Westwater Canyon
Encyclopedia
Colorado River
The Colorado River , is a river in the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, approximately long, draining a part of the arid regions on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. The watershed of the Colorado River covers in parts of seven U.S. states and two Mexican states...
in Eastern 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...
between the Utah/Colorado state line and Cisco, Utah
Cisco, Utah
Cisco is a ghost town in Grand County, Utah near the junction of State Route 128 and Interstate 70. At one time the town served as a saloon and water-refilling station for the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad. The town's demise came with the demise of the steam locomotive. The town site...
. The inner gorge of the canyon
Canyon
A canyon or gorge is a deep ravine between cliffs often carved from the landscape by a river. Rivers have a natural tendency to reach a baseline elevation, which is the same elevation as the body of water it will eventually drain into. This forms a canyon. Most canyons were formed by a process of...
is made up of black Precambrian
Precambrian
The Precambrian is the name which describes the large span of time in Earth's history before the current Phanerozoic Eon, and is a Supereon divided into several eons of the geologic time scale...
rock and contains class III and IV rapids which are sought after by whitewater
Whitewater
Whitewater is formed in a rapid, when a river's gradient increases enough to disturb its laminar flow and create turbulence, i.e. form a bubbly, or aerated and unstable current; the frothy water appears white...
enthusiasts. The most notable rapid, called "Skull", is the most significant.
The Bureau of Land Management
Bureau of Land Management
The Bureau of Land Management is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior which administers America's public lands, totaling approximately , or one-eighth of the landmass of the country. The BLM also manages of subsurface mineral estate underlying federal, state and private...
(BLM) oversees a permit
Permit
Permit may refer to:*Permit *Various legal licenses:*License*Work permit*Learner's permit*Permit to travel*Construction permit*Home Return Permit*One-way Permit*Permit is the common name for the Trachinotus falcatus, a type of Pompano....
ting system for whitewater travelers for this section of the Colorado River, and boaters must follow special rules and regulations. Many boaters pack camping
Camping
Camping is an outdoor recreational activity. The participants leave urban areas, their home region, or civilization and enjoy nature while spending one or several nights outdoors, usually at a campsite. Camping may involve the use of a tent, caravan, motorhome, cabin, a primitive structure, or no...
equipment in on raft
Raft
A raft is any flat structure for support or transportation over water. It is the most basic of boat design, characterized by the absence of a hull...
s and make the 17-mile trip from Westwater ranger station to Cisco
Cisco, Utah
Cisco is a ghost town in Grand County, Utah near the junction of State Route 128 and Interstate 70. At one time the town served as a saloon and water-refilling station for the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad. The town's demise came with the demise of the steam locomotive. The town site...
landing over 1-2 days.
Westwater Canyon runs through a wilderness study area
Wilderness study area
A wilderness study area contains undeveloped United States federal land retaining its primeval character and influence, without permanent improvements or human habitation, and managed to preserve its natural conditions...
and has been proposed for designation as a wild and scenic river
National Wild and Scenic River
National Wild and Scenic River is a designation for certain protected areas in the United States.The National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act was an outgrowth of the recommendations of a Presidential commission, the Outdoor Recreation Resources Review Commission...
along with Ruby Canyon
Ruby Canyon
Ruby Canyon is a roughly 25 mile long canyon on the Colorado River located on the Colorado-Utah border in the western United States, and is a popular destination for rafting...
just upstream.
The Westwater Ranger Station put-in to the Rose Ranch takeout is a 17 mile journey. Most whitewater is compacted in the Marble gorge where rescue of swimmers and recovery of capsized vessels is limited by vertical canyon walls.
Geology
The geology of Westwater Canyon is very similar to nearby National Parks such as Canyonlands National ParkCanyonlands National Park
Canyonlands National Park is a U.S. National Park located in southeastern Utah near the town of Moab and preserves a colorful landscape eroded into countless canyons, mesas and buttes by the Colorado River, the Green River, and their respective tributaries. The park is divided into four districts:...
, Colorado National Monument
Colorado National Monument
- Trails :The Monument contains many hiking trails, with lengths and difficulties to suit all tastes. Summer storms can cause flash floods as well as dangerous trail conditions. Rattlesnakes are found on the Monument, and rough terrain exists everywhere, but most trails are well-maintained...
, and Arches National Park
Arches National Park
Arches National Park is a U.S. National Park in eastern Utah. It is known for preserving over 2000 natural sandstone arches, including the world-famous Delicate Arch, in addition to a variety of unique geological resources and formations....
. The uppermost rocks in the canyon date from the Triassic
Triassic
The Triassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about 250 to 200 Mya . As the first period of the Mesozoic Era, the Triassic follows the Permian and is followed by the Jurassic. Both the start and end of the Triassic are marked by major extinction events...
period and are composed of the reddish, cliff-forming Wingate Sandstone
Wingate Sandstone
Wingate Sandstone is a geologic formation in the Glen Canyon Group that is spread across the Colorado Plateau province of the United States, including northern Arizona, northwest Colorado, Nevada, and Utah. This rock formation is particularly prominent in southeastern Utah, where it forms...
atop the green to purple, slope-forming Chinle Formation
Chinle Formation
The Chinle is a geologic formation that is spread across the U.S. states of northern Arizona, Nevada, Utah, western New Mexico, and western Colorado. The Chinle is controversially considered to be synonymous to the Dockum Group in eastern Colorado, eastern New Mexico, southwestern Kansas, the...
. Within the inner gorge of Westwater, a large unconformity
Unconformity
An unconformity is a buried erosion surface separating two rock masses or strata of different ages, indicating that sediment deposition was not continuous. In general, the older layer was exposed to erosion for an interval of time before deposition of the younger, but the term is used to describe...
separates the Chinle Formation from the Precambrian
Precambrian
The Precambrian is the name which describes the large span of time in Earth's history before the current Phanerozoic Eon, and is a Supereon divided into several eons of the geologic time scale...
basement rocks composed of metamorphic Vishnu Schist (black) and Zoroaster Granite (pink). Westwater Canyon and Ruby Canyon are the only places on the Colorado River
Colorado River
The Colorado River , is a river in the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, approximately long, draining a part of the arid regions on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. The watershed of the Colorado River covers in parts of seven U.S. states and two Mexican states...
outside of the Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in the United States in the state of Arizona. It is largely contained within the Grand Canyon National Park, the 15th national park in the United States...
where Precambrian
Precambrian
The Precambrian is the name which describes the large span of time in Earth's history before the current Phanerozoic Eon, and is a Supereon divided into several eons of the geologic time scale...
rocks are exposed.