City of Rocks National Reserve
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The City of Rocks National Reserve, also known as the Silent City of Rocks, is a United States National Reserve and
state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...
in south-central
Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...
, approximately north of the border with
Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
. It is widely known for its enormous granite rock formations and excellent
rock climbing Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically and ...
. The
rock spire A pinnacle, tower, spire, needle or natural tower (german: Felsnadel, ''Felsturm'' or ''Felszinne'') in geology is an individual column of rock, isolated from other rocks or groups of rocks, in the shape of a vertical shaft or spire. Examples are ...
s in the City of Rocks and adjacent
Castle Rocks State Park Castle Rocks State Park is a public recreation area encompassing in Cassia County, Idaho, United States. The state park is located in Big Cove at the base of Cache Peak in the Albion Mountains. It is next to the Albion Division of Sawtooth Na ...
are largely composed of granitic rock of the
Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but the ...
Almo pluton and
Archean The Archean Eon ( , also spelled Archaean or Archæan) is the second of four geologic eons of Earth's history, representing the time from . The Archean was preceded by the Hadean Eon and followed by the Proterozoic. The Earth Earth ...
Green Creek Complex Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combin ...
. City of Rocks is also a popular
rock climbing Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically and ...
area, with over 1,000 traditional and bolt-protected routes. In the 1980s, it was home to some of the most difficult routes in the country, mostly developed by Idaho climber Tony Yaniro. Climbers in the region refer to the area as simply "The City". During the 1840s and 1850s, wagon trains on the
California Trail The California Trail was an emigrant trail of about across the western half of the North American continent from Missouri River towns to what is now the state of California. After it was established, the first half of the California Trail f ...
left the
Raft River The Raft River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 4, 2011 tributary of the Snake River located in northern Utah and southern Idaho in the United States. It is part ...
valley and traveled through the area and over Granite Pass into
Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
. Names or initials of emigrants written in
axle An axle or axletree is a central shaft for a rotating wheel or gear. On wheeled vehicles, the axle may be fixed to the wheels, rotating with them, or fixed to the vehicle, with the wheels rotating around the axle. In the former case, bearing ...
grease are still visible on
Register Rock Register Rock, near American Falls, Idaho, is a historic site where many Oregon Trail emigrants carved their names on a rock. The rock is located in what is now Massacre Rocks State Park and is now protected by a shelter. It is located west of Am ...
, and ruts from wagon wheels can be seen in some of the rocks.


History

In 1849, an emigrant party with
James Wilkins Wilkins is a plumbing parts manufacturing company. James Wilkins started it in a 200 square foot garage in Los Angeles. In 1906 the company was purchased by Zurn. Wilkins has grown to a 162,000 square foot manufacturing facility in Paso Robles, C ...
"encamped at the city of the rocks" on the
California Trail The California Trail was an emigrant trail of about across the western half of the North American continent from Missouri River towns to what is now the state of California. After it was established, the first half of the California Trail f ...
just north of the Great Salt Lake Desert. Signatures in axle grease on rock faces can be seen today. One emigrant saw the distant rocks in August like "water thrown up into the air from numerous artificial hydrants." Beginning in 1843, City of Rocks was a landmark for emigrants on the
California Trail The California Trail was an emigrant trail of about across the western half of the North American continent from Missouri River towns to what is now the state of California. After it was established, the first half of the California Trail f ...
and Salt Lake Alternate Trail :a. :b. and later on freight routes and the
Kelton, Utah Kelton is a ghost town, just north of the Great Salt Lake, in the Park Valley area of Box Elder County, Utah, United States. The town was inhabited during the period of 1869–1942. Once an important section station on the First transcontinen ...
to Boise, Idaho stage route. The area's historical and geological values, scenery, and opportunities for recreation led to its designation as City of Rocks National Reserve in 1988. This unit of the National Park System is managed cooperatively by the
National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...
and the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation.


