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1988 Map of Goblin Valley

Name: 1988 Topographic Map of Goblin Valley
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1988
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1988

About this map

Goblin Valley State Park dominates this 1988 provisional survey, capturing the complex geological formations of the San Rafael Swell at the border of Emery and Wayne Counties. The topography is defined by the sharp verticality of the San Rafael Reef to the north and the expansive San Rafael Desert to the east. Within the valley itself, the map identifies the distinctive hoodoos and rock structures that gave rise to names like Mollys Castle and Wild Horse Butte.

Surface water is a rare but critical feature in this arid landscape, marked by Buckskin Spring and the ephemeral drainage of Wild Horse Creek. Deep incisions in the earth, such as Crack Canyon and Red Canyon, illustrate the erosional patterns that have sculpted Big Wild Horse Mesa and the surrounding basin over millennia. The lack of modern development emphasizes the role of the park as a preserved geological anomaly within the broader Goblin Valley region.