Last updated: October 10, 2024
Place
Sunrise Overlook
NPS Photo/Conrad Provan
Quick Facts
Amenities
1 listed
Scenic View/Photo Spot
About 4 miles north of the Canyon Visitor Center, stop at the pullout on the right. Here, you can view a layer of deep red mudstone sandwiched between two lightercolored sandstones. This feature reminded an early traveler of a derby hat and inspired the name Plug Hat Butte, with a “crown” of Entrada Sandstone and a “band” of red Carmel Formation. As you drive around the butte, look for sweeping cross-beds of fine sand grains in the “brim” of Nugget Sandstone, indicating that this rock layer began as windblown desert sand dunes.
At the Plug Hat Butte picnic area, several viewpoints and short walks introduce you to the Colorado Plateau. Sedimentary rock layers across Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona were uplifted to form a table-like region, or plateau, drained by the Colorado River and its tributaries. The scene before you is typical of the plateau’s colorful strata, flat topped mesas, buttes, and sheer walled canyons. Lack of soil and plant cover contributes to the visibility of these landforms.
At the Plug Hat Butte picnic area, several viewpoints and short walks introduce you to the Colorado Plateau. Sedimentary rock layers across Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona were uplifted to form a table-like region, or plateau, drained by the Colorado River and its tributaries. The scene before you is typical of the plateau’s colorful strata, flat topped mesas, buttes, and sheer walled canyons. Lack of soil and plant cover contributes to the visibility of these landforms.