Horseshoe Bend (Arizona) facts for kids
Horseshoe Bend is a famous curve in the Colorado River. It's shaped like a horseshoe, as its name suggests! You can find it near the town of Page in Arizona, United States. Some people even call it the "east rim of the Grand Canyon."
This amazing spot is part of the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. It's about 5 miles (8 km) downstream from the Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell. From the town of Page, it's about 4 miles (6.4 km) southwest.
You can reach Horseshoe Bend by taking a short hike. The trail is about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) round trip from a parking area. This parking area is just off U.S. Route 89. The land south of the parking area and the overlook belongs to the Navajo Nation.
You can view Horseshoe Bend from a high cliff above the river. The overlook is about 4,200 feet (1,280 meters) above sea level. The Colorado River below is at about 3,200 feet (975 meters) above sea level. This means there's a huge drop of about 1,000 feet (305 meters) from the cliff to the river!
How Horseshoe Bend Formed
Horseshoe Bend is a great example of an entrenched meander. This is a fancy way to say a river bend that has cut deep into the land. Millions of years ago, the area around Horseshoe Bend was much flatter. The Colorado River flowed slowly, winding across a nearly flat floodplain.
About six to five million years ago, the land in this region began to slowly lift upwards. This uplift trapped the Colorado River in its existing path. As the land rose, the river had to cut downwards very quickly. This powerful cutting action created the deep, horseshoe-shaped canyon we see today.
Scientists are still studying exactly why this land uplift happened. One idea is that hot rock from deep inside the Earth rose up, pushing the land higher. This process caused a lot of the rock layers above to wear away. This exposed the Navajo Sandstone, which is the main type of rock you see at Horseshoe Bend. This sandstone forms the entire depth of the canyon walls.
It's possible that in the very distant future, the Colorado River might cut straight through the narrow neck of the bend. If this happens, it would create a natural bridge. The river would then leave Horseshoe Bend behind, forming what's called a cutoff meander. You can see an example of a cutoff meander called The Rincon further north along the Colorado River in Utah.
Visiting Horseshoe Bend
For a long time, Horseshoe Bend was mainly known by people living nearby. However, its popularity has grown a lot thanks to social media. Now, the overlook is a very popular tourist spot. More than 2 million visitors come to see it every year!
To help manage the large number of visitors, there is now a fee to enter the overlook area. As of 2021, it costs $10 per vehicle to park and access the trail.
See also
In Spanish: Curva de la Herradura para niños
