Red Rock Canyon
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Red Rock Canyon is managed by the BLM, and protected as the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. It is located about 20 km (12 mi) west of Las Vegas, and easily seen from the Las Vegas Strip.
The canyon showcases a set of large red sandstone peaks and walls. The walls are up to 3000 ft (1000 m) high, making them a popular hiking and rock climbing destination. The highest point is Bridge Mountain.
A 13 mile loop road provides vehicle access to many of the features in the canyon. Several side roads and parking areas allow access to many of the trails located in the canyon. A visitor center is located at the start of the loop road. The loop road is also a very popular for bicycle touring.
The Howard Hughes Corporation, developer of Summerlin, Nevada, has transfered land adjacent to the protected area, to provide a buffer between development and the canyon. Red Rock Canyon is protected on the west side by the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area.
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Natural history
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The canyon is one of the easternmost parts of the Mojave Desert; the bottom of the canyon, from 3,600 ft to 4,500 ft, is in the Lower Sonoran Zone, while the area from 4,500 ft up is in the Upper Sonoran Zone. The character of the sandstone layers is such that a number of year-round springs may be found in the recesses of the side canyons.
Some 600 species of plants are known in the area; common types in the canyon bottom include the Joshua tree, Mojave yucca, banana yucca, creosote, and blackbrush. Higher up the Utah juniper and scrub live oak come to dominate, and ponderosa pines may be found at the top of the canyon, where it connects to the Spring Mountains.
Wild burros are a familiar sight, as are rabbits and ground squirrels.
Rock climbing
Despite the Yosemite-size walls offering a host of challenging lines, technical climbing activity is not known from before 1968. Las Vegas resident Joe Herbst was a key early explorer of the walls, and made many first ascents. Later Jorge and Joanne Urioste put up a number of long hard routes, and Joanne wrote a first climber's guidebook.
The rock is Aztec Sandstone, a very hard variety with a consistent solidity; many climbs feature ascents of a single parallel-sided crack hundreds of feet long.
Rock Art
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Petroglyphs
As many as six different Native American cultures may have been present in Red Rock Canyon over the millennia. The following chronology is an approximation:
- Southern Paiute 900 A.D. to modern times
- Patayan Culture 900 A.D. to early historic times in the 1800s
- Anasazi 1 A.D. to 1150 A.D.
- Pinto/Gypsum (Archaic) 3,500 B.C. to 1A.D.
- San Dieguito 7,000 to 5,500 B.C.
- Paleo-Indians (Tule Springs) 11,000 to 8,000 B.C.
Numerous petroglyphs remain today.
Reference
- Joanne Urioste, The Red Rocks of Southern Nevada (American Alpine Club, 1984)