Capitol Reef
Capitol Reef - US National Park, spread over 979 km2. The park attracts with its stunning beauty canyon, spiers, sandstone monoliths.
A huge crack in the earth's crust 160 km long, known as the Waterpocket Fold, passes through the park". It was she who formed amazing landscapes from rock at least 80 million years old. The name of the park arose from the similarity of local hills with the Kapitol dome, and the word reef refers to any rocky barrier that impedes travel. In this area, in ancient times there was a shallow sea, but because of tectonic processes, the area rose, forming Capitol Reef, as well as Rocky Mountains.
Kapitol-Rif Park is a desert cut by mountain ranges, but, nevertheless, Indians lived here near the Fremont River, who grew corn, pumpkin, lentils. They kept their stocks in stone granaries. In the 13th century, the Indians left the river valley, most likely due to prolonged drought. Many years later, researchers who met these granaries decided that they were huts for the race of tiny people. In 1866, Mormons fell into these lands in pursuit of the Indians, and soon their first settlement of Fruta appeared in the valley of the Fremont River. Then they broke fruit gardens, engaged in agriculture, but due to the isolation of the area they left it. From Mormons there were a couple of buildings and gardens made of cherries, apples, pears, nuts, peaches. Fruits can be collected for an additional fee, and the collection schedule can be found in the information center of the park. In the Kapitol-Rif rocks there are deposits of uranium ore, but its quantity is not enough for industrial production. This saved the mountains in the 1950s from destruction, and already in 1971 the area was declared a national park.
Capitol Reef is a very popular place among tourists, especially many travelers began to come here after the construction of the highway. The park has a large campground where you can spend the night, for spending the night in the park you need to get special permission.
