Horseshoe Bend (Arizona)

Geology

Horseshoe Bend is a superb example of an entrenched meander. Six million years ago, the region around Horseshoe Bend was much closer to sea level, and the Colorado River was a meandering river with a nearly level floodplain. Between six and five million years ago, the region began to be uplifted. This trapped the Colorado River in its bed, and the river rapidly cut downwards to produce Horseshoe Bend as we see it today.

The cause of this uplift is still a matter of research. One hypothesis is that arose was a result of delamination, where the lowest layer of the North American tectonic plate below the Colorado Plateau detached and sank into the underlying mantle. This would have allowed hotter rock from the asthenosphere, the part of the Earth's mantle that underlies its tectonic plates, to rise and lift the overlying crust. Another possibility is that the uplift was the result of heating at the base of the crust. This transformed the lowest crustal rock from eclogite, a relatively dense rock (3.6 g/cm3) to garnet granulite, which is significantly less dense (2.9 g/cm3). This would have produced the buoyant forces needed to uplift the region.

Whatever the cause of the uplift, it resulted in the erosion of up to a mile of overlying sediments from the eastern Grand Canyon. This exposed the Navajo Sandstone, the surface rock found throughout the Horseshoe Bend area, which also forms the entire depth of the canyon walls of the Grand Canyon at Horseshoe Bend. This sandstone is notable for its crossbedding and iron concretions.

It is likely that the Colorado River will eventually cut through the neck of the bend, producing a natural bridge like those found at Natural Bridges National Monument in Utah. The river will then abandon Horseshoe Bend, leaving a cutoff meander resembling The Rincon further north along the Colorado River in Utah.

Tourism

The city government of Page in 2019 started charging a fee to use the U.S. Route 89 parking area and preventing drivers from parking on the highway nearby. As of 2025, the fee is $10 per passenger car. Page brought in $20.3 million from the fees between 2019 and May 2024, some of which helped fund city services.

References

References

1. (2019-06-18). "The Truth About Visiting Horseshoe Bend in Page, AZ".
2. "Horseshoe Bend - Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (U.S. National Park Service)".
3. (2012). "Carving Grand Canyon : evidence, theories, and mystery". Grand Canyon Association.
4. (2010). "Geological evolution of the Colorado Plateau of eastern Utah and western Colorado, including the San Juan River, Natural Bridges, Canyonlands, Arches, and the Book Cliffs". University of Utah Press.
5. (1963). "Geology of the Lees Ferry area, Coconino County, Arizona". U.S. Geological Survey.
6. "Horseshoe Bend New Parking Fees".
7. "National parks officials grappling with high volume as Instagram tourism booms".
8. (2024-08-05). "Page able to fund improvements — and more — with the money its Horseshoe Bend parking lot is making".
9. (October 2007). "Horseshoe Bend Hiking Guide". National Park Service.
10. "Horseshoe Bend". visitarizona.com.
11. (June 11, 2015). "Horseshoe Band". yourhikeguide.com.