About a mile southwest of The Neck, the road crosses Grays Pasture—the
widest and flattest part of Island in the Sky. The drive over this flat
grassland yields not the slightest hint of the awesome cliff-walled
chasms on either side of the island. Some 5 miles southwest of The Neck,
both the island and the road branch like a Y. At a point 0.4 mile north
of the Y, Mesa Trail leads one-quarter mile east to Canyon Viewpoint
Arch, which frames the Colorado River canyon and the La Sal Mountains
(fig. 18). This arch, at the very top edge of the cliff, is composed of
the lower part of the Navajo Sandstone. The only other arch of Navajo
Sandstone in or near the park that I know of is the small one shown in
figure 33, but of course there may be others.
[Illustration: NATURAL TANKS, filled with runoff from rain, serve as
emergency sources of drinking water. Largest tank in foreground
contains 4 feet of water and small fresh-water shrimp. So-called
tanks, or potholes, are formed partly by water dissolving the
calcium carbonate cement and partly by wind or water removing the
resulting loose sand grains. View is north toward Junction Butte
from point about a mile south of the White Rim Trail. Red rocks in
hill on right are in lower part of Moenkopi Formation. Photograph by
E. N. Hinrichs. (Fig. 17)]
[Illustration: CANYON VIEWPOINT ARCH, framing Colorado River canyon
at east end of Mesa Trail 0.4 mile north of Y in Island in the Sky
road. Arch is in lower part of Navajo Sandstone. (Fig. 18)]
[Illustration: INDEX MAP showing localities where most of the
photographs were taken. Arrows point to distant views. Numbers refer
to figure numbers. (Fig. 19)]
[Illustration: THE WHITE RIM, looking northeast toward La Sal
Mountains from overlook 3 miles north of Grand View Point. White Rim
Sandstone here is thicker than near Dead Horse Point (fig. 15) but
thinner than in Monument Basin and Stillwater Canyon (fig. 21, fig.
23). (Fig. 20)]
Let us now take the branch south of the Y and follow the narrow crest of
Grand View Point for about 6 miles to the main overlook. About 0.9 mile
south of the Y, a short walk to the west over the lower part of the
Navajo Sandstone affords a magnificent view of Stillwater Canyon of the
Green River, including Turks Head (fig. 23, fig. 24). Half way to the
point is a parking area and overlook, from which we get a spectacular
view of canyons cutting the White Rim and of the La Sal Mountains beyond
(fig. 20). Note that the White Rim Sandstone, which forms the broad
bench appropriately named the White Rim, is here much thicker than where
seen near Dead Horse Point (fig. 15).
[Illustration: MONUMENT BASIN FROM GRAND VIEW POINT, Needles
Overlook on left skyline, Abajo Mountains on right skyline. Red
spires and cliffs in basin are Organ Rock Tongue of Cutler
Formation. (Fig. 21)]
Three more miles southward takes us to Grand View Point and its nearby
picnic area. Though named after the former Grand River some 2,000 feet
below, Grand View Point has a double meaning, for we see from here a
truly grand view (fig. 21)! At our feet is spectacular Monument Basin,
cut below the White Rim into the brick-red Organ Rock Tongue of the
Cutler Formation. The White Rim Sandstone here is slightly thicker than
to the northeast (fig. 20) but thinner than to the west (fig. 23),
because it forms a wedge-shaped body that thickens westward. In the
distance southeastward are the Abajo Mountains, just west of Monticello,
Utah. The prominent projection on Hatch Point on the left skyline is
Needles Overlook, from which the photograph in figure 27 was taken. A
closeup view of Monument Basin, showing Junction Butte and Grand View
Point in the background, is shown in figure 22. The slender spire in the
foreground has a measured height of 305 feet (Findley, 1971, p. 78).
[Illustration: MONUMENT BASIN FROM THE AIR, looking north to
Junction Butte and Grand View Point. Spire of Organ Rock Tongue in
foreground is 305 feet high. White top of Cedar Mesa Sandstone is at
bottom of photograph. Photograph by National Park Service (Fig. 22)]