Capitol Reef National Park. The Waterpocket Fold, a 100-mile long wrinkle in the earth's crust known as a monocline, extends from nearby Thousand Lakes Mountain to the Colorado River, now Lake Powell.
Capitol Reef National Park was established to protect this grand and colorful geologic feature, as well as the unique historical and cultural history found in the area.
The area was named for a line of white domes and cliffs of Navajo Sandstone, each of which resembles the United States Capitol building, that run from the Fremont River to Pleasant Creek on the Waterpocket Fold. The local word reef referred to any rocky barrier to travel.
The area including the park was once the edge of an ancient shallow sea that invaded the land in the Permian, creating the Cutler Formation. Only the sandstone of the youngest member of the Cutler Formation, the White Rim, is exposed in the park. The deepening sea left Carbonate deposits, forming the limestone of the Kaibab Limestone, the same formation that rims the Grand Canyon to the southwest.
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Temperature | 57.0° F | Sunrise | 5:57 am |
| Feels Like | 57.0° F | Sunset | 8:50 pm | |
| Barometer | Wind | calm | ||
| Dewpoint | 36.0° F | Gusts | none | |
| Humidity | 45% | Visibility | 10 miles | |
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Reported by NOAA on Sep 30 2012, 11:45 pm MDT from Hanksville, UT
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| Mon Jun 17 Fair |
Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
| High Temp F | 96° | 95° | 93° | 94° | 96° | 97° | 97° |
| Low Temp F | 55° | 56° | 55° | 56° | 56° | 57° | 58° |
| Precipitation | 1% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 2% | 3% | 4% |
| Moon Phase |
Fri, 24 May 2013 08:05:03 GMT
Capitol Reef National Park: The Complete Hiking And Touring Guide - National Parks Traveler