Dead Horse Point State Park is a Utah state park adjacent to Canyonlands National Park, featuring a dramatic overlook of the Colorado River. The park is so named because of its use as a natural corral by horse thieves in the 19th Century. The plateau drops off with sheer cliffs several hundred meters tall on 3 sides, with only a narrow neck of land (30 yards or so) connecting the plateau to the main plateau. Thus it was easy for rustlers to simply fence off this narrow neck, and keep their horses from running away. Unfortunately the dry desert conditions, lack of food and water, and limited space often killed the horses.
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Photo taken in San Juan County, UT, USA
Dead Horse Point State Park
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Dead Horse Point State Park is a Utah state park adjacent to Canyonlands National Park, featuring a dramatic overlook of the Colorado River. The park is so named because of its use as a natural corral by horse thieves in the 19th Century. The plateau drops off with sheer cliffs several hundred meters tall on 3 sides, with only a narrow neck of land (30 yards or so) connecting the plateau to the main plateau. Thus it was easy for rustlers to simply fence off this narrow neck, and keep their horses from running away. Unfortunately the dry desert conditions, lack of food and water, and limited space often killed the horses.