The San Rafael Reef is a geologic feature located in Emery County in central Utah , part of the Colorado Plateau . Approximately 75 miles (120 km) long, it is the distinctive eastern edge of the San Rafael Swell . Composed primarily of steeply tilted layers of Navajo and Wingate Sandstone , it has been eroded into tall fins, domes, cliffs, and deep canyons.
5-544: The San Rafael River , Interstate 70 , and Muddy Creek all cut through the San Rafael Reef. There are also numerous slot canyons that twist their way through the flanks of the San Rafael Reef, among them Crack Canyon, Chute Canyon and Straight Wash. These spectacularly beautiful canyons are often just a few feet wide and can be hundreds of feet deep. The eastern edge of the San Rafael Swell Recreation area
10-593: Is a tributary of the Green River , approximately 90 miles (140 km) long, in east central Utah , United States. The river flows across a sparsely populated arid region of the Colorado Plateau , and is known for the isolated, scenic gorge through which it flows. The river rises in northwestern Emery County , approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) southeast of Castle Dale , by the confluence of Cottonwood, Huntington and Ferron creeks, which provide its headwaters in
15-573: Is protected as the San Rafael Reef Wilderness , designated in 2019 by the U.S. Congress. The 60,442 acre wilderness area is managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management . This article about a specific United States geological feature is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about a location in Utah is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . San Rafael River (Utah) The San Rafael River
20-740: The Wasatch Plateau region. It flows east-southeast along the north side of the Coal Cliffs and the prominent anticline called the San Rafael Swell , passing north of Window Butte (Window Blind Peak) and through two narrow slot canyons in Coconino Sandstone called the Upper and Lower Black Box. This area is known as the San Rafael Gorge, sometimes called the "Little Grand Canyon". (Actually,
25-563: The "Little Grand Canyon" is a few miles upstream where the San Rafael passes between the Wedge on the north and Sid's Mountain and No Man's Mountain on the south). After passing through the San Rafael Reef it enters the 15 miles (24 km) long San Rafael Valley , where it joins the Green River from the west, approximately 10 miles (16 km) south of the town of Green River . The San Rafael
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