Bryce Canyon National Park is located in southern Utah on the eastern side of the Paunsaugunt Plateau in Garfield County. Settlement of the area began in 1874. Ebenezer Bryce moved from Pine Valley and settled a site near the mouth of Bryce Canyon in 1875. Bryce used the now famous canyon as a cattle range, and it was given his name as early as 1876.

Bryce Canyon is a series of natural amphitheaters below which stands an array of white and orange limestone columns and walls sculptured by erosion. The erosion has been accomplished mainly by rain, snow, and frost prying off cliff fragments rather than by stream erosion. Nearby streams actually flow away from the canyon. The high rim country of the park is part forest dominated by fir, pine, and aspen, and part meadows of grass and sage. At lower, drier altitudes, pinon pine and Utah juniper predominate.

Geologically, the rocks of the canyon are among the youngest of the Colorado Plateau. Despite the fragile nature of the environment, there are many miles of foot and horse trails below the rim. A twenty-mile paved highway runs along the edge of the rim. Overlooks provide magnificent views of the natural structures carved by erosion into fanciful forms that glow in delicate and varied colors.