Location Information Operating Hours News Programs/Activities Reservations Visitation Trails/Roads Food/Concessions Accessibility Other Attractions Additional Info. Lodging Info. Local Weather

The Monument, the first National Park Service unit established in Utah, encompasses 7,636.49 acres. The pinyon and juniper covered mesa is bisected by deep canyons, exposing the Permian Age Cedar Mesa sandstone. When meandering streams cut through sandstone walls, three large natural bridges were formed. Sipapu and Kachina Bridges are the world's second and third largest natural bridges. Owachomo, while smaller, is only nine feet thick.

At an elevation of 6,500 feet above sea level, the monument is home to a wide variety of plants and animals. Plants range from the fragile cryptobiotic soil crusts to remnant stands of Douglas Fir and ponderosa pine. It includes hanging gardens in moist canyon seep springs, large cottonwoods on the canyon floors, and a wide variety of flowering species in the spring. Animals range from a variety of lizards, toads, and an occasional rattlesnake, to peregrine falcons, mountain lions, bobcat and black bear.

These relatively abundant resources made this an ideal home for ancient people as well. Over 200 archaeological sites are known in the park, including cliff dwellings of early Puebloan people, mesa top habitations, and remnants of corrals left by more recent cowboys.