Lake Powell Badlands
These 'badlands' are the eroded southern edge of the Kaiparowits Plateau. The southern end of the plateau is deeply dissected by tributaries of the Colorado River, including Rock, Last Chance, Warm, Wahweap, and Coyote Creeks. These canyons are now major side channels of Lake Powell. An extension of the plateau's high terrain is known as Smoky Mountain, location of one of the few roads on the plateau. The northwestern end of the plateau is less well defined, essentially merging with the Aquarius Plateau. Canaan Peak, just south of Highway 12 and the town of Escalante, rises to 9233 feet. Overall, the plateau covers an area of approximately 1650 square miles much of it covered by pinyon-juniper woodland.
On this trip I only went a few miles out on Smokey Mountain Road to take pictures of the eroded formations in the evening sun.
