The Legend People of Bryce Canyon
In a canyon in Utah stand thousands of red rock spires, like crowds of people frozen in place. A Paiute story says that's exactly what they are.
What was reported
Bryce Canyon is famous for its hoodoos, thousands of thin spires of orange, pink and white rock, crowded together in natural amphitheatres. At dawn and dusk they glow, and seen from above they look like a vast silent crowd.
In a story told by the Paiute people, the area was once home to the Legend People, animals and birds who could take human form. They behaved badly, and Coyote turned them all to stone, where they still stand, some with their faces painted.
Explanations offered
The hoodoos formed as frost and rain eroded soft limestone layers, with harder caps protecting the rock beneath them. Bryce has more hoodoos than anywhere else on Earth. The story shows how the Paiute understood the landscape.
- When
- Told by the Paiute
- Where
- Bryce Canyon, Utah, USA
- Witnesses
- Paiute tradition and visitors
- Status
- Legend
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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