Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument, © Andrew H. Laszlorugged remote region of colourful cliffs and canyons in southern Utah, U.S. It is bounded by Capitol Reef National Park to the northeast, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area to the east and southeast, and Dixie National Forest to the north and northwest. Part of the western border adjoins Bryce Canyon National Park, and part of the southern border coincides with the Arizona state line. Also nearby are Pipe Spring, Rainbow Bridge, and Cedar Breaks national monuments and Zion and Grand Canyon national parks. The monument was established in 1996 and covers an area of more than 2,900 square miles (7,500 square km). The monument’s headquarters is at Kanab.
© Andrew H. LaszloThe landscape consists of three regions. The Grand Staircase is a series of five “steps” rising about 5,500 feet (1,675 metres) across the southwestern part of the monument; each step encompasses a different coloured expanse of cliffs and a different biome, ranging from nearly barren desert to evergreen forest. The arid Kaiparowits Plateau rises above the surrounding land in the centre of the monument and contains prehistoric artifacts, petrified wood, and fossils of the Cretaceous Period (about 65 to 145 million years old). In the northeast, the Escalante River has cut deep into the sandstone over many millennia to create a tangle of interconnected, sometimes quite narrow, steep-sided canyons that provide a challenge for hikers.
Wildlife includes black bears, mountain lions, coyotes, mule deer, elk, kangaroo rats, bighorn sheep, a variety of snakes and lizards, and nearly 300 species of birds. Various habitats support a range of plants from coniferous and deciduous trees to cactus and yucca. Horseback riding, hiking, and camping are popular activities in the largely undeveloped monument. The area is known to encompass large reserves of coal and possibly oil, and this made the monument a source of controversy in the years following its establishment.