Day 34 (D-27) Dead Horse Point / Thelma and Louise
Day 34 (D-27) Horseshoe Canyon, rock art and Dead Horse Point
32 miles (51.5km) from Moab, Dead Horse Point State Park is one of Utah's most spectacular state parks. The view from Dead Horse Point is one of the most photographed scenic vistas in the world. 2000 feet (610m) above the Colorado River, the overlook gives us a breathtaking panorama of Canyonlands' sculpted pinnacles and buttes.
Over millions of years, deposition of sediments by ancient oceans, freshwater lakes, streams and wind-blown sand dunes created the rock layers of canyon country. Igneous activity formed the high mountains that rise like cool blue islands from the desert below.
Horseshoe Canyon contains some of the most significant rock art in North America, including the intricate life-sized figures of the Great Gallery.
Horseshoe Canyon Mike Nielsen
Part of the Great Gallery
By Michael Grindstaff - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18546107
We won't have time to visit The Great Gallery, so you can look here: https://nhmu.utah.edu/blog/2016/09/29/bold-figures-blurred-history-great-gallery-horseshoe-canyon
Part of the Great Gallery
We won't have time to visit The Great Gallery, so you can look here: https://nhmu.utah.edu/blog/2016/09/29/bold-figures-blurred-history-great-gallery-horseshoe-canyon
Dead Horse Point? There is a story that goes with the name. The legend of Dead Horse Point tells us that near the turn of the century, the point was used as a corral for wild mustangs roaming the mesa top. Cowboys herded them across the narrow piece of land and onto the point. The area was then fenced off with branches and brush. One time, for some unknown reason, horses were left corralled on the waterless point where they died of thirst within view of the Colorado River 2,000 feet below.
A spectacular view, an unusual name and legend...and a film! Have you ever seen the 1991 film Thelma and Louise?
What an extraordinary ending! What a way to go!
The Grand Canyon scenes in the film were actually filmed just south of Dead Horse Point State Park in Utah.
You can watch the final scene (if you like) here, but I'm sorry, there are no subtitles....but an extraordinary scene.
A great film.
My best,
Jane
___________________
--overlook = a place with a good view
--breathtaking = extremely beautiful, exciting, surprising
--stream = a small river, a current of water
--rock layers = couches de roche
--igneous (rock) = (derived from the Latin word ignis meaning fire), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rock is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava.
--butte = an isolated hill or mountain with steep (raide, abrupt, escarpé) or precipitous sides usually having a smaller summit area than a mesa (a hill that has steep sides and a flat top)
--corral = enclosure
--Cowboys herded the horses = Les cowboys ont conduit, rassemblé les chevaux.
--narrow= not wide
--fenced off = clôturé
--brush = broussailles
--"What a way to go!" = (an expression) A remark about the unfortunate, exceptional or unusual nature of somebody's death.
--actually = Don't forget that "actually" is a faux ami. It DOESN'T mean "actuellement". It means "in fact". "Actuellement" is "presently", "now", "at the present time" in English.
--"What a way to go!" = (an expression) A remark about the unfortunate, exceptional or unusual nature of somebody's death.
--actually = Don't forget that "actually" is a faux ami. It DOESN'T mean "actuellement". It means "in fact". "Actuellement" is "presently", "now", "at the present time" in English.
Comments
Post a Comment