Fortymile Gulch

Fortymile Gulch and Willow Gulch are tributaries of the Escalante River, located in Kane County in southern Utah, in the western United States. With a combined length of over 20 miles (30 km), they exhibit many of the geologic features found in the Canyons of the Escalante, including high vertical canyon walls, water pools, narrow slot canyons, domes, and arches. Popular recreational destinations, they are located within the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. The headwaters of Fortymile and Willow Gulches have their origins along a 7 mile (11 km) segment of the Straight Cliffs, the eastern edge of the Kaiparowits Plateau. Intermittent streams merge to form larger branches, then combine to carve a deep canyon up to 500 feet (150 m) into sandstone layers before meeting the main channel of the Escalante River. The northernmost branch is Fortymile Gulch, the historic location of the winter encampment of the San Juan Expedition. Intent on founding a colony in southeastern Utah, they waited at Fortymile Springs in late 1879 while a smaller group prepared a perilous route down to the Colorado River at Hole-in-the-Rock. Nearby is Dance Hall Rock, a scenic dome formed from Entrada sandstone. The lower section of Fortymile Gulch, before it merges with Willow Gulch, is a narrow channel of slot canyons and water pools.