The yellow, white, and red sandstone formations of Capitol Reef National Park in south-central Utah, U.S., are some of the most distinctive in the American West. The park’s remarkable natural features, which include cliffs, pinnacles, arches, and domes, are the product of millions of years of geologic change—most notably the uplift of the northwestern edge of the Colorado Plateau beginning some 70 million years ago, which gave rise to the Waterpocket Fold, a nearly 100-mile- (160-km-) long wrinkle (monocline) in Earth’s crust, about three-quarters of which lies within the park’s boundaries. (Capitol Reef and the other nearly 400 U.S. national parks are free to visit during National Park Week, April 21-29, 2012.)
Cliffs of the Wingate Sandstone formation towering above the Fruita area, Capitol Reef National Park, south-central Utah, U.S. Credit: U.S. National Park Service
Hickman Bridge sandstone formation, Fruita area, Capitol Reef National Park, south-central Utah, U.S. Credit: U.S. National Park Service
Halls Creek Narrows, southern Capitol Reef National Park, south-central Utah, U.S. Credit: U.S. National Park Service
Cathedral Valley, Capitol Reef National Park, Utah. Credit: John Wang/Getty Images