AERIAL VIEW OF THE NECK AND SHAFER TRAIL, looking southwest, taken before rebuilding of park road on mesa top. Cliff-walled canyon to right of The Neck, in middle, drains westward to the Green River; south fork of Shafer Canyon to left drains eastward to Colorado River. This is the narrowest part of Island in the Sky. Photograph by National Park Service. (Fig. 11)
The entrance road to Island in the Sky intersects U.S. Highway 163 at a point 10 miles northwest of Moab, or 21 miles southeast of Crescent Junction on Interstate Highway 70. From U.S. 163 a paved road climbs colorful Sevenmile Canyon past sandstone cliffs of the Wingate, Kayenta, and Navajo Formations to reach the high mesa. There, just “offshore” to the north, are anchored the “battleships” that guard the island—Merrimac and Monitor Buttes ([fig. 12]). These landmarks are composed of the Entrada Sandstone—the same rock that forms Church Rock at the entrance to the Needles district ([fig. 37]) and that shapes the spectacular arches in Arches National Park. All three members of the Entrada (Wright and others, 1962), as noted in the [figure 12] caption, are present here as well as at Church Rock. Eleven miles from the junction with U.S. Highway 163 a graded road to the right, called Horsethief Trail, goes 16 miles down to the Green River, where it connects with roads following the river both upstream and downstream. The road upstream leads to two uranium mines in the lower part of Mineral Canyon which were reactivated in 1972 and 1973. The switchbacks are quite spectacular and are reminiscent of the Shafer Trail. Three miles south of the Horsethief Trail turnoff is a fork in the road—to the left the pavement continues to Dead Horse Point, and straight ahead a graded road leads southward to the Island in the Sky district of Canyonlands National Park.
MERRIMAC (LEFT) AND MONITOR BUTTES guard north entrance to Island in the Sky. White rock near middle is Navajo Sandstone. Buttes comprise all three members of Entrada Sandstone: remnant white top of Moab Member, vertical cliffs of Slick Rock Member, and sloping base of Dewey Bridge Member. (Fig. 12)
Most of Island in the Sky has a scattered growth of piñon and juniper trees, but several large flat areas, such as Grays Pasture, contain sufficient sandy soil to support a mantle of grass and weeds, which is used for grazing; however, grazing in this part of the park will be discontinued in 1975.
DEAD HORSE POINT STATE PARK
Let us follow the paved road from U.S. Highway 163 all the way to Dead Horse Point, which was set aside as a state park in 1957. The park has a visitor center, museum, modern campgrounds and picnic facilities, and piped water, which is hauled all the way from Moab. An entrance fee of $1 permits us to drive across the narrow neck to a parking area near the point proper, which is protected by stone walls and is provided with a ramada, benches, paths, and sanitary facilities. From Dead Horse Point we get breathtaking views in several directions, including a loop of the Colorado River called the Goose Neck, 2,000 feet nearly straight down.
CANE CREEK ANTICLINE, looking northeast toward the La Sal Mountains from Dead Horse Point. Colorado River cuts across crest at middle right, above which is Anticline Overlook. (See [fig. 31].) Jeep trail and part of Shafer dome lie below. (Fig. 13)