Goosenecks State Park, State park in San Juan County, United States.
The San Juan River has carved deep canyons with three tight meanders, creating entrenched loops that drop 305 meters below the viewpoint.
The meanders formed 300 million years ago when the Colorado Plateau experienced uplift, forcing the river to cut deeper while maintaining its winding path.
The park received International Dark Sky designation in March 2021, recognizing its commitment to preserving natural darkness for astronomical observation.
Visitors can access the park through Utah Route 261 north of Mexican Hat, with an entrance fee of 5 dollars per vehicle.
The river travels more than 9 kilometers through the meandering bends while advancing only 2 kilometers in linear distance.
Location: San Juan County
Inception: 1962
Website: https://stateparks.utah.gov/parks/goosenecks
GPS coordinates: 37.17472,-109.92694
Latest update: May 11, 2025 21:29
The Southwestern US features sandstone formations, desert landscapes and historic sites. The region displays national parks with colored canyons, ancient pueblo settlements in cliffs, volcanic terrains and natural bridges. Notable elements include Navajo trading posts, petrified forests and prehistoric petroglyphs.
Utah preserves thousands of years of human history alongside some of North America's most varied geological landscapes. The region contains extensive rock art panels and Ancestral Pueblo ruins, including the 13th-century stone structures at Bears Ears National Monument and the 650-plus petroglyphs carved into Newspaper Rock over two millennia. Fremont Indian State Park displays more than 1,000 artifacts from the indigenous peoples who inhabited these lands, while fossilized dinosaur tracks near Moab record the passage of Allosaurus and Diplodocus across ancient mudflats 150 million years ago. The natural environment ranges from the sculpted sandstone formations of Goblin Valley, where erosion has created mushroom-shaped rocks rising 20 feet (6 meters) from the desert floor, to the narrow passages of Kanarra Creek Canyon with its red walls and cascading waterfalls. The Wedge Overlook reveals 1,000-foot (300-meter) cliffs above the San Rafael River, while Monroe's thermal springs emerge from the ground at 110°F (43°C). Whether exploring slot canyons, examining ancient handprints on rock walls, or walking among eroded sandstone formations, visitors encounter landscapes that document both geological processes spanning millions of years and the enduring presence of human cultures in this high desert region.
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