Native American history

The
Shoshone The Shoshone or Shoshoni ( or ) are a Native American tribe with four large cultural/linguistic divisions: * Eastern Shoshone: Wyoming * Northern Shoshone: southern Idaho * Western Shoshone: Nevada, northern Utah * Goshute: western Utah, easter ...
and
Bannock Bannock may mean: * Bannock (food), a kind of bread, cooked on a stone or griddle * Bannock (Indigenous American), various types of bread, usually prepared by pan-frying * Bannock people, a Native American people of what is now southeastern Oregon ...
tribes hunted the buffalo that once roamed in the City of Rocks area and gathered the nuts of the
pinyon pine The pinyon or piñon pine group grows in southwestern North America, especially in New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah. The trees yield edible nuts, which are a staple food of Native Americans, and widely eaten as a snack and as an ingredient in New ...
trees. The arrival of horses in the Americas in the 16th century and swelling European immigration disrupted the Shoshone-Bannock homelands and traditional way of life. They grew to resent the intruders but could do little to stop them. Most emigrants on the California Trail saw no Native Americans, but some of their journals record smoke rising from high hills and the surrounding mountains. In 1826,
Peter Skene Ogden Peter Skene Ogden (alternately Skeene, Skein, or Skeen; baptised 12 February 1790 – 27 September 1854) was a British-Canadian fur trader and an early explorer of what is now British Columbia and the Western United States. During his many expedi ...
and his Snake River brigade of beaver trappers were the first Euro-Americans to note the City of Rocks. Having few
beaver Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers ar ...
, the area was ignored until 1843, when growing streams of wagons began flowing through the area in the summer.


California Trail The California Trail was an emigrant trail of about across the western half of the North American continent from Missouri River towns to what is now the state of California. After it was established, the first half of the California Trail f ...

