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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
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