1. Not A Horseshoe To The First Peoples Along The River Blue
2. Pale Invaders On Steel-Shoed Horses
3. Plants and Animals Be Here, But …
4. … Are There Any Horses?
5. A Photo Without Horses Ends This, Take It or Leave It …

Horseshoe Canyon is a feature of Utah’s Canyonlands National Park. The on-the-nose title refers to the canyon’s resemblance to the equine footgear of the same name.

Courtesy of The American Southwest

The river of Horseshoe Canyon has a distinct U curve – courtesy of Travel in USA

Horseshoes are in part responsible for the canyon’s English name – courtesy of Deep Hollow Ranch

Not A Horseshoe To The First Peoples Along The River Blue

The oldest artifacts from Horseshoe Canyon are from 9000-7000 BCE, the era of Paleoindians’ hunts of mastodons and mammoths across the Southwest.

Paleoindians, ancestors of today’s Native Americans, hunted mastodon (pictured) and mammoth alike – courtesy of National Park Service

Mastodons (left) had shorter tusks, somewhat-smaller ears, and flatter heads than mammoths (right) – courtesy of National Park Service

Petroglyphs at Horseshoe Canyon are in the “Barrier Canyon” style, and date from 2000 BCE to 500 CE, or the Late Archaic period. In that era, nomadic hunter-gatherers seasonally lived at or near the canyon.

Barrier Canyon-style petroglyphs at Horseshoe Canyon – courtesy of Follow That Nerd

Sustenance of North America, Late Archaic Period, 2000 BCE-500 CE – courtesy of Legends of America

Serpent Mound, largely located in the Appalachian foothills of Peebles, Adams County, Ohio; the mound is another relic of North America’s Late Archaic period, albeit from the Mound Builder cultures instead of the American Southwest – courtesy of Native Voices

The Serpent Mound was in core of the Hopewellian civilizations, one of the Mound Builder societies; given Mound Builder peoples resided along much of the Mississippi River, they’re sometimes also referred to as the Mississippian Moundbuilders – courtesy of Laulima!

Later eras saw the Fremont and Ancestral Puebloans roam through, and they left their own petroglyphs. These cultures abandoned Horseshoe Canyon by 1300 CE.

Sample of American Southwest cultures in or near Horseshoe Canyon – courtesy of Colorado Encyclopedia

Pale Invaders On Steel-Shoed Horses

Europeans and their white American descendants eventually encroached onto what were Native American lands, including Horseshoe Canyon. In the late 1800s, outlaws such as Butch Cassidy took refuge in Canyonlands, taking advantage of their perplexing routes and dead ends (Robbers Roost was particularly popular with those on the run from American authorities).

Butch Cassidy – courtesy of NBC News

Robbers Roost – courtesy of Capitol Reef Country

By the early 1900s, ranchers built stock trails into Horseshoe so livestock could reach the water and food at the canyon’s floor. In time, a pumping operation to fill water tanks was established on the canyon’s rim. In the mid-1900s, prospectors improved the stock trails so vehicles and drill rigs could pass through. Oil and other minerals were sought, but no successful wells or mines were at or close to Horseshoe.

Section of Leadfield, a ghost town near Death Valley, California; Leadfield’s history is eerily similar to that of the wells and mines of Horseshoe Canyon; in Leadfield’s case, its people sought lead for six months before abandoning their venture and leaving the town to decay – courtesy of The Break of Dawns

Unlike at the aforementioned Leadfield, mineral exploration continued at or near Horseshoe Canyon (in tandem with grazing) until 1971, when it was added to Canyonlands National Park.

Plants and Animals Be Here, But …

Flora and fauna at Horseshoe Canyon overlaps with the rest of Canyonlands National Park (obviously, given its part of the park).

Flora are divided into drought escapers (make use of favorable growing conditions when they exists, i.e. dormant seeds until the right time); drought resistors (small, spiny leaves reduce solar radiation impact, and some plants in this category drop leaves if water isn’t available; spines and hairy leaves reduce air current and solar radiation exposure, limiting water lost to evaporation); and drought evaders (survive in areas where water is plentiful). Escapers include wildflowers, resistors include cacti and yuccas, and evaders include maidenhair ferns.

Wildflowers in Utah’s Albion Basin; these are more characteristic of the state’s wetter parts, while the drier parts have flowers leaning towards red, orange, and yellow – courtesy of USDA Forest Service

Prickly pear (foreground) and saguaro (background) cacti in Utah – courtesy of Stone Tree Landscaping

Yucca in Utah – courtesy of Neel’s Nursery

Maidenhair fern – courtesy of The Garden Magazine

Same as the plants, Canyonlands’ fauna are divided into three broad categories. They are nocturnal (active during the evening so as to escape the sweltering sun), crepuscular (active at dusk and dawn for the same reason), and diurnal (active during the day, though these animals may not always be such since select days are too hot). Nocturnal includes bobcats and owls, crepuscular includes coyotes and porcupines, and diurnal includes chipmunks and eagles.

Bobcat in Utah, though this one may not be named Bob – courtesy of AZ Animals

Western screech owl in Utah – courtesy of Utah Public Radio

Coyote in Utah; the beige-grey coloring of the fur permits camouflage, preventing competitors/rivals from easily detecting them – courtesy of ABC4 Utah

Porcupine in Utah – courtesy of iNaturalist

Chipmunk in Utah – courtesy of Cool Green Science – The Nature Conservancy

Golden eagle soars above Utah – courtesy of Deseret News

… Are There Any Horses?

There were, without/with limited rules, considering cowboys and sheepherders have been through here for over a century. Today, as part of a National Park, it has stricter regulations. Disease transmission from stock to wild animals, and spread of exotic plant species, are of concern. Pack and saddle trips of Canyonlands are, from the start, limited by the water paucity. Pack and saddle stock (horses, burros, or mules) are taken on all designated four-wheel-drive roads (this includes the Horseshoe Canyon area). Cross-country travel is prohibited, as are pets in the backcountry. Additional rules and regulations apply.

White Rim Trail Road; this and other four-wheel-drive roads can be occupied by horses, burros, or mules – courtesy of Travel + Leisure

A Photo Without Horses Ends This, Take It or Leave It …

Courtesy of USGS

Sources:

1. “Horseshoe Canyon”. National Park Service. 4 February 2021 (Updated). https://www.nps.gov/places/horseshoe-canyon.htm
2. “Plants”. National Park Service. 2 February 2018. https://www.nps.gov/cany/learn/nature/plants.htm
3. “Animals”. National Park Service. 14 February 2019 (Updated). https://www.nps.gov/cany/learn/nature/animals.htm
4. “Horse & Pack Animal Regulations”. National Park Service. 19 October 2020 (Updated). https://www.nps.gov/cany/planyourvisit/stockuse.htm

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