After many attempts to find a wagon route to California early California settlers like Joseph B. Chiles and mountain men such as
Joseph R. Walker Joseph R. Walker (December 13, 1798 – October 27, 1876) was a mountain man and experienced Reconnaissance, scout. He established the segment of the California Trail, the primary route for the emigrants to the gold fields during the Californ ...
found the route up the
Raft River The Raft River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 4, 2011 tributary of the Snake River located in northern Utah and southern Idaho in the United States. It is part ...
, through the City of Rocks, over Granite Pass and down a series of streams like Goose Creek and Thousand Springs to the Humboldt River. From the junction of the Humboldt near today's Wells, Nevada they could follow the Humboldt west to the
Sierra Nevada (U.S.) The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...
and on to
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
. Both Chiles, Walker and later
John C. Fremont John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...
led settlers over this route. Later wagon parties seldom used guides but followed the tracks of the early pioneer's wagons or the wagons in front of them. By 1850 so many people were on the trail that it was often like a long traveling village crawling its way to California. Newspapers and independent publishers in the east or mid-west often published emigrant "guides" that could be bought for little money from several different authors by 1850. The City of Rocks and the nearby
Granite Pass (Idaho) Granite Pass on the California Trail, located in what is now Cassia County, Idaho less than half a mile north of Utah, has historic significance dating to 1842 when it was found by Joseph B. Chiles to serve as an adequate emigrant trail route to c ...
marked roughly half way to California for the emigrants and their loaded wagons. By 1846, some emigrants headed for Oregon's
Willamette Valley The Willamette Valley ( ) is a long valley in Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The Willamette River flows the entire length of the valley and is surrounded by mountains on three sides: the Cascade Range to the east, ...
also used this route as part of the Applegate Trail. This rugged cutoff was little used in later years. In 1848 Samuel J. Hensley, a pioneer that accompanied Joseph B. Chiles in 1842, pioneered the
Salt Lake Cutoff The Salt Lake Cutoff is one of the many shortcuts (or cutoffs) that branched from the California, Mormon and Oregon Trails in the United States. It led northwest out of Salt Lake City, Utah and north of the Great Salt Lake for about before rejoin ...
from
Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...
north of the
Great Salt Lake The Great Salt Lake is the largest saltwater lake in the Western Hemisphere and the eighth-largest terminal lake in the world. It lies in the northern part of the U.S. state of Utah and has a substantial impact upon the local climate, particula ...
when he traveled east while returning to Missouri. The Salt Lake cutoff rejoined the main California Trail near the City of Rocks. Settlers using the Salt Lake Cutoff traveled about the same number of miles as settlers going by way of
Fort Hall Fort Hall was a fort in the western United States that was built in 1834 as a fur trading post by Nathaniel Jarvis Wyeth. It was located on the Snake River in the eastern Oregon Country, now part of present-day Bannock County in southeastern Ida ...
and west along the
Snake River The Snake River is a major river of the greater Pacific Northwest region in the United States. At long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, in turn, the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean. The Snake ...
valley route. In 1852, some 52,000 people passed through the City of Rocks on their way to join the
California Gold Rush The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California fro ...
. When the
California Trail The California Trail was an emigrant trail of about across the western half of the North American continent from Missouri River towns to what is now the state of California. After it was established, the first half of the California Trail f ...
was first opened in 1843, Granite Pass, near City of Rocks provided the pass that allowed an "easy" connection with streams and creeks that provided the needed water and grass for their teams along the way between the
Raft River The Raft River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 4, 2011 tributary of the Snake River located in northern Utah and southern Idaho in the United States. It is part ...
and the
Humboldt River The Humboldt River is an extensive river drainage system located in north-central Nevada. It extends in a general east-to-west direction from its headwaters in the Jarbidge, Independence, and Ruby Mountains in Elko County, to its terminus in the ...
. After 1850 the Pass initially became part of Utah Territory, and in 1872 an
Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...
-
Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
boundary survey error establishing the Utah-Idaho boundary. placed Granite Pass in
Idaho Territory The Territory of Idaho was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 3, 1863, until July 3, 1890, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as Idaho. History 1860s The territory w ...
. With the completion of the
first transcontinental railroad North America's first transcontinental railroad (known originally as the "Pacific Railroad" and later as the " Overland Route") was a continuous railroad line constructed between 1863 and 1869 that connected the existing eastern U.S. rail netwo ...
on 9 May 1869, the overland wagon routes began to pass into history. However, wagons and stage lines saw continued use on regional supply routes that spread out from the railroad line to cities not on the railway line(s). John Halley's stage route connected the railroad (CPRR) station at
Kelton, Utah Kelton is a ghost town, just north of the Great Salt Lake, in the Park Valley area of Box Elder County, Utah, United States. The town was inhabited during the period of 1869–1942. Once an important section station on the First transcontinen ...
, with Idaho's mining hub of Boise, Idaho, and supplied the early
economic development In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and o ...
of Idaho, which won
statehood A state is a centralized political organization that imposes and enforces rules over a population within a territory. There is no undisputed definition of a state. One widely used definition comes from the German sociologist Max Weber: a "sta ...
in 1890. The Kelton stage route passed through the City of Rocks, with a stage station set up near the junction of the old California Trail and the Salt Lake Cutoff. Settlers began to homestead the City of Rocks area in the late 19th century. Dryland farming declined during the drought years of the 1920s and 1930s, but ranching survived. Livestock grazing began with early wagon use of the area in the mid-19th century and continues today. One of the favorite camping spots for emigrants was Camp Rock. Emigrants wrote on the stone face with axle grease writing out their names and dates of passage.


Facts and designations

The Idaho Legislature declared Section 36 within City of Rocks as a state park under the jurisdiction of the Idaho Land Board on February 27, 1957. In 1964, a much larger area (more than ) was designated a
National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
. On March 15, 1973, Section 36 was transferred to the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation from the Department of Lands. The following year, the area was designated a National Natural Landmark. The
National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...
studied the site in the 1970s and 80s as a proposed
national monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a spec ...
. City of Rocks National Reserve was created November 18, 1988 by Public Law 100-696, Arizona-Idaho Conservation Act of 1988. This Act drew a boundary around owned or managed by the USDA Forest Service,
Bureau of Land Management The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands. Headquartered in Washington DC, and with oversight over , it governs one eighth of the country's la ...
, Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation (IDPR), and private individuals. All lands owned by the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
within the Reserve boundaries were placed under the authority of the National Park Service (NPS). Between 1988 and 1996, the Reserve was co-managed by both NPS and IDPR. After the approval of a comprehensive management plan, the NPS officially transferred on-site management of the Reserve to IDPR on May 2, 1996. Today, the park functions under a unique cooperative agreement between the NPS and IDPR. Both agencies allocate partial funding to its operation. City of Rocks National Reserve is visited annually by over 80,000 visitors. The Reserve headquarters is located in the gateway community of
Almo Almo may refer to: * Almo (god), a river deity from Roman mythology * Almo, the ancient name for the River Almone near Rome (whence the name of the above deity) *Almo, Idaho, a town in the United States *Almo, Kentucky, a town in the United States ...
.


