1. A Name Befitting Past Instead of Present
2. It’s a Long Road to a National Park
3. Flowers and Wildlife of Capitol Reef – Modern, Not Ancient
4. Captures of Capitol Reef to Close This Out

Capitol Reef National Park is located towards the center of Utah. The name isn’t entirely inaccurate, if its ancient history is considered … as for today, you’re shrimp out of luck.

Not quite oceanic water, but we’ll take it – courtesy of National Park Service

A Name Befitting Past Instead of Present

Capitol Reef was once in the Western Interior Seaway’s vicinity, as proven by fossils found there. Oysters, turtles, crocodiles, and dinosaurs – all fossilized – have been found at various locations within the national park.

The Western Interior Seaway at points was blocked from the Gulf of Mexico, or even connected to now-gone water routes to places in modern Quebec and Greenland; the WIS’ existence meant the western and eastern portions of North America were, respectively, Laramidia and Appalachia – courtesy of ScienceDirect

Oyster fossils at Capitol Reef; not recommended eating, raw or cooked – courtesy of National Park Service

250 million years ago (Permian period), Capitol Reef was covered in dunes akin to those of the Sahara in North Africa. Hints of these dunes, against the odds, still exist here, via White Rim Sandstone at the lowest level of the stratigraphic column.

The appropriately (yet redundantly) named White Rim Sandstone is white and found along rims – courtesy of Live and Let Hike

225 million years ago, the land transformed into a tropic. 180 million years ago, it went dry and dunes again were kings of the terrain; these latter dunes are hinted at via large crossbeds of Navajo Sandstone.

Look closely at the white/beige portions, and you’ll notice several stripes; these are evidence of the dunes at Capitol Reef circa 180 million years ago – courtesy of USGS

140 million years ago, the climate again wettened, and had a coastal area to boot. The aforementioned fossils, plus sandstone and shale layers, are what is left of that swampy oceanic climate. Millions of years later, the Colorado plateau rose due to tectonic forces of the Laramide Orogeny, a mountain-building event which occurred 75 to 35 million years ago. Rock layers elevated thousands of feet vertically while remaining roughly horizontal. At what is now Capitol Reef, the Waterpocket Fold was an exception. Sedimentary rocks above the fault were more ductile and merely folded instead of faulting, creating the large monocline. Rock layers on the western side of the fold are 7,000 feet higher than those to the west.

Waterpocket Fold – can’t fault it for accuracy, and pun intentional – courtesy of Capitol Reef Country

The monocline wasn’t visible until 20 million years ago, during the Colorado plateau’s recent uplift. Erosion (in part due to water) since then has made the monocline visible, as well as created structures for which Capitol Reef is in part named for. Domes in the park were perceived by early white settlers as resembling the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., while the Waterpocket Fold was refered to as a reef by the same settlers since, akin to reefs at sea, it posed a barrier to transportation.

Capitol Dome, named for the Capitol building in Washington, D.C. – courtesy of National Park Service

Capitol building in Washington, D.C. – courtesy of National Park Service

Reefs can wreck ships, causing a barrier to marine travel; white settlers perceived the Waterpocket Fold as the land equivalent to it – courtesy of Living Oceans Foundation

Layers of Capitol Reef – courtesy of National Park Service

It’s a Long Road to a National Park

7,000 to 5,000 B.C. saw hunter-gatherers, whose game included bighorn sheep, deer, elk, and pronghorn, enter what would become known as Capitol Reef.

300 to 1300 A.D. saw the Fremont Culture enter Capitol Reef. Corn, beans, and squash were staples, while petroglyphs and pictographs were etched onto rock walls.

Extent of Fremont territory; some Native American territories contracted, expanded, and moved even prior to European and white American colonization; even in some places where tribal hubs were consistent, exterior territories were gained and lost – courtesy of Archaeology Southwest

Petroglyph within the park – courtesy of Intermountain Healthcare

The Ute, Paiute, and Dine (Navajo) inhabited the area seasonally, and in total 32 tribes have an ongoing association with Capitol Reef via current and/or historical uses.

In 1854, groups of surveyors and explorers from the United States traveled through Capitol Reef. One of these groups established the Fruita Rural Historic District, which grew orchards of apples, pears, and peaches.

The … fruits … of the settlers’ efforts paid off, as in and around the original Fruita settlement, functional orchards exist to this day – courtesy of The National Parks Experience

Fruita’s name befit it, given its orchards; ironically, the same can’t necessarily be said for the Fruitlands Museum (pictured) in Harvard (not the university, the Massachusetts town), where a wetter environment didn’t translate to agricultural success; Fruitlands was originally a “transcendentalist” commune, a place wherein its inhabitants believed people and nature were inherently good; the 90 acres of land at Fruitlands, paradoxically, only had ten apple trees; the organizers were aware of this, but hoped the land would be more, pun intended, fruitful; owing to the lack of actual crop-suited soil, Fruitlands closed after only seven months; though it failed its original purpose, the lands here have been given new life as a museum and a series of hiking trails; we went to a winter 2022 bonfire event here, and it was brilliant; rest assured, we will be here for hiking in the future – courtesy of Freedom’s Way National Heritage Area

In 1937, Capitol Reef National Monument was established, and has since become a National Park.

Flowers and Wildlife of Capitol Reef – Modern, Not Ancient

840 plant species are to be found in the park, 40 of which are endemic, and six of which are federally threatened or endangered.

Globemallow, varieties of which can be found at Capitol Reef – courtesy of PRAIRIE PUBLIC NEWS

Capitol Reef’s animal species are as plentiful as its plant species; birds alone account for over 230!

Desert Bighorn Sheep; you may see these in Capitol Reef – courtesy of My Utah Parks

Captures of Capitol Reef to Close This Out

Courtesy of My Utah Parks

Courtesy of Visit Utah

Courtesy of The Partying Traveler

Courtesy of Space Tourism Guide

Sources:

1. “NPS Geodiversity Atlas – Capitol Reef National Park, Utah”. National Park Service. 9 February 2022 (Updated). https://www.nps.gov/articles/nps-geodiversity-atlas-capitol-reef-national-park-utah.htm#:~:text=Capitol%20Reef%20National%20Park%20is,folds%2C%20faults%2C%20and%20fractures.
2. “Geology of Capitol Reef National Park”. USGS. https://www.usgs.gov/geology-and-ecology-of-national-parks/geology-capitol-reef-national-park#:~:text=Capitol%20Reef’s%20geology%20can%20be,level%20on%20the%20stratigraphic%20column.
3. “People”. National Park Service. 20 December 2020 (Updated). https://www.nps.gov/care/learn/historyculture/people.htm
4. Campbell, Casey. “A Brief History of Fruitlands, Massachusetts’ Transcendental Center”. The Culture Trip. 23 October 2016. https://theculturetrip.com/north-america/usa/massachusetts/articles/a-brief-history-of-fruitlands-massachusetts-transcendental-center/
5. “Plants”. National Park Service”. 15 December 2022 (Updated). https://www.nps.gov/care/learn/nature/plants.htm
6. “Animals”. National Park Service. 20 December 2022 (Updated). https://www.nps.gov/care/learn/nature/animals.htm

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