Utah Master Naturalist| Desert Explorations

Overview|

This Desert Explorations course is a partnership with Snow Canyon State Park. The field course starts Friday, September 25th, and ends Sunday, September 27th. It is based at Snow Canyon State Park with day trips to Zion National Park and the St. George Dinosaur Discovery Site.

You will have access to the Desert Explorations online class 8 weeks before the start of the field course.

Completion of the 16-hour online class is REQUIRED before attending the field course.

Description|

Upland systems in Utah, such as the Colorado Plateau, Great Basin, and Mojave Desert, vary in plant and animal communities. However, these areas share common features: low precipitation (resulting in arid or semi-arid deserts), relatively high elevation, and climatic extremes, including hot summers and cold winters. As a result, the plants and animals of these areas possess extreme adaptations for survival.

Snow Canyon State Park is a 7,400-acre scenic park quietly tucked amid lava flows and soaring sandstone cliffs in a strikingly colorful and fragile desert environment. Majestic views and the subtle interplay of light, shadow, and color dancing across canyon walls evoke strong emotional responses from visitors. Snow Canyon is home to a diversity of plant and wildlife species not found elsewhere in the state. Located at the intersection of the Mojave Desert, Great Basin Desert, and Colorado Plateau, the park averages just 7.5 inches of rainfall per year.

During this course, you will explore southwest Utah's unique desert ecosystems, identify specially adapted plants and animals, and immerse yourself in the geology, history, and ecology of Snow Canyon State Park and Zion National Park.