Environment

City of Rocks, an extraordinary encirclement of granite rising out of the gently rolling sagebrush country in south-central Idaho, has attracted and intrigued people since they first entered this region. The
Shoshone The Shoshone or Shoshoni ( or ) are a Native American tribe with four large cultural/linguistic divisions: * Eastern Shoshone: Wyoming * Northern Shoshone: southern Idaho * Western Shoshone: Nevada, northern Utah * Goshute: western Utah, easter ...
camped here as did the emigrants traveling along the California Trail. One of the reserve's most notable qualities is its large degree of
biological diversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') lev ...
concentrated in a relatively small area. The great variety of textures, colors, and shapes in the
natural landscape A natural landscape is the original landscape that exists before it is acted upon by human culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the kn ...
contributes considerably to the reserve's scenic quality.


Geologic formations

The landscape of City of Rocks has been sculpted from
granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...
that was intruded into the crust during two widely spaced times. The granite that composes most of the spires is part of the 28-million-year-old Almo pluton. However, some of the spires are made of granite that is part of the 2.5 billion-year-old Green Creek Complex that contains some of the oldest rocks in the western United States. The granite has eroded into a fascinating assortment of shapes. City of Rocks was designated a National Reserve, a unit of the National Park Service, in recognition of the nationally significant geological and scenic values of its rock formations and the historical significance of the California Trail. Rock formations in the reserve developed through an erosion process called exfoliation, during which thin rock plates and scales sloughed off along joints in the rocks. The joints, or fractures, resulted from the contraction of the granite as it cooled, from an upward expansion of the granite as overlying materials were eroded away, and from regional tectonic stresses. The granite has eroded into a fascinating assortment of shapes as high as . The upper surfaces of many of the rocks are covered with flat-floored weathering pits known as panholes. The most notable panhole is located on top of Bath Rock and is continuously filled with water from rain or snowmelt.


