Its not a crater, Spidey. Its a canyon. Specifically, its a place along the roughly 40 mile stretch of the Salt Creek drainage where, after flowing through flatter, less 'canyon-y' land it suddenly drops. The dry fall there is called 'Lower Jump.' (Upper Jump, another --but slightly less dramatic-- dry fall drop is located many miles to the south, in a more often accessed (by foot) section of Salt Creek Canyon where there are numerous Ancestral Puebloan ruins, rock art sites, arches, bears, and beauty). Before Canyonlands was designated a National Park (in 1964), much of it was cattle country. There was plenty of mining exploration done in years past, but unlike so much of the region outside what today is the Needles, little mineral resources were ever found. As well, it seems that nobody needed any more red/orange rocks, either.

I've seen Salt Creek Canyon positively RAGE after a heavy rain. I'd like to see Lower Jump under such conditions, but getting there --and getting out again-- would be really, really tricky unless you waited a week (or a month) to let things dry out again.

The least visited section of the Needles District of Canyonlands NP lies north and west of the Visitor Center. Designated the Needles North Backpacking Zone, it forms a sizable portion of the district, and is dominated by larger and lesser canyons that terminate at the Colorado River. Access is either by hiking or by way of a 4WD road that parallels the archaeologically rich Salt Creek Canyon drainage.

The day was overcast. Hints of brightness broke through from time to time, but never enough to cast a hard edged shadow. The accompanying images are less 'photographs' than they are the products of a person with a camera who was overjoyed with the possibility of finally being able to get out to hike somewhere in less than triple digit temperatures.