The Neck

The Neck. Canyonlands National Park-Island in the Sky District. In front of you the park road crosses a strip of land only 40 feet wide called the Neck. Beyond this point lies an isolated, 43-square mile mesa known as the Island in the Sky. On all sides the Island is bounded by yawning canyons, and cliffs that drop hundreds of feet. The only vehicle access to the Island is across the Neck., Indians may have set brush traps or fences across the Neck to capture bighorn sheep or other game driven here from the Island or the mainland. Later, cowboys put a gate across the Neck to contain grazing cattle on the Island where fences were not needed. A second gate across the Neck made a handy corral for holding livestock or horses., Notice the canyons encroaching on the Neck from either side. Water and wind are breaking the sandstone down grain by grain. Given time, the Neck will erode away, cutting off access to the Island in the Sky. (Inscription under the image on the right) The Neck, a narrow remnant of the plateau, provides access to the Island in the Sky. A paved road leads 11 miles to Grand View Point, the southern tip of the Island. The rivers have cut so deeply into the canyons that their confluence cannot be seen from Grand View Point.