Paria River
Partial view of the Paria Canyon
The Paria River is about 121 km long tributary of the Colorado River in southern Utah and northern Arizona in the United States. It drains a rugged and dry area northwest of the Colorado and flows in its course impressive canyons, which are characteristic for the region.
The name comes from John D. Lee, a Mormon pioneer who was excommunicated in 1871 by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints because of his involvement in the Mountain Meadows Massacre and settled for repentance on the Colorado River near the mouth of the Paria River. He operated the ferry, which gave the name of the settlement Lees Ferry.
Course
The origin of the Paria River is located in southern Utah, in Garfield County, north of the city on Bryce Canyon National Park on the edge of town Tropic Paunsaugunt Plateau, where multiple source rivers come together. From there it flows south-southwest through the Kane County and the Grand Staircase- Escalante National Monument. He then crossed the border into Arizona, where he has buried his bed as Paria Canyon in the Paria Plateau. Around 8 km southwest of Page, and below the local Glen Canyon Dam to the Paria then empties into the Colorado. The last 32 km of the river course are in the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, which is managed by the Bureau of Land Management.
Attractions
The Paria River is one of the most attractive destinations in the region for Canyon tourists. The Buckskin Gulch, a side canyon of the Paria, is considered one of the longest and deepest canyons incised on the United States. On pariah there are also a number watchable historic and geological sites. A little above the mouth is the town of Lee's Ferry, further upstream are some ghost towns to visit. On the cliffs above the river are also often petroglyphs, ie to recognize petroglyphs that were carved here by Indians. For the flora and fauna is the river valley is a unique, but also endangered ecosystem in which rare species have received.
In the canyon there are several natural stone arches, worth seeing especially the Wrather Arch, an educated through the arc erosion of sandstone, the largest of its kind in the U.S. outside of Utah. The pariah was used regularly as an ideal backdrop for Western movies before the protection assignment, so for Buffalo Bill (1944 ), Sergeants 3 (1962) and The Outlaw Josie Wales ( The Texan (1976 ) ), the old movie sets can still visited be.
Conservation
The Paria Canyon was placed under the special strict conservation of Wilderness Areas in 1984 as part of the Paria Canyon - Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness and incorporated in 2000 in the Vermillion Cliffs National Monument. Since then, the access to the area is strictly regulated. Day visitors can enter from the south at Lee 's Ferry or one of the two inputs in the canyons on the north side hike into the canyon. For longer treks, such as the five -day crossing of Buckskin Gulch and Paria Canyon, only a maximum of 20 people per day are allowed.
External links (English)
- Paria River in the Geographic Names Information System of the United States Geological Survey
- Paria Canyon - Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness
- AmericanSouthwest.net: Paria River
- Paria River Natural History Association
- River in North America
- River in Utah
- River in Arizona