Larry Eifert

Mural of Bryce Canyon

Wondrous Rocks and So Much More

Bryce Canyon National Park is a scientist's laboratory and a child's playground. Because Bryce transcends 2000 feet (650 m) of elevation, the park exists in three distinct climatic zones: spruce/fir forest, Ponderosa Pine forest, and Pinyon Pine/juniper forest. This diversity of habitat provides for high biodiversity. Here at Bryce, you can enjoy over 100 species of birds, dozens of mammals, and more than a thousand plant species.

It is the uniqueness of the rocks that caused Bryce Canyon to be designated as a national park. These famous spires, called "hoodoos," are formed when ice and rainwater wear away the weak limestone that makes up the Claron Formation. However, the hoodoos' geologic story is also closely tied to the rest of the Grand Staircase region and the Cedar and Black Mountains volcanic complex. In short, Bryce has enough fascinating geology to fill a textbook.

We invite you to surf this section of our website to learn about some of the highlights of Bryce Canyon's natural world, and hope that one day you'll come and see the real thing in person.

Note: This portion of our site is constantly expanding. Questions? Comments? Please don't hesitate to share. Contact us with your thoughts.