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A Survey of the Recreational Resources of the Colorado River Basin
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Recreational Benefits of Reservoirs
Canyon Lands of Southeastern Utah
Conservation of Recreational Resources
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A Survey of the Recreational Resources of the Colorado River Basin
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Chapter VIII:
CANYON LANDS OF SOUTHEASTERN UTAH (continued)
OUTSTANDING AND UNIQUE SCENIC
SECTIONS (continued)
Lands End area.—West of the junction of the Green and Colorado Rivers is Lands End, appropriate name for a low knob at the south end of a finger of the high plateau standing between the Dirty Devil River and the Colorado. The name might well apply to the entire 9.5-mile remnant of plateau land between the knob and Observation Rock. Driving south from Green River, Utah, through seemingly endless stretches of sand and rock in places covered with blackbrush or grasses in places barren, you note that the ground is gradually rising. Occasionally there is a view of the La Sals to the east or the Henry Mountains to the west, or a glimpse of the heads of canyons leading down to the Green River. There are 60 miles of this to Robbers Roost, a large shallow open bowl, which is said to have provided the perfect secluded range for cattle stolen from the early Mormon settlers. It was reputedly the hang-out of Butch Cassidy and his gang of outlaws. Southeast of the Roost, the land continues to rise, piñon and juniper appear, and canyons heading near the road lead off to the right and the left. Fourteen more miles and you are at French Seep. Observation Rock stands directly ahead on the rim of a world of great terraces, canyons, and strangely carved rocks that surrounds the junction of the rivers.
North of Observation Rock is Cleopatras Chair, a high block of Navajo sandstone sitting on the edge of the upper terrace, commanding a view of the Stillwater Canyon of the Green, Junction Butte, Upheaval Dome, and the La Sal Mountains far beyond.
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| Figure 96.—Land of Standing Rocks—looking northwest toward Elaterite Butte and Lands End Plateau (upper left) from the junction of the Green and Colorado Rivers. (Air photo) |
At French Seep the trail turns south and winds its way along the top of the piñon and juniper-covered remnant of plateau. The winding of the trail provides alternate views into the many fingers of Happy Canyon and out over the great canyon of the Colorado. Although lower than Elk Ridge, this too is an island of green forest surrounded by a fantastically shaped and colored sea of desert; an excellent place from which to view the canyons of the Colorado and the Green Rivers or for a base camp for exploring expeditions down into that beautifully weird "Land of Standing Rocks" or down to the edge of the sheer-walled Cataract Canyon 2,000 feet deep. Lands End is one of those satisfying far-off places you want to visit again.
Hite area.—The Dandy Crossing or ford of the Colorado River, later replaced by Hites Ferry, greatly facilitated the extension of early Mormon colonization of the San Juan country of southeastern Utah. The great early activity in placering Colorado River gravel bars for gold occurred in the vicinity and down river from Dandy Crossing and Hites Ferry.
Present access to Hite is by pioneer road down North Wash through impressive red sandstone cliffs and monuments to the Colorado, then for 6 miles along the narrow sandstone ledge on the west side of the river to Hite. Here one finds in a severe, rugged country the Chaffins living in a place of beauty and tranquility. Above the Orange Cliffs to the northwest the high and formidable Henry Mountains dominate the scene.
Glen Canyon Reservoir will inundate the area, but there is a proposal to preserve this natural Colorado River scene of Mormon pioneering as a scenic and historic area.
The Utah State Highway Commission and the Public Roads Administration have proposed a road joining Capitol Reef and Natural Bridges National Monuments, Arch Canyon and Blanding, and crossing the Colorado River by suspension bridge near the mouth of the Dirty Devil River. This crossing is 7 miles above Hite and 112 miles from Moab Bridge. It is 174 miles above Navajo Bridge at Marble Gorge. This will be the only through road in the 20,000 square miles of Utah's Canyon Lands.
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Last Modified: Mon, Sep 6 2004 10:00:00 pm PDT
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