Fantasy Canyon - Vernal Utah

Photos Submitted By Jennifer

Information provided by the BLM

Fantasy Canyon is the official designation of an area composed of unique erosional features located about 25 miles south of Vernal, in northeastern Utah.  Even though the area is somewhat small (it is not really a canyon) it contains some of the most unique geologic features in the world. The site adjoins Coyote Wash and is locally called "Hades Pit" or "Devil's  Rockhouse" and is a part of "The Devils Playground" (a term coined by Earl  Douglas) area which is designated on topographic maps of the area. Earl Douglas  presented some of the first photographs of this area in a 1909 publication called  "The Columbian Magazine".

Geology
 

The rocks of Fantasy Canyon were deposited during a geologic time  period known as the Eocene Epoch. The age of the rocks date from about 38 to 50 million years ago. During this period in the geologic past, the Uinta Basin area  was occupied by a very large lake, called Lake Uinta. At one point being over one mile deep and 120 miles wide, the lake began to fill with sediments eroding from the surrounding high lands which rose about the same  time the Rocky Mountains were being uplifted. Eventually more and more sediment was deposited and the once-loose sands, silts and clays were forged into rocks of sandstone, siltstone and shale. Eventually, through enormous earthen uplifts, the sedimentary rocks were elevated and the long process of erosion, which has yielded much of the spectacular scenery in the West, began. Because of different rates of weathering, the more durable sandstone rises above the more easily weathered siltstone and shale. Many years from now some of the outstanding features will give way to weathering, and will topple and erode into the sand  on which the visitors at Fantasy Canyon stand today.

Mineralization:

One interesting mineral present in the area is "Gilsonite"  (copyright name of the American Gilsonite Company). In Fantasy Canyon it occurs in a vertical vein which is about an inch wide. It is a black, very light weight, solid hydrocarbon. It takes on a glassy, obsidian look when it is freshly  broken, but dulls when exposed to long periods of sunlight. This is the only place in the world that commercially mines Gilsonite from veins up to 20 feet wide and over 1000 feet deep.

Fossils:
The Uinta Formation is an important keeper of a portion of the fossil record for this area. It contains the widely scattered bones of creatures, mostly  reptiles and mammals, which roamed the Basin during the Eocene. The cross section of a  suspended turtle shell is visible along the rock trail.

Directions to Fantasy Canyon

25 miles southeast of Vernal south on UT 45 & south on an oil company service road. Follow the signs to the area.

INDIAN LEGEND of FANTASY CANYON

The Indian legend concerning Fantasy Canyon was told to George E. Stewart  by Muse Harris, known to the Indians as Chief Red Moose, and was printed in  the Salt Lake Tribune on July 16, 1972. We quote the legend as follows:

"One day, the story goes, the evil creatures of the nether regions, tired of living  in the dark and dank, decided to dig up to the surface and take over everything  above and below the earth. They dug and the ground trembled and rumbled.

Two coyotes, curious, as all coyotes are, couldn't resist the urge to investigate.  The pair discovered the plot of the creatures from down under and in a trice  howled the alarm to all their fellow mortals round about.

A great council was held to decide what to do. It would take more than mortal  power to stop the invasion of these supernatural beings, this they understood.  Finally, they determined to send for the greatest medicine man they knew.

Two eagles flew with the summons and on the very first day, they found the  great one in his mountain vastness.

The wild horses set up a relay of the fleetest stallions on earth; they bore the  mighty one with the speed of the wind over mountains, rivers, valleys and  plains. And it was none too soon, for as he came up Whiteriver, the Sachem  could see the red light in the sky where the underworld denizens had broken  through.

First he called on the Wind of the West and a great hurricane blew, carrying  dust, dirt, rocks and trees to fill in the awful hole. But all this went for  naught, it fell through to be burned in fires down below.

Then the Rain God was asked for help and he sent water in clouds and  torrents, but it vanished away in steam and mist, while the Devil Chief  laughed loud and long and his minions screamed with glee.

The Sachem called to the God of the North,  "Help us, help us", he chanted and  drummed, "Oh, Great Lord of Ice and Snow" .

Help came as swift as an arrow; intense, deep, bitter cold. The North God  caught the denizens of the deep as they gathered to spread over the world. In  the wink of an eye he turned them all to ice. The devil Chief, the Great Mother  Witch, the magician, and all the rest stand there just as they stood at the  instant the cold struck long ago.

When the warmth came back, again the west wind blew and as the ice melted,  the dust took its place and now the monsters stand in the pit they dug, all of  them turned to stone. It is a warning to the evil ones down in hell to leave the good green earth alone."

Information Provided By The Utah BLM