Animals

Located in the Northern Basin and Range/ Snake-Columbia shrub steppe ecoregions and the Raft Watershed of the Upper
Snake River The Snake River is a major river of the greater Pacific Northwest region in the United States. At long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, in turn, the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean. The Snake ...
Basin, the habitat of the reserve supports a large variety of mammals,
birds Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...
,
reptiles Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the Class (biology), class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsid, sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, Squamata, squamates (lizar ...
, and
invertebrates Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...
. *
Amphibians Amphibians are four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terrestrial, fossorial, arbore ...
- Common amphibians that could be found near water include
boreal toad The boreal toad (''Anaxyrus boreas boreas'') is the nominate subspecies of the western toad (''Anaxyrus boreas''). They are commonly found in the Southern Rocky Mountains, and their population has recently been on the decline due to an emerging a ...
, Great Basin spadefoot toad, and northern leopard frog. *
Birds Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...
- The reserve provides excellent breeding and prey habitat for many
raptor Raptor or RAPTOR may refer to: Animals The word "raptor" refers to several groups of bird-like dinosaurs which primarily capture and subdue/kill prey with their talons. * Raptor (bird) or bird of prey, a bird that primarily hunts and feeds on v ...
species including
golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird of p ...
,
prairie falcon The prairie falcon (''Falco mexicanus'') is a medium-large sized falcon of western North America. It is about the size of a peregrine falcon or a crow, with an average length of 40 cm (16 in), wingspan of approximately 1 meter (40&nb ...
, red-tailed hawk,
northern harrier The northern harrier (''Circus hudsonius''), or ring-tailed hawk, is a bird of prey. It breeds throughout the northern parts of the northern hemisphere in Canada and the northernmost USA. The northern harrier migrates to more southerly areas ...
, sharp-shinned hawk, Cooper's hawk, American kestrel,
turkey vulture The turkey vulture (''Cathartes aura'') is the most widespread of the New World vultures. One of three species in the genus ''Cathartes'' of the family Cathartidae, the turkey vulture ranges from southern Canada to the southernmost tip of South ...
, and great horned owl. Swainson's hawk and ferruginous hawk are less abundant in the reserve. Other common bird species includes
sage grouse Sage-grouse are grouse belonging to the bird genus ''Centrocercus.'' The genus includes two species: the Gunnison grouse (''Centrocercus minimus'') and the greater sage-grouse (''Centrocercus urophasianus''). These birds are distributed through ...
,
pinon jay The pinyon jay (''Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus'') is a species of jay, and is the only member of the genus ''Gymnorhinus''. Native to Western North America, the species ranges from central Oregon to northern Baja California, and eastward as far as ...
, Clark's nutcracker, common nighthawk, rock doves, mourning doves,
cliff swallow The cliff swallow or American cliff swallow (''Petrochelidon pyrrhonota'') is a member of the passerine bird family Hirundinidae, the swallows and martins. The generic name ''Petrochelidon'' is derived from Ancient Greek ''petros'' meaning "roc ...
, mountain bluebird, hermit thrush,
mountain chickadee The mountain chickadee (''Poecile gambeli'') is a small songbird, a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. Taxonomy The specific name honors naturalist William Gambel. The mountain chickadee was formerly placed in the genus ''Parus'' with ...
,
rock wren The rock wren (''Salpinctes obsoletus'') is a small songbird of the wren family native to western North America, Mexico and Central America. It is the only species in the genus ''Salpinctes''. Description Measurements: * Length: 4.9-5.9 i ...
, house wren, solitary vireos,
warbling vireo The warbling vireo (''Vireo gilvus'') is a small North American songbird. Its breeding habitat is open deciduous and mixed woods from Alaska to Mexico and the Florida Panhandle. It often nests in widely spaced trees, often cottonwood or aspen, ...
s,
green-tailed towhee The green-tailed towhee (''Pipilo chlorurus'') is the smallest towhee, but is still one of the larger members of the American sparrow family Passerellidae. Its breeding range covers most of the interior Western United States, with a winter range ...
,
Virginia's warbler Virginia's warbler (''Leiothlypis virginiae'') is a species of New World warbler. Despite what its name may suggest, Virginia's warbler is not actually named after the American State of Virginia, which makes sense as the birds' typical range onl ...
,
Brewer's blackbird Brewer's blackbird (''Euphagus cyanocephalus'') is a medium-sized New World blackbird. It is named after the ornithologist Thomas Mayo Brewer. Description Adult males have black Feather, plumage with an iridescent purple head and neck and glo ...
, and various
sparrow Sparrow may refer to: Birds * Old World sparrows, family Passeridae * New World sparrows, family Passerellidae * two species in the Passerine family Estrildidae: ** Java sparrow ** Timor sparrow * Hedge sparrow, also known as the dunnock or hedg ...
s. * Mammals - A partial list of mammals in the reserve includes,
cougar The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large Felidae, cat native to the Americas. Its Species distribution, range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mamm ...
, mule deer,
coyote The coyote (''Canis latrans'') is a species of canis, canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecologica ...
,
bobcat The bobcat (''Lynx rufus''), also known as the red lynx, is a medium-sized cat native to North America. It ranges from southern Canada through most of the contiguous United States to Oaxaca in Mexico. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUC ...
, badger,
yellow-bellied marmot The yellow-bellied marmot (''Marmota flaviventris''), also known as the rock chuck, is a large, stout-bodied ground squirrel in the marmot genus. It is one of fourteen species of marmots, and is native to mountainous regions of southwestern Canad ...
, cliff chipmunk, mountain cottontail rabbit,
black-tailed jackrabbit The black-tailed jackrabbit (''Lepus californicus''), also known as the American desert hare, is a common hare of the western United States and Mexico, where it is found at elevations from sea level up to . Reaching a length around , and a ...
, snowshoe hare,
northern grasshopper mouse The northern grasshopper mouse (''Onychomys leucogaster'') is a North American carnivorous rodent of the family Cricetidae. It ranges over much of the western part of the continent, from southern Saskatchewan and central Washington to Tamaulipas ...
,
Merriam's shrew Merriam's shrew (''Sorex merriami'') is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is endemic to the western United States and extreme southern British Columbia in Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces a ...
, several species of voles, and a variety of
bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most bi ...
s. Pronghorn and
bison Bison are large bovines in the genus ''Bison'' (Greek: "wild ox" (bison)) within the tribe Bovini. Two extant and numerous extinct species are recognised. Of the two surviving species, the American bison, ''B. bison'', found only in North Ame ...
were probably common a century ago. *
Reptiles Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the Class (biology), class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsid, sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, Squamata, squamates (lizar ...
- Typical lizard species include the
western whiptail The western whiptail (''Aspidoscelis tigris'') is a species of lizard in the family Teiidae. The species ranges throughout most of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Most of its populations appear stable, and it is not listed as ...
,
western fence lizard The western fence lizard (''Sceloporus occidentalis'') is a common lizard of Arizona, New Mexico, California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington (state), Washington, Northern Mexico, and the surrounding area. As the ventral abdomen of an ad ...
,
Long-nosed leopard lizard The long-nosed leopard lizard (''Gambelia wislizenii'') is a species of relatively large North American lizard in the family Crotaphytidae. ''Gambelia wislizenii'' ranges in snout-to-vent length (SVL) from . It has a large head, a long nose, ...
,
sagebrush lizard The sagebrush lizard or sagebrush swift (''Sceloporus graciosus'') is a common species of phrynosomatid lizard found at mid to high altitudes in the western United States of America. It belongs to the genus ''Sceloporus'' (spiny lizards) in ...
, and northern desert horned lizard. Snakes include the
western rattlesnake Western rattlesnake may refer to: * ''Crotalus oreganus'', a venomous pitviper species found in North America in the western United States, parts of British Columbia and northwestern Mexico * ''Crotalus viridis ''Crotalus viridis'' (Common name ...
, Great Basin gopher snake,
striped whipsnake The striped whipsnake (''Masticophis taeniatus'') is a species of nonvenomous snake in the family Colubridae. It is closely related to the California whipsnake ('' Masticophis lateralis''). The striped whipsnake is native to the western United St ...
, and wandering garter snake. The western rattlesnake is the only strongly venomed snake found in the reserve.


