the wandering chick
...The Toadstool Trail
toadstool
Utah

A wonderful little hike - less than two miles round trip - lies off Highway 89 just over the Utah border from Arizona. The reward at the end of the hike is a massive field of sandstone rocks in the form of mushrooms, or toadstools.

Actually rather common in this area, the toadstools can be found in several different areas of northern Arizona and southern Utah due to the type of rock - the white and red Navajo sandstone - that is abundant here.

But it's in this particular area - just within the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument - that wind and weather conditions are such that a high concentration of the formations are collected.

The toadstools are formed by the wearing away of the softer sandstone rock that supports a harder rock that doesn't wear away as quickly. Eventually, the softer rock underneath will not be able to support the top rock and will collapse.

the toadstool trail
the toadstool trail
the toadstool trail
the toadstool trail
the toadstool trail
the toadstool trail
Even without the toadstools, the area surrounding them is pretty darn spectacular.
the toadstool trail
collapsed toadstools
Over time, the weight of the heavier rock on top will be too much for the soft sandstone to bear. The toadstool will collapse, as seen here.
the toadstool trail
The white sandstone is as soft as the sand on a Florida beach - and as white.
the toadstool trail
the toadstool trail
the toadstool trail
the toadstool trail
the toadstool trail
This cliff is at the entrance to the Toadstool Trail. It can be seen from the highway. I call it the Christmas Tree Mountain because to me it looks like a bunch of Christmas trees stacked on top of each other.

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