Goblin Valley State Park

The unusual stone shapes in Goblin Valley are result from the weathering of sandstone. The formation of these mushroom-shaped rock pinnacles are called hoodoos. Wind and water have carved fantastic and unique goblin-like sculptures out of the rock.

The valley is quite amazing, it is not just one or two goblins you will see here. These are thousands and thousands. In fact the Valley of the Goblins has one of the highest concentrations of hoodoos in the world.

Why did the goblins form here?

Where I stand was once a wet tidal flat. Sand, silt and clay eroding from western highlands were re-deposited here 170 to 140 million years ago in seas, shorelines, and river channels. Over time, more sediments were deposited on top of the tidal flat layers. Gradually, the underlying sediments compacted and cemented to become the sandstone, siltstone and shale layers of the goblin-producing Entrada Formation. In the past 10 million years, this region experienced a huge uplift which created the Colorado Plateau. This uplift set the stage for rapid erosion, which peeled off the layers above the Entrada Formation. When the Entrada layers became exposed, the carving of the goblins began.

It is time to leave Goblin behind and set course to the south to our next destination Bryce National Park. It is a long drive, but a beautiful one! The landscape of Utah never disappoints with its fascination rock formations.

Navaho Dome

We are driving on highway 24, through the Capitol Reef National Park, and on this route to the south we make a stop to admire the "Navaho Dome". This impressive rock towers high above the surrounding landscape and is striking in its shape.

Navajo Dome is composed of the Navajo Sandstone, which is believed to have formed about 180 million. In a hot, dry climate, wind blew over sand dunes, creating large, sweeping crossbeds which date to the Jurassic. Long after the sedimentary rocks were deposited, the Colorado Plateau was uplifted relatively evenly, keeping the layers roughly horizontal. And this is not the only place you can see the beauty that the Navajo Sandstone can create; it also part of the creation of Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, Zion National Park, Capitol Reef National Park, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument, and Canyonlands National Park.

This huge deposit of Navajo sandstone was composed of shifting dunes, compressed over time, exposed and sculpted over the ages by wind-blown sand and countless frost and thaw cycles.