US-UT-Canyonlands+National+Park+--+Elephant+Hill+Road

Also, see Canyonlands National Park
 * =Birding in Utah=

San Juan County
=Canyonlands National Park= =Elephant Hill Road= Moab, UT 84532 Canyonlands National Park website Canyonlands National Park map Elephant Hill Road webpage

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Canyonlands NP -- Elephant Hill Road
Coordinates: 38.1416787, -109.8272109 eBird links: Hotspot map View details Recent visits My eBird links: Location life list Submit data

About Elephant Hill Road
The road over Elephant Hill is the most challenging jeep road in Canyonlands National Park. It presents drivers with a series of obstacles ranging from loose rock and stair step drops to steep grades with hairpin turns. One of the turns is so tight that most vehicles must back down the succeeding switchback. With skill, however, the road can be negotiated with an ordinary 4WD vehicle-I have driven my Jeep Cherokee over Elephant Hill many times. The park service has even poured concrete in a few critical places to make the road passable for stock vehicles, but it is still a difficult road. From Elephant Hill Road webpage

About Canyonlands National Park
Canyonlands National Park preserves one of the last relatively undisturbed areas of the Colorado Plateau, a geological province that encompasses much of the Colorado River and its tributaries. Carved out of vast sedimentary rock deposits, this landscape of canyons, mesas, and deep river gorges possesses remarkable natural features that are part of a unique desert ecosystem.

The foundation of Canyonlands' desert ecology is its remarkable geology, which is visible everywhere in rocky cliffs that reveal millions of years of deposition and erosion. These rock layers continue to shape life in Canyonlands today, as patterns of erosion influence soil chemistry and where water flows when it rains.

Known as a "high desert," with elevations ranging from 3,700 to 7,200 feet above sea level, Canyonlands experiences very hot summers and cold winters, and receives less than ten inches of rain each year. Even on a daily basis, temperatures may fluctuate as much as 50 degrees.

This dynamic landscape is surprisingly filled with life, as stories of plant and animal survival play out day after day... and night after night. Naturally dark night skies are essential to both wildlife and human health. Scientists continually study these natural processes and environmental factors in the "outdoor laboratory" of the park.

Birds are the most visible animals in Canyonlands. Even on the hottest summer day, turkey vultures and white-throated swifts circle above the canyons. During winter, juncos and white-crowned sparrows forage around trees and shrubs. While Canyonlands may not be considered a bird watching hotspot, 273 species have been seen in the park, including seasonal and year-round residents as well as migrants.

Canyonlands owes much of this diversity to riparian corridors like the Colorado and Green rivers. In the desert, animal life tends to concentrate around riparian areas because of the abundance of food, water, and shelter. During spring and summer, mornings along the rivers are filled with birdsong, including blue grosbeaks, yellow-breasted chats, spotted towhees and canyon wrens. Great blue herons are often seen hunting the shallows for fish, while Cooper’s hawks deftly maneuver through the tangle of trees beyond the riverbanks.

Many birds favor the “upland” areas where grasses, shrubs and small trees dominate. Say’s phoebes, black-throated sparrows and western meadowlarks frequent grasslands. Pinyon jays, scrub jays, juniper titmice and black-throated gray warblers are usually seen in pinyon-juniper woodlands.

Since they are able to fly, it is difficult to generalize about what birds will be found in a particular habitat. However, regardless of habitat or season, the common raven figures prominently in the desert landscape. Ravens are intelligent birds that, according to scientists, display abilities to play and problem-solve rare among animals. This jet-black member of the crow family is also very vocal, using a variety of sounds for communication. Perhaps because of these qualities, ravens have achieved a certain stature in both European and Native American folklore.

Canyonlands monitors bird populations at several selected locations in both upland and riparian areas. Some surveys count all birds, while others focus on birds that actually nest in the park. Findings from these surveys and others like them are used to monitor the health of local bird populations and estimate species richness throughout the country. From Canyonlands National Park website

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media type="custom" key="28987103" || L4702745 US US-UT US-UT-037 38.1416787 -109.8272109 Canyonlands NP -- Elephant Hill Road