Ecosystem 05 of 05
130,000 square miles of layered rock, and the oldest stone you can stand beside.
The Plateau is a vast block of the continent that rose almost without tilting, leaving its rock layers nearly flat, which is why the Grand Canyon reads like a diagram. It holds the highest concentration of national parks and monuments in the country. Up here the forest is pinyon and juniper, the air is thin, and the geologic record runs almost two billion years deep.
Field note
The Colorado Plateau spans roughly 130,000 square miles. In the Grand Canyon, the plateau's oldest exposed rocks are nearly two billion years old, among the oldest visible anywhere on Earth.
Plant life
Produces the pine nut that sustained people here for millennia. A good cone crop comes only every few years.
Releases its unmistakable sharp scent after rain and poisons the soil around itself to limit competition.
A partial parasite that taps the roots of neighboring plants. The color comes from bracts, not petals.
An entire grove is often one organism sharing a root system, making aspen among the largest living things on Earth.
Wildlife
A 9.5-foot wingspan and North America’s largest flying bird. The species fell to 22 individuals in 1982; the first six captive-bred birds were released at the Vermilion Cliffs in December 1996.
The fastest land animal in the Americas at 55 mph, built to outrun a cheetah-like predator that went extinct here.
Ranges over 100 square miles and is almost never seen. It can leap 15 feet straight up from a standstill.
Stoops on prey at over 150 mph and holds the same territory and cliff nest for decades.
Where to go
Grand Canyon National Park, South RimThe definitive exposure of Plateau geology, open year round, with a free shuttle system and a paved rim trail.National Park Service3 hr 30 min northPark entrance fee, 7 days
Petrified Forest National ParkTriassic logs turned to stone, plus the banded badlands of the Painted Desert. Almost never crowded.National Park Service3 hr 30 min northeastPark entrance fee, 7 days
Wupatki & Sunset Crater National MonumentsA 900-year-old pueblo of over 100 rooms and a cinder cone that erupted around 1085 CE, linked by one scenic loop road.National Park Service3 hr northSingle fee covers both
Grand Canyon National Park, North RimClosure: Day use only, no lodging or drinking waterA thousand feet higher, deep in spruce-fir forest, with a fraction of the visitors. Open mid-May to mid-October only.National Park Service6 hr 30 min northPark entrance fee, 7 daysTrails to hike
Rim TrailEasyMostly paved and nearly level along the South Rim. Ride the shuttle out and walk back as far as you like.Up to 13 mi one wayMinimal gainGrand Canyon National Park
Blue Mesa TrailEasyDrops into blue-gray badlands past petrified logs perched on pedestals of eroding clay.1 mi loop100 ft gainPetrified Forest National Park
Bright Angel Trail to Three-Mile ResthouseStrenuousSeasonal water and some shade make this the safest way to sample the canyon’s interior. The climb out takes twice as long as the descent.6 mi round trip2,120 ft gainGrand Canyon National Park
South Kaibab to Ooh Aah PointModerateA short descent onto an open ridge with the finest panorama of any trail on the South Rim. No water, no shade.1.8 mi round trip600 ft gainGrand Canyon National Park
Lava Flow TrailEasyCrosses the base of the cinder cone over a 900-year-old lava field. Pines are only now taking root in the ash.1 mi loop50 ft gainSunset Crater Volcano National MonumentSeason by season
April – May
Cool rim temperatures, and wind.
June – August
Pleasant on the rim, lethal in the canyon.
September – October
The best month on the Plateau is October.
November – March
Snow on the rim, and the canyon at its most dramatic.
Expanded facts