, people are advised to keep a sharp eye while traveling the Bryce Canyon National Park and around it because some creatures often migrate in search of shelter, food, and climate.

Three wildlife species found in Bryce Canyon National Park are listed under the Endangered Species Act: California Condor, Southwestern Willow flycatcher, and the Utah Prairie Dog.

It is also illegal to kill, take, capture or harm these Endangered species or their habitat in any way.

The antelope - also called pronghorn have often been seen grazing and traveling in herds. Like every wildlife, these regal-looking beauties are best viewed from some distance.

The cougar is the natural predator of the pronghorns and is rarely seen. It is definitely of the unique residents of the Bryce Canyon National Park.

The endangered Utah Prairie Dog and the North American Porcupine are some of the Bryce Canyon National Park's smaller mammal residents.

Some slithery creatures found here are the short horned lizard, Great Basin rattlesnake and tiger salamander. While hiking, people are advised to keep a watch on their steps for snakes and lizards.

Bird species found in Bryce Cayon National Park and in surrounding areas are American coot, black-chinned hummingbird, white-throated swift, Mountain Chickadee, red-winged blackbird, Western and Mountain bluebirds, and Yellow-rumped warbler. Many visitors often look for big birds and although they are harder to find, you may still get a glimpse of endangered California Condor during summer, fall and spring and bald eagles are also spotted occasionally in the winter.

Osprey, Turkey vultures, Peregrine Falcon, and Golden Eagle are harder to find but are present here most of the year.

If you want to spend less than four hours in the park, then it is advised to drive to Sunrise point, Sunset point, Bryce and inspiration viewpoints. These are the main attraction and most visited points in the entire Bryce Canyon National Park.

You can also go for hiking trails which are not too long to consume your entire time or you can stroll along the rim.

You can also visit the Park museum, where you can get most history about the park, like how it used to be a National Monument and why was it named Bryce Canyon National Park.

For people visiting for one or more days, they can go for hiking the most strenuous trails.

While returning from Rainbow point, they can stop at 13 viewpoints.

Horseback rides are also available, under the guidance of a wrangler and you can spend two to four hours in the park.

Hikers who want to climb the higher rocks can hike under the rim trails. However, if you wish to camp overnight, you need to register at the Visitor Center Help Desk.