Dec 23, 2013

Natural Wonder- Utah's Goblin Valley, like nowhere else!



I never get tired of saying Utah is a land of unbelievably strange landscapes. This land has always surprised me with its unique and beautiful rock formations carved by natural forces over time! Be it arches, canyons, natural bridges, hoodoos and 'Goblins'!  For your amazement ... here is ... Goblin Valley State Park of Utah.

Goblin Valley State Park Utah

From Capitol Reef National Park, I drove north-east towards Green River on US-Route-24. On the way with few miles of diversion I found this place Goblin Valley. Though the place is remote the strangeness of the valley attracts many visitors.  To reach the valley one has to drive on seemingly endless roads in a barren landscape. The vegetation around is only few desert bushes and cacti. 

Goblin Valley State Park Utah

The strange rock formation is due to the erosion resistant layer of rocks over a softer sandstone. The softer layer erodes faster giving the hoodoos a mushroom like shape. These hoodoos are several meters high. It seems the sandstone were deposited during Jurassic period 170 million years ago though the goblins are much younger!

Goblin Valley State Park Utah
There are three short marked trails in and around the goblin valley. A short trail in the Carmel Canyon down to Molly's Castle overlook is cool. The place offers millions of opportunities for fine photography especially during the night. Due to its remoteness the dark clear skies make it possible to capture beautiful star-trails. The park is open from 7am to 10pm.

It is fun to watch the kids running around these goblins. Some play hide-and-seek, some climb up the pinnacles. It is nice to hear them laugh. The place is special and care should be taken to protect it for the coming generations to see. Few days after I visited this park, I read a news about few vandals toppled one of the rocks, carved over millions of years in a matter of minutes! How sad? Well, they seemingly had a justification for that!

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Related articles-
Lower Calf Creek Waterfalls in Grand Staircase Escalante
Escalante Petrified Forest State Park, Utah
Capitol Reef National Park in Utah
Sky ablaze over White Sands of New Mexico
American South-West: A road trip
State Parks of Utah

If you want pictures please ask me :)
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Scrapbook- A Travel Blog by Kusum Sanu is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

23 comments:

  1. interesting photos and info

    Happy xmas and newyear

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  2. I absolutely second your first sentence. Amazing landscapes and rock formations. Thanks for sharing these lovely landscapes.

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  3. Stunning & fascinating rock formations. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year. Hope you have another fabulous travel year ahead.

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  4. Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year.

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  5. Excellent pictures of what looks like a fantastic destination! I'm definitely adding this to my list of places to visit...

    Merry Christmas and a brilliant 2014!

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    1. Yes, it is fantastic! You must visit this lace!

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  6. Great pics!

    I've never been to Utah but I love the scenery from what I've seen in photos and on television.

    Merry Christmas!

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  7. That is so interesting!
    Amazing nature!

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  8. That is an amazing place, very nice photos. I haven't been to that part of Utah.

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  9. Wonderful photos ~ love Utah and New Mexico and Arizona ~ thanks, carol, xxx

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  10. Interesting name and place! I enjoyed this post of Goblin Valley! Great shots..Have a happy week!

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  11. Oh wow. I've never heard of this park or these interesting formations. Great photos Kusum.... Michelle

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  12. Two American hikers who toppled a historic rock formation in Utah. Goblin Valley State Park is a state park of Utah, USA. Its eminent feature is its thousands of hoodoos and hoodoo rocks, which are formations of mushroom-shaped rock pinnacles, some as high as several meters.

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  13. Wow, I love Utah outdoors as well. Although I have never been there. Thanks for sharing.

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  14. Nice to catch up with goblins in New Year, Kusum!! Missed a lot while I was away on a holiday:)

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