Image 6 of 16
Goosenecks and the meandering San Juan River (8115)
Goosenecks and the meandering San Juan River (8115) 20181011_ILOB8115.jpg
The "goosenecks" refer to several narrow land bridges formed between entrenched stream meanders along the San Juan River. The rocks exposed in the gorge at the Goosenecks are fossiliferous limestone and shale of the Pennsylvanian Honaker Trail Formation. --- Source: 3dparks.wr.usgs.gov
Millions of years ago, the land here was relatively flat, and the San Juan River meandered on its course. Then a period of uplift occurred. As the land rose, the river flowed faster while still following its meandering course. The river cut into the land, eventually creating the impressive entrenched meanders that we see at Goosenecks State Park today. Eroded by water, wind, frost, and gravity, this is truly a magnificent viewpoint.
The headwaters of the San Juan River are in the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado, which is the origin of 90 percent of the river's flow. The San Juan flows 360 miles from its source to the Colorado River, starting at an elevation of 14,000 feet and dropping to 3,600 feet at Lake Powell. The river is named for San Juan Bautista, Spanish for St. John the Baptist. Ancestors of today's Pueblo people lived in canyon tributaries of the San Juan, leaving behind images on stone, storage structures, and remnants of small masonry communities. --- Source: www.stateparks.utah.gov
Millions of years ago, the land here was relatively flat, and the San Juan River meandered on its course. Then a period of uplift occurred. As the land rose, the river flowed faster while still following its meandering course. The river cut into the land, eventually creating the impressive entrenched meanders that we see at Goosenecks State Park today. Eroded by water, wind, frost, and gravity, this is truly a magnificent viewpoint.
The headwaters of the San Juan River are in the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado, which is the origin of 90 percent of the river's flow. The San Juan flows 360 miles from its source to the Colorado River, starting at an elevation of 14,000 feet and dropping to 3,600 feet at Lake Powell. The river is named for San Juan Bautista, Spanish for St. John the Baptist. Ancestors of today's Pueblo people lived in canyon tributaries of the San Juan, leaving behind images on stone, storage structures, and remnants of small masonry communities. --- Source: www.stateparks.utah.gov