Near Cannonville in Garfield County, Utah — The American Mountains (Southwest)

Climbing the Grand Staircase

A Journey Through Geologic Time

Photographed by Tom Bosse, June 12, 2025

1. Climbing the Grand Staircase Marker

Inscription.
The western region of the Monument is known as the “Grand Staircase”. This area consists of a series of benches and cliffs that progressively step up in elevation from south to north, resembling a giant staircase.

These colorful “steps” rise more than 5,500 feet from the north end of the Kaibab Plateau near the north rim of Grand Canyon to the rim of Bryce Canyon high atop the Paunsaugunt Plateau. Each step marks a separate era that spans millions of years in the earth’s geologic history, from the early Triassic Period that began about 245 million years ago to the late Quaternary Period that ended about 5 million years ago.

Major John Wesley Powell and his colleague, geologist Clarence Dutton, were the first to record the terraced formations known as the Grand Staircase.

The Paunsaugunt Deer Herd
The Paunsaugunt deer herd is the largest population of trophy mule deer in the western United States. The mule deer climb and descend the Grand Staircase each year to migrate from their Paunsaugunt Plateau summer range to their Buckskin Mountain, Arizona winter range. They share winter habitat with the world famous

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Kaibab deer herd. The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources considers the herd to be extremely valuable due to the trophy sized antlers often seen on the Paunsaugunt buck mule deer.

[Insert]: “The Grand Staircase records, layer by layer, over 165 million years of changing landscapes and life on the Colorado Plateau…..Ascending the Grand Staircase is more than a journey from the low desert to the high forests; it is a trip through unfathomable time.”
– Frank DeCourten, Geologist / Paleontologist

[Caption]: J.W. Powell’s 1872 expedition to the region
[Caption]: Mule deer
[Caption]: The Grand Staircase from LeFevre viewpoint on highway 89A

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Animals • Exploration • Natural Features • Parks & Recreational Areas. A significant historical year for this entry is 1872.

Location. 37° 31.527′ N, 112° 3.305′ W. Marker is near Cannonville, Utah, in Garfield County. It is on Skutumpah Road, on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Cannonville UT 84718, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this

Photographed by Tom Bosse, June 12, 2025

2. Climbing the Grand Staircase Marker

marker is in Canyon Country

and specifically in Color Country. It is also in the American Mountain West,

on the Colorado Plateau,

and at the Four Corners.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain

and also Mexico’s Alta California.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Grand Staircase~Escalante National Monument (approx. 2.9 miles away); "Horse High, Bull Stout, and Pig Tight" (approx. 2.9 miles away); A Life on the Land (approx. 2.9 miles away); The Water of Life (approx. 2.9 miles away); Tending the Wild (approx. 2.9 miles away); Water Willow People (approx. 2.9 miles away); A Tough Row to Hoe (approx. 2.9 miles away); One Land, Different Peoples (approx. 2.9 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Cannonville.

Photographed by Tom Bosse, June 12, 2025

3. Climbing the Grand Staircase Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on October 26, 2025. It was originally submitted on October 25, 2025, by Tom Bosse of Jefferson City, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 59 times since then and 16 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on October 25, 2025, by Tom Bosse of Jefferson City, Tennessee. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.