Escalante Petrified Forest State Park
Encyclopedia
Escalante Petrified Forest State Park is a state park
of Utah
, USA, located just outside the town of Escalante
. In 1954 Wide Hollow Reservoir was constructed to provide irrigation
for the town of Escalante. The reservoir is stocked with rainbow trout
and bluegill
, and is popular for water sports including swimming, boating and fishing. A visitor center was built in 1991, and features displays of plant and marine fossils, petrified wood
and fossilized dinosaur
bones over 100 million years old. The Petrified Forest Trail is a one-mile loop, winding through lava flows and thousands of pieces of petrified wood. The Sleeping Rainbows trail is an optional 0.75 miles (1.2 km) loop off the Petrified Forest Trail. This section is much steeper and requires scrambling and climbing over rocks.
State park
State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the federated state level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, or recreational...
of Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
, USA, located just outside the town of Escalante
Escalante, Utah
Escalante is a city in Garfield County, Utah, United States, along Utah Scenic Byway 12. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 818.The town was named after Silvestre Vélez de Escalante, a Franciscan missionary and the first European explorer in the region...
. In 1954 Wide Hollow Reservoir was constructed to provide irrigation
Irrigation
Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...
for the town of Escalante. The reservoir is stocked with rainbow trout
Rainbow trout
The rainbow trout is a species of salmonid native to tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead is a sea run rainbow trout usually returning to freshwater to spawn after 2 to 3 years at sea. In other words, rainbow trout and steelhead trout are the same species....
and bluegill
Bluegill
The Bluegill is a species of freshwater fish sometimes referred to as bream, brim, or copper nose. It is a member of the sunfish family Centrarchidae of the order Perciformes.-Range and distribution:...
, and is popular for water sports including swimming, boating and fishing. A visitor center was built in 1991, and features displays of plant and marine fossils, petrified wood
Petrified wood
Petrified wood is the name given to a special type of fossilized remains of terrestrial vegetation. It is the result of a tree having turned completely into stone by the process of permineralization...
and fossilized dinosaur
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
bones over 100 million years old. The Petrified Forest Trail is a one-mile loop, winding through lava flows and thousands of pieces of petrified wood. The Sleeping Rainbows trail is an optional 0.75 miles (1.2 km) loop off the Petrified Forest Trail. This section is much steeper and requires scrambling and climbing over rocks.