Plants

Notable plant life includes: * The Kruckeberg's sword fern is found in the cool, moist micro-habitats in the granite formations. The fern grows in rock crevices and is normally found at higher elevations than City of Rocks. Primary threats to this species are trampling and or removal by visitors along rock climbing routes. * Stands of piñon/
juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arcti ...
woodlands are dominated by the single-leaf piñon pine and Utah juniper, interspersed with
mountain big sagebrush ''Artemisia tridentata'', commonly called big sagebrush,MacKay, Pam (2013), ''Mojave Desert Wildflowers'', 2nd ed., , p. 264. Great Basin sagebrush or (locally) simply sagebrush, is an aromatic shrub from the family Asteraceae, which grows in ar ...
and curl-leaf mountain mahogany. The pinon seed is edible and gathered by local residents. Higher slopes are covered with mountain big sagebrush,
snowberry ''Symphoricarpos'', commonly known as the snowberry, waxberry, or ghostberry, is a small genus of about 15 species of deciduous shrubs in the honeysuckle family, Caprifoliaceae. With the exception of the Chinese coralberry, '' S. sinensis'', whi ...
,
serviceberry ''Amelanchier'' ( ), also known as shadbush, shadwood or shadblow, serviceberry or sarvisberry (or just sarvis), juneberry, saskatoon, sugarplum, wild-plum or chuckley pear,A Digital Flora of Newfoundland and Labrador Vascular Plants/ref> is a g ...
, and
bitterbrush ''Purshia'' (bitterbrush or cliff-rose) is a small genus of 5–8 species of flowering plants in the family Rosaceae which are native to western North America. Description ''Purshia'' species form deciduous or evergreen shrubs, typically reach ...
, with other shrubs, grasses, and herbs growing in the openings between shrubs. Groves of
aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the ''Populus'' genus. Species These species are called aspens: *'' Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China ...
, stands of douglas-fir and lodgepole pine, are located on the upper stony/grassy slopes of the reserve. Quaking aspen groves occur in canyons containing streams. Other dominant plants in the City of Rocks National Reserve include: * Piñon /
juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arcti ...
woodlands and forest *
Conifer Conifers are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single ...
/
aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the ''Populus'' genus. Species These species are called aspens: *'' Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China ...
woodlands and forests * Riparian scrub and
herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of t ...
wetlands * Big sagebrush and
grasslands A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur natural ...
* Mixed scrub * Mountain mahogany scrubs * High elevation meadows * Other unvegetated areas


