Cedar Breaks National Monument was the first of many natural sites that my mother, niece and I got to view and enjoy on a vacation trip in July of 1991. We were to  see some outstanding evidence of erosion and captured some of that in pictures.

We had first flown from Houston to Salt Lake City........spent some time exploring that area.......and then with a rental car started our exploration of some of the rest of Utah in our allotted 2 weeks of sightseeing.

Our main objective was to view the National Parks and other natural sites in Utah in the two week time frame that we had for this vacation.

We first saw Cedar Breaks from the air.

Cedar City Air transports people to various sites and we hired them to take us on an aerial view of a small portion of Zion National Park; Kolob Canyon and Cedar Breaks National Monument. 40 minutes is the normal allotted time by air to view these sights, but the pilot of the small one engine craft gave us an hour of sightseeing on that particular day.

Viewed from the air, this gave us insight as to how this vividly multicolored amphitheater called Cedar Breaks fits into the green alpine landscape that is located in southern Utah.

"Breaks" were the word used for badlands in early settler days and they mistakenly thought that the trees were cedar trees. Instead most of them are in reality, junipers as well as pine, spruce and other trees. Thus, the name, Cedar Breaks came into existence.

Mormon pioneers settled nearby in Cedar City around 1831.

Surrounding Cedar City are endless views of mountains, desert sage and trees. Wildflowers abound in nearby meadows especially in the months of July and August after being watered by the melting snow. Many ground squirrels as well as chipmonks and marmots call this area home. The sky is filled with various types of flying birds. On a hike that we did in a nearby Alpine Pond Trail we spotted a deer, one of many I am sure.

Cedar Breaks was established as a National Monument in 1933. Prior to that it was part of the National Forest system.

It is a 10 mile square area where erosion from snow, frost and ice as well as wind and rain have carved Cedar Breaks into something of outstanding beauty. Nature's artistry of color and design could not be improved upon by man's efforts.

It took millions of years to accomplish this present look, and of course, it will continue to be ever evolving as the forces of erosion continue the "work" seen here.

The highly colored rocks in this area are primarily limestone. The white is pure limestone and the other colors are the result of impurities such as iron and manganese entering into the rocks.

This area was lifted due to past volcanic eruptions and Point Supreme is at an elevation of 10,350 feet.

This was merely a prologue to the rest of our sightseeing vacation trip in Utah, but we certainly enjoyed the impressions and outstanding memories that were created here at Cedar Breaks National Monument.