Bryce Canyon NP

Bryce Canyon NP Travel Guide

A land that captures the imagination and the heart, Bryce is a favorite among Utah's national parks. The park was named for Ebenezer Bryce, a pioneer cattleman and the first permanent settler in the area. His description of the landscape not being hospitable to cows has oft been repeated. Even more than his famous quote, however, Bryce Canyon is known for its fanciful "hoodoos," best viewed at sunrise or sunset, when the light plays off the red rock.

In geological terms, Bryce is actually an amphitheater, not a canyon. The hoodoos in the amphitheater took on their unusual shapes because the top layer of rock -- "cap rock" -- is harder than the layers below it. If erosion undercuts the soft rock beneath the cap too much, the hoodoo will tumble. But Bryce will never be without hoodoos, because as the amphitheater's rim recedes, new hoodoos are formed.