Muddy Creek is a stream in central

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, United States, that drains portions of Emery, Sanpete, Sevier, and Wayne counties.

Description

The creek begins on the eastern slopes of the

Wasatch Plateau The Wasatch Plateau is a plateau located southeast of the southernmost part of the Wasatch Range in central Utah. It is a part of the Colorado Plateau. Geography The plateau has an elevation of and includes an area of . Its highest point is So ...

at elevations above . It turns southward near the town of Emery, then southeastward, where it crosses under

Interstate 70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from Interstate 15, I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to Interstate 695 (Maryland), I-695 and Maryland Route 570 (MD 570) in Woodlawn, Baltimo ...

. It then directly enters the western flank of the

San Rafael Swell The San Rafael Swell is a large geologic feature located in south-central Utah, United States about west of Green River. Measuring approximately , the swell consists of a giant dome-shaped anticline of sandstone, shale, and limestone that wa ...

and continuing in a southeasterly direction, it passes Hondu Arch, and the Tomsich Butte mining area then begins its spectacular passage through a narrow

slot canyon A slot canyon is a long, narrow channel or drainageway with sheer rock walls that are typically eroded into either sandstone or other sedimentary rock. A slot canyon has depth-to-width ratios that typically exceed 10:1 over most of its length and ...

Coconino Sandstone The Coconino Sandstone is a geologic formation (geology), formation composed of light-colored quartz arenite of Aeolian processes, eolian origin. It erodes to form conspicuous, sheer cliffs in the upper walls of Grand Canyon, as part of the Mog ...

known as the "Chute". After merging with Chimney Canyon and passing the Hidden Splendor Mine area, it passes through the southeastern escarpment of the

San Rafael Reef The San Rafael Reef is a geologic feature located in Emery County in central Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a ...

at the end of Muddy Creek Gorge. In its lower reaches, it continues southeastward through the Blue Hills

badlands Badlands are a type of dry terrain where softer sedimentary rocks and clay-rich soils have been extensively eroded."Badlands" in '' Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 47. They are characterized by steep slopes, ...

near Caineville, then cuts through the Jurassic

Morrison Formation The Morrison Formation is a distinctive sequence of Upper Jurassic sedimentary rock found in the western United States which has been the most fertile source of dinosaur fossils in North America. It is composed of mudstone, sandstone, siltston ...

where

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic Geological period, period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the #Evolutio ...

fossils have been found. Finally, after an estimated length of and a drop of , it meets the

Fremont River The Fremont River is a long river in southeastern Utah, United States that flows from the Johnson Valley Reservoir, which is located on the Wasatch Plateau near Fish Lake, Utah, Fish Lake, southeast through Capitol Reef National Park to the Muddy ...

some miles north of the town of Hanksville where the two form the

Dirty Devil River The Dirty Devil River is an tributary of the Colorado River, located in the U.S. state of Utah. It flows through southern Utah from the confluence of the Fremont River and Muddy Creek before emptying into the Colorado River at Lake Powell. Cour ...

(which then flows south to meet the

Colorado River The Colorado River () is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The river, the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), 5th longest in the United St ...

). Since it enters the San Rafael Swell at an elevation well below that attained by the Swell itself and continues through the Swell's entire expanse, Muddy Creek is a very ancient river course, "superimposed" on the entire San Rafael uplift and therefore predating the time when the latter arose some 60-40 million years ago.

Wilderness

Designated in 2019 by the U.S. Congress, the Muddy Creek Wilderness encompasses the pristine portion of the creek that enters the

. The 98,023 acres

wilderness area Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural) are Earth's natural environments that have not been significantly modified by human activity, or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally ...

is managed by the U.S.

Bureau of Land Management The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands, U.S. federal lands. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the BLM oversees more than of land, or one ...

.Muddy Creek Wilderness
- Wilderness Connect MuddyCreekGorgeUT.jpg, Muddy Creek Gorge, looking northwest toward its mouth at the southeastern edge of the Swell Muddy Creek crossing the SR Swell.jpg, Aerial view of Muddy Creek cutting through the

and Swell MuddyCreekChuteUT.jpg, The Chute of Muddy Creek

References

External links

Muddy Creek WSA
at

River Information:

Hiking the Gorge of Muddy Creek

Flow Gauge at Emery, Utah
{{authority control Rivers of Utah Rivers of Emery County, Utah San Rafael Swell Rivers of Wayne County, Utah Tributaries of the Colorado River in Utah Former rivers Wilderness areas of Utah

Description

Wilderness

See also

References

External links