Canyonlands National Park
Canyonlands National Park is an American national park located in southeastern Utah near the town of Moab. The park preserves a colorful landscape eroded into numerous canyons, mesas, and buttes by the Colorado River, the Green River, and their respective tributaries. Legislation creating the park was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on September 12, 1964.
| Canyonlands National Park | |
|---|---|
IUCN category II (national park) | |
Looking over the Green River from Island in the Sky | |
Location in United States Location in Utah | |
| Location | San Juan, Wayne, Garfield, and Grand counties, Utah, United States |
| Nearest city | Moab, Utah |
| Coordinates | 38°10′01″N 109°45′35″W |
| Area | 337,598 acres (1,366.21 km2) |
| Established | September 12, 1964 |
| Visitors | 733,996 (in 2019) |
| Governing body | National Park Service |
| Website | Canyonlands National Park |
The park is divided into four districts: the Island in the Sky, the Needles, the Maze, and the combined rivers—the Green and Colorado—which carved two large canyons into the Colorado Plateau. While these areas share a primitive desert atmosphere, each retains its own character. Author Edward Abbey, a frequent visitor, described the Canyonlands as "the most weird, wonderful, magical place on earth—there is nothing else like it anywhere."