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Michael A. Stecker
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Goosenecks
Utah's Goosneck State Park, just
north of Monument Valley, is located four miles from
the Utah Highway 261 turnoff from US 163 near Mexican
Hat. It features an incredible series of tight
switchbacks of the San Juan River giving the area its
name. The river meanders back and forth, flowing for
more than five miles while progressing only one linear
mile toward the Colorado River and Lake Powell.
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On a plateau overlooking the Great Goosenecks you can
look into a 1,000-foot-deep chasm carved through the
Pennsylvanian Hermosa Formation by the silt-laden San
Juan River. Here, over 300 million years of geologic
history is exposed. Environments ranging from
wind-blown deserts to stream covered plateaus, ancient
seas and volcanic intrusions are encompassed in the
formations you see. The canyon is the result of
erosion.
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