Colorado National Monument

The Colorado National Monument is named after the river rather than the state, and covers a relatively small area of eroded red rock formations and canyons just south of the Colorado near Grand Junction. This town, near the Utah border, is surrounded in most directions by impressive multi-coloured rocks; the orange/brown layered Book Cliffs dominate the town from the north, and extend westwards for nearly 200 miles to the Manti-la-Sal mountains of central Utah. Immediately southwest of the town, tributaries of the Colorado river have carved through the edge of the high Uncompahgre Plateau - this borders the Colorado for some distance but only the most scenic area, about 10 by 5 miles, is within the National Monument. This contains four main canyons, cutting into the plateau for several miles, with several smaller ravines, isolated towers and pinnacles, and many other rock formations.

Background: The Monument is pleasantly scenic, not one of the major attractions of the Southwest, but well worth visiting for a few hours. The cliffs are made of sandstone layers in various shades of red and white and so the canyons are similar to others in nearby states, especially Canyon de Chelly in Arizona and parts of Canyonlands in Utah. The establishment of the Monument in 1911 was largely due several years of campaigning by one man, John Otto, who explored the canyons and single-handedly built many miles of trails through the area.

Access: There is one paved road through the monument; this begins south of Grand Junction - just 4 miles from the town centre, the flat city street crosses the Colorado river, passes the entrance gate and becomes steep and twisting, with 15 mph corners and a tunnel, as it ascends the towering red cliffs. The road (the Rim Rock Drive) then follows the edge of the plateau for 20 miles, with various viewpoints and trailheads, passes the main visitor centre and camping area, then winds down equally steeply with 2 more tunnels before re-crossing the Colorado into Fruita.

Ute Canyon: The four main canyons become more spectacular northwards. The most southern is No Thoroughfare Canyon, which is not generally visible from the road and is only reached by long foot trails, or unpaved tracks. Next is Red Canyon; this is shorter, with the suburbs of Grand Junction visible at the far end, but there are no trails down the steep cliffs. Ute Canyon is rather longer and deeper although it has a similar appearance, with vertical cliff walls of banded, coloured strata and contrasting green vegetation. There are several good overlooks including one with a view of Fallen Rock, a huge slab from the cliff wall that has slumped sideways while remaining upright, still with bushes growing on top.

Monument Canyon: This is the longest of the four main ravines, and contains most of the major rock formations. Clearly visible from the road are the Coke Ovens, where the end of a ridge has eroded into a series of large cream-coloured mounds; there is a short path along the ridge, and a much longer trail down and along the canyon. This is 6 miles long and is steep at first as it descends to the floor of a side ravine, following the course of a seasonal stream and passing underneath the Coke Ovens before becoming more level. It joins the main canyon after about 2 miles, when some of the large named rock formations become visible.

The Tunnel: After several viewpoints, the Rim Rock Drive passes through Half Tunnel where for many metres the road is cut into the face of a sheer cliff - a major feat of engineering when the rim drive was built (in the 1930's), but one that resulted in the death of 11 workers when part of the roof collapsed. A plaque records this accident further along the road, near Grand View - this viewpoint has great vistas along Monument Canyon, the adjacent Wedding Canyon, and beyond across the wide flat Grand Valley of the Colorado. Dominating the foreground is Independence Monument - an isolated 450 foot tower of sandstone at the junction of the two canyons. There are various other rock features and viewpoints near the visitor centre, at the north end of the Park, before the road descends back towards the Colorado.

Arches: South and west of the Colorado river, the Uncompahgre Plateau continues for many miles. There are plenty of rough tracks through this region, but one of the main points of interest, Rattlesnake Canyon, is only reached by a very long foot trail. This remote canyon is about 6 miles from the Colorado National Monument and contains the second largest group of rock arches in the world, after Arches National Park.