Devil's Rock Garden EarthCache
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Devil's Rock Garden
This is an astounding natural area located in the heart of the
Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument. The rock garden is
small, covering a mere 200 acres, but it is a miniature wonderland
of sandstone rock fomations, domes, narrow passages and small
arches. A perfect place for an afternoon picnic followed by an hour
or so of backcountry exploration.
Facilities
Devils Rock Garden has a picnic area with tables, fire pits, and
elevated grills. No water is available and you need to bring your
own firewood and charcoal, since firewood collecting is not
permitted at the site. Dogs must be leashed at all times.
Because of its remote location, it is wise to check with the Grand
Staircase Visitor Center located in Escalante before embarking on
trip to Devil's Rock Garden.
Escalante Interagency Visitor Center
755 W. Main
Escalante, UT, 84726
435-826-5499
Getting There
From Scenic Byway 12, just east of the town of Escalante is the
Hole In The Rock Scenic Backway Rd. Turn south onto the Hole In The
Rock road and travel for about 13-15 miles to where you will see a
sign to turn off to Devil's Rock Garden. Follow that for about a
quarter of mile to the parking/picnic area.
Generally the Hole In The Rock Road and the Devil's Rock Garden
Road are passable by most passenger vehicles, however the
occasional rain storm can make it difficult without 4 wheel drive.
The dirt road has a lot of washboard areas that make for a somewhat
bumpy ride, but you shouldn't run into any problems with the Hole
In The Rock road unless you are going further than Devil's Rock
Garden. You can check road conditions with the Monument Visitor
Center in Escalante.
For more information about the Grand Staircase Escalante National
Monument, check out their website at www.ut.blm.gov/monument/
Logging Requirements
- Email me with the answers to these questions:
1.) Are the majority of the rock formations at Devil's Rock Garden
Hoodoos or pinnacles, and how do you think they were formed?
2.) How many different layers do you see on the majority of these
rock formations?
Optional, but strongly recommended logging requirements:
- There are two main arches you'll see at Devil's Rock Garden, the
most famous for this location is Metate Arch (it's the thinnest
arch, not far from the parking area, also shown in one of the
pictures on this cache page). Post a picture of you with one of
these arches behind you.
- At the posted coords there is a visitor log. Sign it and put your
geocaching name in the comment section.
General Information:
Hoodoos are tall skinny spires of rock that protrude from the
bottom of arid basins and "broken" lands. In common usage, the
difference between Hoodoos and pinnacles or spires is that hoodoos
have a variable thickness often described as having a "totem
pole-shaped body." A spire, on the other hand, has a smoother
profile or uniform thickness that tapers from the ground upward. At
Bryce Canyon, hoodoos range in size from that of an average human
to heights exceeding a 10-story building. Formed in sedimentary
rock, hoodoo shapes are affected by the erosional patterns of
alternating hard and softer rock layers. The name given to the rock
layer that forms hoodoos at Bryce Canyon is the Claron Formation.
This layer has several rock types including siltstones and
mudstones but is predominatly limestone. Thirty to 40 million years
ago this rock was "born" in an ancient lake that covered much of
Western Utah. Minerals deposited within different rock types cause
hoodoos to have different colors throughout their height.
Formational Process:
Hoodoos are formed by two weathering processes that continuously
work together in eroding the edges of the rock layers. The primary
weathering force is frost wedging. Here we experience over 200
freeze/thaw cycles each year. In the winter, melting snow, in the
form of water, seeps into the cracks and freezes at night. When
water freezes it expands by almost 10%, bit by bit prying open
cracks, making them ever wider in the same way a pothole forms in a
paved road.
In addition to frost wedging, what little rain we get here also
sculpts the hoodoos. Even the crystal clear air in the region
creates slightly acidic rainwater. This weak carbonic acid can
slowly dissolve limestone grain by grain. It is this process that
rounds the edges of hoodoos and gives them their lumpy and bulging
profiles. Where internal mudstone and siltstone layers interrupt
the limestone, you can expect the rock to be more resistant to the
chemical weathering because of the comparative lack of limestone.
Many of the more durable hoodoos are capped with a special kind of
magnesium-rich limestone called dolomite. Dolomite, being fortified
by the mineral magnesium, dissolves at a much slower rate, and
consequently protects the weaker limestone underneath it in the
same way a construction worker is protected by his/her
hardhat.
Rain is also the chief source of erosion (the actual removal of the
debris). In the summer, monsoon type rainstorms travel through this
region bringing short duration high intensity rain. Unfortunately
hoodoos don't last very long. The same processes that create
hoodoos are equally aggressive and intent on their destruction. The
average rate of erosion is calculated at 2-4 feet (.6-1.3 m) every
100 years.
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