Sandstone Alcoves, Paria Canyon, Paria Canyon Wilderness Area, Utah

The headwaters of the Paria River gather along the eastern edge of the Paunsagunt Plateau in the Pink Cliffs below Bryce Canyon National Park. This small stream meanders south through a series of deep sandstone canyons before it empties into the Colorado River at Lees Ferry 75 miles from its source. After the winter snows melt in late spring, this stream usually dries up completely until the monsoon rains of late summer when huge flash floods often fill this narrow canyon from wall to wall. As the Paria cuts its way into the Navajo Sandstone north of its confluence with Buckskin Gulch, the erosive power of the water has sculpted numerous honeycombed alcoves along the canyon walls.