Sunrise Point, Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah - 8100 feet (2469 m)

Sunrise Point, Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah - 8100 feet (2469 m)

From Left to right: Boat Mesa, Sinking Ship, Bristle Cone Point

Sunrise Point, Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah - 8100 feet (2469 m)

From Left to right: Boat Mesa, Sinking Ship, Bristle Cone Point, Paria Valley is on the far right

Bristlecone Point, Sunrise Point, Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah - 8100 feet (2469 m)

Sunrise Point, Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah - 8100 feet (2469 m)

Hoodoos, Sunrise Point, Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah - 8100 feet (2469 m)

Sunrise Point, Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah - 8100 feet (2469 m) From Left to right: Boat Mesa, Sinking Ship, Bristle Cone Point

Sunrise at Bryce Canyon is an unbelievable sight. As night turns into day, the colors of the sky pour into the canyon, slowly inlluminating the amphitheater, aptly named, as a show gets put on. Get there early, and move around as even small angles can make a difference in the view. No one view is the best, it is all in the viewers eye. Enjoy it.

Sinking Ship, Sunrise Point, Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah - 8100 feet (2469 m)

Bristlecone Point, Sunrise Point, Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah - 8100 feet (2469 m)

Hoodoos, Paunsagunt Plateau, Sunrise Point, Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah - 8100 feet (2469 m)

Hoodoos, Paunsagunt Plateau, Sunrise Point, Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah - 8100 feet (2469 m)

Bryce Amphitheater, Sunrise Point, Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah - 8100 feet (2469 m)

Hoodoos, Paunsagunt Plateau, Sunrise Point, Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah - 8100 feet (2469 m)

Bryce Canyon is not a single canyon, but a series of natural amphitheaters or bowls, carved into the edge of a high plateau. The most famous of these is the Bryce Amphitheater, which is filled with irregularly eroded spires of rocks called hoodoos.The formation of Bryce Canyon and its hoodoos requires 3 steps: 1) Deposition of Rocks 2) Uplift of the Land 3) Weathering and Erosion. Part of the beauty of the hoodoos comes from their strange patterns. The shape of the hoodoos is attributed to slight variances in the material which comprises the rock. There are multiple types of rocks that make up Bryce Canyon. All of the rocks contain abundant calcium carbonate (CaCO3), a mineral that dissolves when it comes into contact with even slightly acidic water. When it rains at Bryce Canyon, the (slightly) acidic rain is enough to dissolve the calcium carbonate that holds these rocks together and allows them to erode into their current shape (and continues to shape them). When you look at the Hoodoos you will notice some layers that jut out, and some that indent inwards. This is a result of the rocks having varying amounts of calcium carbonate cementation and that controls how easily dissolvable (or how resistant) that rock layer is.

Chipmunk, Sunrise Point, Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah - 8100 feet (2469 m)

Queen's Garden Trail, Sunrise Point, Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah - 8100 feet (2469 m)

Queen's Garden Trail, Sunrise Point, Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah - 8100 feet (2469 m)

Bryce Amphitheater

Queen's Garden Trail, Sunrise Point, Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah - 8100 feet (2469 m)

Horses, Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

The non-canyon side, Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

Vegetation, Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

Red sap, vegetation, Tree trunk, Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

Beauty of trees, Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

Bryce Point, Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah - 8300 ft

Wall of windows to the left and Boat Mesa to the top right

Bryce Point, Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah - 8300 ft