Goblin Valley State Park

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Goblin Valley State Park
View of part of the valley

View of part of the valley

location Emery County in Utah (USA)
surface 12.2 km²
Geographical location 38 ° 33 '  N , 110 ° 43'  W Coordinates: 38 ° 32 '32 "  N , 110 ° 43' 16"  W.
Goblin Valley State Park, Utah
Goblin Valley State Park
Setup date 1964
administration Utah Dept. of Natural Resources, Division of State Parks and Recreation
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Sandstone figures

The Goblin Valley State Park is a State Park in southeastern Utah near Hanksville in the Utah State Route 24 . The park was founded on August 24, 1964 and has an area of ​​12.2 km². There is a visitor center and a campsite.

history

Cowboys in search of cattle first discovered this valley before Arthur Chaffin and two companions came across this valley in search of an alternative route between Green River and Caineville in the late 1920s . Chaffin was so impressed that in 1949 he returned to what he called the "Mushroom Valley" for several days and examined and photographed the formations.

In October 2013 a man from the "Boy Scouts of America" ​​braced himself against one of the more than 1 cubic meter large rock heads, so that it broke off its narrow junction and fell about two meters deep. A video of the man claiming to have acted out of concern for the children was posted on YouTube and picked up by newspapers. He denied his act with the words: "Our aim here is only to save lives." The park administration is now threatening consequences. Criticism has also been leveled by the US scouts and 'appropriate steps' are being taken.

geology

Over the course of millions of years, erosion, especially caused by wind and water, has shaped the sandstone of the valley into figures that are reminiscent of mushrooms or goblins - hence the name Goblin Valley .

The starting point is sand deposited in horizontal layers, which solidifies to sandstone and is later broken up by vertical cracks at characteristic intervals. Walls, islands and columns are formed next to crevices and canals as a result of the downward erosion, especially water and its constituents. Erosion tends to round off shapes, but wind or water currents arriving on vertical surfaces from exposed pillars break down less resistant stratification zones more strongly due to impacting sand particles. As a result, columns evenly constrict at certain heights, which then resemble a series of squat, waisted figures with round heads.

Flora and fauna

The vegetation is limited to plants that have adapted to the hot, dry desert climate and the blowing sand. Examples are Mormon Tea (Ephedra viridis) , Russian thistle (Salsola collina) , Indian ricegrass (Oryzopsis hymenoides) and various cacti .

Most animals are nocturnal . There are rabbits , scorpions , rattlesnakes and coyotes .

and display information about the image
Bizarre rock formations

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media

  • The Goblin Valley was the filming location for the scenes with the stone monster for the science fiction parody Galaxy Quest .
  • The American rock band The Killers shot the video for their song "Human" in Goblin Valley.
  • In the movie The Tree of Life , scenes from the Goblin Valley were used at the end .

Web links

Commons : Goblin Valley State Park  - Collection of pictures, videos, and audio files