Weather

The semi-arid climate is characterized by low to moderate precipitation, great extremes in both daily and seasonal temperatures, and low
relative humidity Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present. Humidity depe ...
. Average annual precipitation is approximately at the lower elevations and in the highest areas. Average snow depths for higher elevations range between 35 and . Summers are hot and dry with occasional thunderstorms.


Mountains

The reserve is in the southern part of the
Albion Mountains The Albion Mountains are a mountain range in the U.S. states of Idaho (~99%) and Utah (~1%), spanning Cassia County, Idaho and barely reaching into Box Elder County, Utah. The highest point in the range is Cache Peak at , and the range is a part ...
, bordered on the east by the
Raft River The Raft River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 4, 2011 tributary of the Snake River located in northern Utah and southern Idaho in the United States. It is part ...
valley and to the north by the
Snake River The Snake River is a major river of the greater Pacific Northwest region in the United States. At long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, in turn, the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean. The Snake ...
valley. Elevations rise from where Circle Creek meets the reserve boundary to at the top of Graham Peak to the north.


Soils

The majority of the soils in the reserve are composed of grus, a coarse angular sand derived from the disintegration of the underlying granitic bedrock. They are highly erodible. Soil erosion is greatest near roads and on steep slopes and intermittent stream channels. Erosion in these areas has formed deep gullies. Some of the exposed soil banks are over high.


Controversy

Climbing on the ''Twin Sisters'', a major geological formation in the Reserve, was banned following a
National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...
decision and later court case involving the
Access Fund {{Infobox organization , name = The Access Fund , image = The Access Fund Logo.jpg , image_size = 200px , caption = , map = , map_size = , map_alt = , map_caption = , type ...
. The Access Fund asserted that the NPS decision was "arbitrary and capricious," while the NPS claimed that rock climbing on the Twin Sisters disrupted the "historic viewshed" of the
California Trail The California Trail was an emigrant trail of about across the western half of the North American continent from Missouri River towns to what is now the state of California. After it was established, the first half of the California Trail f ...
.


See also

* Oakley stone *
List of National Historic Landmarks in Idaho __NOTOC__ This is a complete List of National Historic Landmarks in Idaho. The United States National Historic Landmark program is operated under the auspices of the National Park Service, and recognizes structures, districts, objects, and similar ...
* List of National Natural Landmarks in Idaho *
National Parks in Idaho The six national parks, reserves, historic sites, and monuments in Idaho contain a wide variety of interesting places and experiences. These include recreational areas, archeological sites, nature preserves and volcanic parks. The parks City of ...
* National Register of Historic Places listings in Cassia County, Idaho


References


Etched in Stone: the Geology of City of Rocks National Reserve and Castle Rocks State Park(review)Almo CreekGeologic Map and Digital Data Base of the Almo Quadrangle and City of Rocks National Reserve, Cassia County, Idaho


External links



National Park Service

National Park Service
City of Rocks National Reserve
Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation
City of Rocks National Reserve Location Map
Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation {{DEFAULTSORT:City Of Rocks National Reserve California Trail Climbing areas of the United States Landforms of Cassia County, Idaho National Historic Landmarks in Idaho National Natural Landmarks in Idaho National Park Service areas in Idaho National Register of Historic Places in Cassia County, Idaho National Reserves of the United States Protected areas established in 1988 Protected areas of Cassia County, Idaho Rock formations of Idaho State parks of Idaho 1988 establishments in Idaho