Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in southern Utah represents a profound intersection of geological time and human endeavor. Spanning approximately 1.87 million acres, the monument preserves over 270 million years of Earth’s history through its iconic “Grand Staircase”—a series of stepped cliffs and plateaus that reveal ancient environments from deserts and shallow seas to lush floodplains. Geologically, it is renowned for its continuous stratigraphic record and abundant fossils, including dinosaur remains and petrified forests. Historically, the area has been inhabited by Indigenous peoples for millennia and later traversed by Mormon pioneers, culminating in its controversial establishment as a national monument in 1996. Managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), GSENM faces ongoing debates over resource use and preservation.
Introduction
Established on September 18, 1996, by President Bill Clinton under the Antiquities Act, GSENM initially encompassed 1.7 million acres to protect its unparalleled scientific and cultural resources. The monument’s name derives from the Escalante River, named after Spanish explorer Silvestre Vélez de Escalante, and the Grand Staircase, a geological feature conceptualized by Clarence Dutton in 1880. Divided into three sections—the rugged Grand Staircase in the west, the high Kaiparowits Plateau in the center, and the dissected Escalante Canyons in the east—GSENM spans diverse landscapes of slot canyons, buttes, and badlands. Its boundaries were reduced by nearly 47% in 2017 under President Donald Trump but restored to their original extent in 2021 by President Joe Biden, a decision upheld by federal courts in 2023 with appeals ongoing as of late 2024. Today, it serves as a critical site for paleontological research, cultural heritage, and recreation, attracting over 1 million visitors annually while balancing conservation with traditional uses like grazing and off-road access.
Geological History
The geology of GSENM is a testament to the dynamic forces that have shaped the Colorado Plateau, recording environmental shifts from arid deserts to marine incursions over nearly 300 million years. The monument’s strata, gently dipping northward, form the “Grand Staircase”—a 100-mile-long, 6,000-foot-high sequence of cliffs (risers) and plateaus (treads) that ascends from the Grand Canyon northward to Bryce Canyon National Park. This staircase, first described by geologist Clarence Dutton in 1870, preserves a near-continuous record from the Permian Period (about 275 million years ago) to the Eocene (about 50 million years ago), with only minor unconformities representing erosion gaps.
Major Rock Formations and Depositional Environments
The stratigraphic column is divided among the monument’s three sections, with thicknesses varying due to local tectonics. From oldest to youngest:
- Permian Formations (275–251 Ma): Basal layers include the Kaibab Limestone (marine shelf deposits with crinoids and brachiopods) and underlying units like the Toroweap Formation (gypsiferous sandstones from tidal flats) and Coconino Sandstone (eolian dunes). These form the Chocolate Cliffs in the southern Grand Staircase, recording a marginal marine lowland with periodic sea advances.
- Triassic Formations (251–201 Ma): The Moenkopi Formation (red beds, limestones, and gypsum from tidal flats and mudflats, 440–1,150 feet thick) and Chinle Formation (fluvial-lacustrine mudstones with bentonite, 425–930 feet thick) dominate the Chocolate Cliffs. Volcanic ash in the Chinle preserved vast petrified forests of conifers and ferns.
- Jurassic Formations (201–145 Ma): Eolian and fluvial dominance defines this era. The Wingate Sandstone (dune sands, 100–350 feet) and Navajo Sandstone (massive cross-bedded dunes, 1,300–1,500 feet thick, forming the White Cliffs) represent vast deserts. The Kayenta Formation (fluvial sandstones, 150–350 feet) creates the Vermilion Cliffs, stained red by iron oxide. Middle Jurassic units like the Carmel Formation (shallow marine limestones with mollusks) and Entrada Sandstone (dunes) transition to the Morrison Formation (floodplain mudstones with dinosaur bones, up to 950 feet thick). These layers form the Gray Cliffs in the north.
- Cretaceous Formations (145–66 Ma): The Western Interior Seaway’s advance deposited marine shales (Tropic Shale, 500–750 feet) and coastal sands (Dakota Formation, 3–370 feet). Continental units like the Straight Cliffs Formation (deltaic sandstones with coal, 900–1,800 feet), Wahweap Formation (piedmont gravels, 1,000–1,500 feet), and Kaiparowits Formation (alluvial mudstones, 2,000–3,000 feet thick) record a retreating sea and lush coastal plains teeming with life.
