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Wildflowers at Devil's Canyon |
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The town of Richfield offers a full complement
of traveler services at mile marker 37, or you can travel
up to Salina on US-50 at exit 54 for a quick meal as you get
ready to ascend to the most magnificent segment of this drive.
Mile 86 is the starting point of what I consider to be the
most scenic 72-mile stretch of the Interstate highway in the
country. Between Fremont junction (at SR-10) and the picturesque
town of Green River (a major tributary to the Colorado River)
lie eight view points with evocative names like Ghost Rock,
Devil's Canyon and Spotted Wolf. While not all of the view
points are accessible from both directions, I make always
make a point of stopping at as many as I can when I pass through
this area. I-70 bisects an extraordinary, kidney-shaped geologic
formation known as the San Rafael Swell. (see
satellite map)
The San Rafael Swell is actually an anticline
-- a huge dome that was formed by pressure deep within the
earth. As the earth buckled upwards, the various layers of
rock reached the surface and caused a rippled effect of rock
formations. These formations have subsequently been eroded
by wind and rain, resulting in some very unusual and beautiful
formations. The Swell is 50 miles long and about 30 miles
wide. The eastern edge, with its jagged sandstone and deep
canyons, is called the San Rafael Reef. Although I-70 is the
only paved road in the area, there are 2,000 miles of dirt
roads and trails to entice adventurous travelers. Here is
an excellent map of the road system that wanders around the
nearly 600,000 acres of the
Swell.
Throughout the Swell area, is it possible to
find petroglyphs from a number of cultures and dating back
as far as 2,000 B.C. In addition, scientists have found many
intact allosaurus dinosaur skeletons. In the Cleveland-Lloyd
Dinosaur Quarry in the northern part of the Swell, palentologists
have excavated over 12,000 bones. Here are a couple of books
that can provide plenty of background information for exploring
this vast area: Steve Allen's Canyoneering
the San Rafael Swell
and Michael Kesley's Hiking
and Exploring Utah's San Rafael Swell
.
Next: What
to look for at the viewpoints>
Mark
Sedenquist
April 16, 2006
