South along the plateau
Black Birch Canyon
A canyon north of Rainbow Point whose name, NPS suggests, came from a tree that does not grow here.
MeasuredUse the place description to choose what to study, then check the approach, walking effort and current restrictions before leaving.
Conditions & official access sources · Compare walking distance and climb
What you’re looking at
Black Birch Canyon lies north of Rainbow Point, within what NPS describes as the southern amphitheater landscape. The plateau edge here is divided into smaller hollows before it opens into the larger canyon.1
The name is misleading. NPS notes that black birch does not naturally occur here, and that the name may have come from confusion with quaking aspen, a deciduous tree whose leaves change color in autumn.1,2
The viewpoint is about 16½ miles along the main road by the NPS milepost. Use the signed pullout and check road conditions before setting out.1,3,4
Turn it in 3D
DerivedBlack Birch Canyon rim: the 2018 lidar surface, seen at an angle.Turn the surface, cut a section across it, and compare the aerial color with the laser returns the aircraft recorded. The 3D view loads only when you open it.
Section and skyline
DerivedBlack Birch Canyon: another window on the rim. Move the section through the packet and watch the same line update in plan, oblique and profile views. The crop is an editorial window, and its edges are not natural landscape boundaries. A 768 m line at equal horizontal and vertical scale; heights 2,503–2,720 m.5 Section data (JSON) · Drawing (SVG)Walks from here
Living things here
Habitats: Mixed-conifer forest, Rocky breaks & rim. NPS describes pockets of aspen, with white fir, Douglas-fir and pines, in the higher southern forests; the canyon walls are exposed breaks.11,12,2,13
Living Bryce entries for these habitats:
Care
NPS asks visitors to stay on trails, avoid climbing hoodoos, leave natural objects where they are and avoid feeding or disturbing wildlife. Walking toward a hoodoo’s base can disturb the clay-rich slopes that help protect its foundations, so enjoy the formations from established trails and overlooks.9,10
Read without 3D
The 3D view covers a square about 768 metres on a side. Heights in the lidar returns range from 2,381 m (7,811 ft) to 2,760 m (9,054 ft). The surface is built from what an aircraft could see from above: undersides, overhangs and narrow gaps are not reconstructed.
Data and sources
Datasets
- Overlook photographs
- Terrain for 20 places
- Lidar return samples
- Canyon sections
- Park destinations and roads
Sources
- National Park Service · Black Birch Canyon · 2024-10-10
- National Park Service, Bryce Canyon · Quaking Aspen · February 1, 2023
- National Park Service · Southern Scenic Drive Viewpoints · 2024-04-09
- National Park Service · Current Conditions · 2026-08-31
- USGS data; public Entwine organization maintained by Hobu · USGS 3DEP LiDAR Point Clouds · 2018 acquisition; LAS published 2019
- US Geological Survey · USGS Lidar Point Cloud UT Southern QL1 2018 12SUG9562 LAS 2019 metadata · 2019-06-03
- USDA FPAC / Farm Service Agency · USDA conterminous US NAIP imagery service · 2024 Utah acquisition, exact flight dates per crop
- National Park Service · Parking Information
- National Park Service · Protect the Hoodoos · 2018-10-16
- National Park Service · Hiking · 2024-10-11
- National Park Service, Bryce Canyon · Birds · September 11, 2024
- National Park Service, Bryce Canyon · Trees and Shrubs · June 29, 2022
- National Park Service, Bryce Canyon · Plants · April 30, 2023