- Tertiary Formations (66–23 Ma): Post-dinosaur extinction, the Claron Formation (lacustrine limestones, up to 1,400 feet) formed the Pink Cliffs through lake sedimentation, later sculpted into hoodoos by freeze-thaw cycles.
Unconformities, such as a 20-million-year gap between Permian and Triassic rocks, indicate erosion during tectonic quiescence.
Structural Features and Landscape Evolution
Tectonic events shaped the monument’s architecture. The Sevier Orogeny (Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous) folded strata into north-south anticlines, synclines, and monoclines, including the dramatic East Kaibab Monocline (Cockscomb thrust, with 5,000 feet of displacement) and Escalante Monocline. The Laramide Orogeny (Late Cretaceous–Eocene) uplifted the Colorado Plateau by up to two miles, while Miocene Basin-and-Range extension created normal faults like the Paunsaugunt and Johnson Canyon faults, forming grabens and tilted blocks. Quaternary erosion by the Escalante and Paria Rivers, exacerbated by monsoons and flash floods, incised deep canyons and exposed the staircase. Volcanic activity in the middle Tertiary added ash flows in the Aquarius Plateau, but the dominant process remains differential erosion: resistant sandstones cap cliffs, while softer shales form slopes.
Paleontological Significance
GSENM is a global hotspot for Mesozoic fossils, offering insights into ancient ecosystems. Triassic Chinle layers yield petrified wood (up to 90 feet long), dinosaur tracks, and reptiles. Jurassic Navajo and Morrison formations preserve theropod and sauropod tracks, plus rare bones. The Cretaceous Kaiparowits Formation is exceptionally rich, with hadrosaurs, ankylosaurs, crocodiles, turtles, and plants from a subtropical floodplain—over 1,000 specimens collected since 1996. Marine fossils in Tropic Shale include ammonites and mosasaurs. These finds, protected under the Paleontological Resources Preservation Act, underscore the monument’s role in understanding the dinosaur era’s end.
Historical Significance
Indigenous and Early Human Occupation
Human presence dates to the Paleo-Indian period (ca. 10,000 BCE), but permanent settlements emerged during the Basketmaker III Era (ca. AD 500). Ancestral Puebloans (Anasazi) and Fremont peoples farmed corn, beans, and squash in canyons, constructing pithouses, granaries, and rock art panels depicting hunters and abstract symbols. Ruins like those in the Escalante Canyons reveal a sophisticated adaptation to arid environments, with trade networks extending to Mesoamerica. By AD 1300, climate change and overuse led to abandonment, leaving over 5,000 archaeological sites—20% of Utah’s total.
Euro-American Exploration and Settlement
Spanish explorers, including the 1776 Domínguez–Escalante expedition, first mapped the region but did not settle. Mormon pioneers arrived in 1866, with Captain James Andrus leading the first recorded Euro-American party to the Escalante River headwaters. In 1871, Jacob Hamblin traversed the river, aiding John Wesley Powell’s surveys. The 1879 Hole-in-the-Rock Expedition, involving 250 Mormons, blasted a perilous trail through Glen Canyon to establish a southeastern Utah colony, taking six weeks and symbolizing pioneer resilience. By the early 20th century, ranching and mining boomed, with uranium and coal prospects on the Kaiparowits Plateau threatening resources.
Establishment and Modern Controversies
Conservation efforts began in the 1930s, but momentum built in the 1990s amid coal mining threats. Clinton’s 1996 proclamation, announced during his reelection campaign, bypassed Utah’s congressional delegation, sparking lawsuits and accusations of federal overreach. The 1998 Utah Schools and Lands Exchange Act swapped state inholdings for $50 million and alternative lands. Trump’s 2017 reduction enabled coal and logging leases, reversed by Biden in 2021 amid lawsuits from counties and states. As of 2025, the monument remains intact, though disputes over Revised Statute 2477 “right-of-way” roads persist, with BLM closing some routes while locals maintain others. Culturally, GSENM honors Indigenous heritage through co-management discussions with tribes like the Kaibab Paiute and Navajo Nation.
Conclusion and Recommendations
GSENM embodies the interplay of geological grandeur and human legacy, from Permian seas to Mormon trails. Its preservation safeguards irreplaceable fossils and sites, but challenges like climate-driven erosion and visitation impacts loom. Recommendations include enhanced paleontological monitoring, Indigenous-led interpretation programs, and sustainable tourism policies. As a cornerstone of the National Conservation Lands, GSENM continues to inspire scientific inquiry and reflection on our shared past. For further reading, consult BLM visitor centers in Escalante or Kanab.