Canyonlands National Park - Anasazi and the All-American Man

To the south and east of the Maze is the Needles district, bristling with towers and peaked spires of sandstone. In this piece of the park there is more diversity, both of terrain and of life, than in the other two pieces combined. There are water-cut canyons, the streams at their bases lined with lush green growth, and there are strange, straight canyons through which no stream has ever flowed. There are grassy swales where wildflowers bloom, mule deer and rabbits browse, and birds gather. There are the relics of ancient peoples who hunted or farmed the land here, and of more recent ranchers whose cattle grazed the grasslands.

The Needles district's surprising diversity of life is supported in large part by a mineral-laden stream called Salt Creek and its tributary, Horse Creek. In desert terms, Salt Creek is a bountiful water source, it flows most of the year. Entering the park from the south, it flows through steep-walled canyons and past strange landscapes of freestanding arches. (A particularly lovely one, Angel Arch, looks like a winged angel at rest, head bowed, leaning against a graceful harp.)

Along the stream banks, especially in the vast canyon complex near the headwaters, large cottonwood trees grow, their leaves rustling at the slightest breeze. Cottonwoods are the classic example of opportunistic plant growth in the American deserts, if water exists, even deep beneath the sand, their roots find it and use it; if the water is at plentiful, their growth is lush.

But lately, the cottonwood's dominance has been challenged by an even more opportunistic outsider. The tamarisk, or salt cedar tree, was imported to southern California from Egypt in the 19th century for use as a fast-growing ornamental. It was well chosen for the purpose; it grows quickly to 10 feet or more in height, and it is covered in spring with feathery blossoms of pink or lavender. But the lovely tree spreads by means of a deep, wide root system that soaks up available water with rapacious efficiency. Today tamarisk is the most profuse vegetation along much of the Colorado river system, dominating the banks of rivers and streams very nearly to the Rocky Mountain headwaters of the Colorado and the Green.

About 100 feet above Horse Canyon, perched in an alcove in a cliff face, is Tower Ruin. Not in fact a tower (the name is for the lofty height of the alcove where it sits), this squat, rectangular structure has been there for nearly a thousand years. It was built by the ancestors of the modern Pueblo people, who dwelt here from about A.D. 1000 to 1200, and it is minuscule compared with the magnificent cliff dwellings that the Ancestral Puebloans built on Mesa Verde. The park contains several such ruins as well as other remnants of these remarkable people.

In Upper Salt Creek Canyon in an alcove with several small structures is a pictograph, or painting, that was created about A.D. 1300 by ancestors of the modern Pueblo people. Known as the All-American Man, it has a nearly circular body decorated with blue, white, and red stripes, like the American flag. While this image is unique because of its bold color scheme, similar shield figures can be found on many of the region's canyon walls. Some have speculated that the circular figures can be found on many of the region's canyon walls. Some have speculated that the circular figures represent shields and warfare, but their true meaning remains unknown.

Earlier peoples, the hunter-gatherers who lived in the area from about 7000 B.C. to A.D. 500, also left rock art on canyon walls. The most famous of their art sites is the Great Gallery in Horseshoe Canyon. It, along with the other sites in the canyon, features a distinctive style of rock art characterized by larger-than-life-size human figures. The figures are usually painted without arms or legs, and their only facial features are large, round, staring eyes, giving them a ghostlike appearance. These astonishing images have been preserved for thousands of years in the arid environment of canyon country. Treated with respect and care, they will continue to inspire Canyonlands' visitors.