Bucket List: Bryce Canyon

The world contains many natural wonders, untouched places that have been sculpted into their current forms by natural processes and time.  Bryce Canyon is one such, a fifty-five square mile area of rock spires and natural amphitheaters located in southwestern Utah.

The area was first settled by pioneers in the 1850's and named for homesteader Ebenezer Bryce, but Native American tribes had inhabited it for many thousands of years prior.  A myth surrounding the place indicated the belief that the spires, known as hoodoos, were legendary figures that were turned to stone by the trickster Coyote spirit.  A combination of drought and livestock overgrazing drove most of the people to move elsewhere by the mid-1880's.

Conservation efforts began in the early 1920's when it was discovered that unregulated visitation was beginning to damage the area's fragile environment.  After a great deal of effort by the federal government to buy the land, the Bryce Canyon National Park was created in 1928.  In 1961 the Bryce Canyon Natural History Association was formed, and a portion of its profits are donated to public land conservation.  The park receives over two and a half million visitors every year.  Activities include hiking, back country camping, skiing, and stargazing.

The Minecraft game biome of Mesa or Badlands was inspired by the area.

The official web site is https://www.brycecanyon.com