Try hiking a canyon or heading up a slickrock slope. Checkerboard Mesa's distinctive pattern is due to a combination in the bedrock of vertical fractures and horizontal bedding planes, both accentuated by weathering. Bryce Canyon National Park A geologic fairyland of rock spires rises beneath the high cliffs of the Paunsaugunt Plateau. This intricate maze, eroded from a soft limestone, now glows with warm shades of reds, oranges, pinks, yellows, and creams. The rocks provide a continuous show of changing color through the day as the sun's rays and cloud shadows move across the landscape.
Visitors perceive a multitude of wondrous forms.
The natural rock sculptures can be Gothic castles, Egyptian temples, a subterranean world inhabited by dragons, or vast armies of a lost empire. Paiute Indians related a tale of the Legend People, various animals and birds living in a beautiful city built for them by Coyote. The Legend People then began behaving badly toward Coyote, who transformed them all into stone. Bryce Canyon National Park contains some of the best scenery, though what's popularly called Bryce Canyon isn't a canyon at all, but the largest of a series of massive amphitheaters cut into the Pink Cliffs. You can gaze into the depths from viewpoints and trails on the plateau rim or descend moderate grades winding among the spires.