Sand Caves – Only Thing Missing Is The Beach

Near Kanab, Utah are a wonderous collection of sandstone caves, originally known as the Moqui Caverns (Moqui is an antiquated term for Native Americans, and as you shall see, even the old name’s indicated association is inaccurate).

Courtesy of Zion Ponderosa Ranch and Resort

Geology? Of Course, These Are Caves, For Bluff’s Sake!

Kanab’s sandstone caves are segments of the Kayenta Formation.

Natural rock diagram at Zion National Park – courtesy of National Park Service

The Kayenta Formation is from the Early Jurassic period, about 195 to 185 million years ago. It is reddish-brown and pink sandstone, with mudstone and siltstone deposited in the ancient environment’s streams and rivers. The formation itself is dominated by mudstones left on river floodplains in small lakes, thin layers of sandstone representing stream channels. Fossilized dinosaur tracks are within. The formation is most visible in lower Zion Canyon and Kolob Canyons.

Unlike many other formations in the area, the Kanab Sandstone Caves are stunningly recent, dating to the 1970s. They’re what’s left of a mine used to extract sand for glassmaking. Despite its advantageous location (which accounted for easy accessibility and the rocks’ relative softness), the mine was quick to close. Luckily, the mining routes are repurposed for tourism.

Kane County, Home of Kanab

Courtesy of I Love Utah History – Utah.gov

Kane County, home of Kanab, was home to Native Americans for thousands of years. One of the first known Europeans to witness what became Kane was Silvestre ‘lez de Escalante, a Franciscan missionary accompanying a band of Spanish explorers in 1776. In the 1850s and 1860s, Mormon settlers stole land, and were often (though not permanently) driven off by Native Americans defending their territories. Kanab, founded in 1864 (technically), means “place of the willows” in a Paiute dialect. Two years after its technical foundation, Mormon settlers were driven away, but returned and evicted the locals in 1870. Kanab was an isolated Utah town for decades, but has recently drawn tourism.

Aerial view of Kanab, Utah – courtesy of Bearfoot Theory

Landscape near Kanab – courtesy of Expedia

Rocky, twisty passageway near Kanab – courtesy of TravelAwaits

Courtesy of Travel + Leisure

Kane County’s Critters – and Flowers

Kanab, and by extension the rest of Kane County, is the abode of a vast number of plants and animals. On the plant side, Greenleaf Manzanita, Smallflower Fishhook Cactus, Rocky Mountain Beeplant, etc. On the animal side, Common Raven, Gopher Snake, Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay, etc.

Greenleaf Manzanita – courtesy of Las Pilitas Nursery

Smallflower Fishhook Cactus; not exactly marine, is it? – courtesy of Colorado’s Wildflowers

Rocky Mountain Beeplant – courtesy of USDA Forest Service

Common Raven; we learned at the Best Friends animal shelter of Kanab, UT that, if humans kill even one bird in a flock of ravens, the rest remember those humans for a long time, decades if they manage to live that long – courtesy of Utah Public Radio