Cedar Breaks National Monument
Spanky: During our cross-continental trek, my humans and I decided to take a brief detour to visit the Cedar Breaks National Monument in Utah.
Edmund: Dante and me were there, too!
Spanky: Yes, you were. As I was saying—
Edmund: But you didn’t say we were there! You have to say it or it doesn’t count.
Spanky: Ahem. Myself, my humans, and my feline companions visited Cedar Breaks during our trip.
Edmund: Thank you!
Spanky: You’re welcome. Now if I may continue without any more interruptions…
Edmund: eep
Spanky: Set well up in the mountains, Cedar Breaks is a natural limestone amphitheater, five miles in diameter and 2,500 feet deep.
Edmund: We had to climb a very twisty road to get up there! And when we got there it was cold and very windy. I though we were going to get blown away. *nod nod nod*
Spanky: It appears that some of us are more easily impressed than others. As I was saying, the sides of the amphitheater have been eroded into a variety of gullies, canyons, free-standing “fins,” and pinnacles. Iron oxide has stained much of the originally white limestone, creating a colorful array of reds, oranges, and yellows.
Dante: My person was ridiculously excited about all the rocks. As if being a book person wasn’t dorky enough, she has to go and be a rock person, too.
Spanky: Well, it was fortunate for us that she was there or we wouldn’t have known what we were looking at.
Dante: Dude, they didn’t even let us out of the car.
Spanky: Perhaps if you spent more time looking out the window instead of sleeping you would learn a few things about the world.
Edmund: Don’t fight! Fighting makes me very sad.
Spanky: Very well, then, I shall continue with my talk. The area that is now Cedar Breaks was once at the bottom of a large lake. As the Pacific plate plunged underneath the continental plate during the Cretaceous period (144-65 million years ago) the area was lifted up and the water drained away. Wind and water (in both liquid and frozen form) did their work and left us with the beautiful scene we enjoy today.
Dante: Could you have made that any more boring?
Spanky: I’m not going to dignify that with a response.
Edmund: I though it was interesting. Is the Cretaceous like cat food? They both start with C!
Spanky: I appreciate your enthusiasm, Edmund, but let’s hold questions until the end.
Edmund: Okay.
Spanky: The park contains camping facilities and numerous hiking trails. The Visitor Center also hosts a variety of informational programs about the park’s history, geography, flora and fauna. It’s located quite close to Bryce Canyon, Zion National Monument, and the Grand Canyon.
Edmund: I want to go camping!
Dante: No way, man. There’s no electrical outlets.
Spanky: I hope you all enjoyed the presentation. Please see the link below for more information about the monument. Anyone interested in taking home a white cat with black spots, please see me.
Dante: I heard that.
Official Web Page: http://www.nps.gov/cebr/
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