Another day we drove up the Shafer Trail and up into the Island in the Sky unit of Canyonlands National Park. The Shafer Trail begins near the potash processing facility at the end of Potash Road.
Near the intersection of Potash Road and US-191 is an ongoing cleanup of an estimated 16 million tons of uranium mill tailings and other contaminated material located very near the Colorado River.
The Potash Road was built to service the Cane Creek Potash Mine. This mine pumps water deep underground into the potash-containing formations and the resulting brine is pumped into large evaporation ponds. Once the water has been evaporated, the mineral salts are collected using heavy equipment.
Views from the Shafer Basin
We came upon these Bighorn Sheep along the road.
Looking back down into the Shafer Basin from near the top of the famous Shafer Trail switchbacks
A view down to the famous White Rim Trail which winds along the top of the cliffs carved by the Colorado and Green Rivers
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