Rock Springs Creek

Rock Springs Creek is a fairly narrow canyon that cuts through the White Cliffs. This canyon is easily accessible from Cottonwood Wash Road and is a good entry/exit point for a backpacking trip along the Paria River. Some unusual petroglyphs are found at the junction of Rock Springs Creek and the Paria River.

Rock Springs Creek runs through a broad wash that is surrounded by the multicolored badlands of the Carmel Formation, a set of rock layers above the Navajo Sandstone of the White Cliffs. Ripple marks from the waves of an ancient sea are preserved on many of the Flat Rock surfaces. Giant ponderosa pine trees line the distant cliffs. Gambel oak and cottonwood trees grow along the wash, but the vegetation is not thick enough to be an obstruction.