Taking a Gander at Utah’s Goosenecks

Tens of millions of years ago, the San Juan River in southern Utah possessed traits similar to today's Mississippi River. During an ancient geological epoch, this river flowed across a vast, unobstructed plain that had once been part of an ocean. Without the hindrance of mountains, the river was able to meander for miles as it slowly descended.

However, this section of the San Juan River underwent a transformation when the Colorado Plateau began to rise. Some scientists suggest that starting roughly twenty million years ago, the complex and still unclear history of the region began to unfold.