Dead Horse Point State Park
| Dead Horse Point State Park | |
| Utah State Park | |
 View of the Colorado River and Canyonlands National Park from Dead Horse Point
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| Country |  United States |
|---|---|
| State |  Utah |
| Counties | Grand, San Juan |
| Location | Moab |
| - elevation | 5,900 ft (1,798 m) [1] |
| - coordinates | 38°30′30″N 109°44′32″W / 38.50833°N 109.74222°W |
| Area | 5,300 acres (2,145 ha) [2] |
| Founded | 1959 [1] |
| Management | Utah State Parks |
| Visitation | 167,875 (2010) [3] |
  Location of Dead Horse Point State Park in Utah
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Dead Horse Point State Park is a state park of Utah, USA, featuring a dramatic overlook of the Colorado River and Canyonlands National Park. The park is so named because of its use as a natural corral by cowboys in the 19th century. The "dead horse" part of the name is that the corral was abandoned, but the horses did not leave the corral, even after the gate was left open, and died there. The park covers 5,362 acres (21.70 km2) of high desert at an altitude of 5,900 feet (1,800 m). [Per Marcia Cooper, Coordinator for the Elderhostel Program "Utah's Parks and Monuments," and former resident of Moab, Dead Horse Point was named by early Mormon pioneers for a rock formation at the base of the plateau. It is clearly visible and looks like a dead white horse lying on its side - see "Dead Horse Point name source" image below. Marcia says the horse corral/abandonment story was made up by a Moab elementary school student who participated in a chamber-of-commerce type contest early in the twentieth century to come up with a story to lure visitors to the site. The ruse continues to this day as reflected in state park literature, and this Wikipedia article.)
The plateau is surrounded by sheer cliffs 2,000 feet (610 m) high with only a narrow neck of land 30 yards (27 m) wide connecting the mesa to the main plateau. Thus it was easy for cowboys to simply fence off this narrow neck, and keep rounded up wild horses from running away. Legend has it that one group of horses was inadvertently left fenced in and eventually died of thirst. The area was also used in the final scene of the 1991 film Thelma & Louise.
The park has several overlooks, a visitor center, a 21-site campground and a group campsite, one picnic area, and a 9-mile (14 km) loop hiking trail with two cutovers to allow shorter trips. Safety concerns include the relative isolation of the park (gas, food and medical care are over 30 miles (48 km) away in Moab), lightning danger and unfenced cliffs .[4] While nearby Moab is a noted center for mountain biking, bikes in the park are only allowed on paved roads. Hunting is not allowed in the park.
[edit] See also
- Utah State Route 313 - Dead Horse Point Mesa Scenic Byway
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Dead Horse Point State Park: About the Park". Utah State Parks. http://stateparks.utah.gov/parks/dead-horse/about. Retrieved 2011-02-12.
- ^ "Dead Horse Point State Park Resource Management Plan". Utah State Parks. 2007-04. http://static.stateparks.utah.gov/plans/DHP_Plan.pdf. Retrieved 2011-02-12.
- ^ "Utah State Park Visitation". Utah State Parks Planning. http://stateparks.utah.gov/about/visitation. Retrieved 2011-02-10.
- ^ "Dead Horse Point State Park". Utah State Parks. 2004-02. http://static.stateparks.utah.gov/docs/DHP_brochure.pdf.
[edit] External links
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