Red Rock Canyon: a beautiful trip into the past
If you’re looking to get into the real rock scene in Las Vegas, then jump into the car and head out to spectacular Red Rock Canyon.
A 20-minute drive from the Las Vegas Strip, the towering sandstone bluffs are majestic to a fault — the Keystone Thrust Fault, a fracture in the earth’s crust that's the canyon's most significant geological feature.
Scientists think that, some 65 million years ago, two of the earth’s crustal plates collided with such force that part of one plate was shoved up and over younger sandstone through the fault. This thrust is clearly defined by the sharp contrast between the gray limestone and red sandstone formations.
The canyon's centerpiece is a stunning sheer escarpment of banded red, white and gray rock more than 13 miles long and almost 3,000 feet high. Created by sand dunes and tinted by water acting on iron oxide and calcium carbonate, it's incised with numerous deep canyons formed by snowmelt and rain runoff that eroded the rock along cracks in the brittle cliffs. Perennial springs and seasonal streams encourage lush vegetation, which contrasts with the dryness of the desert floor.
A first stop should be the Red Rock Visitors Center (1000 Scenic Drive). Inside, a recorded self-guided tour takes you through the geological and wildlife history of the area. Park rangers will answer your questions, and nature books are for sale.
Once you leave the center, you’ll want to take the 13-mile Scenic Loop. Open to traffic daily, several vista points offer panoramic views of the incredible rock formations where you can park the car and get out
There are also 30 miles of hiking trails at Red Rock. Highlights of the area include Calico Vista, Sandstone Quarry, Ice Box Canyon, Pine Creek Canyon and Red Rock Wash. There's also a picnicking area on a road just off the Scenic Loop.
A word to the wise, however: If you’re going to go hiking at Red Rock, take water, wear sturdy shoes and check with the Visitor Center regarding the difficulty of various trails. Ice Box Canyon, for example, is a 2.5-mile hike into a steep narrow canyon. Be wary of flash floods, particularly in the summer months when thunderstorms occur with very little warning.
All natural and historic features at Red Rock — plants, animals, rocks, Indian artifacts — are protected.
- by Bobbie Katz, Las Vegas Reporter for HelloMetro
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