False Kiva
A remote stone circle of uncertain origin in Utah.
Last updated
Tucked inside a cave in a remote part of Utah's Canyonlands National Park, the False Kiva is a stone circle built by unknown hands. Finding it demands hiking know-how or secret directions. Popular with Southwest photographers, its cave mouth perfectly frames dramatic thunderstorms or clear skies. Park rangers closed the site in early August 2018 due to vandalism.
Quick Facts
- Location
- Canyonlands National Park, Utah
- Type
- Stone circle
- Status
- Closed to the public since early August 2018
Facts from the source article.
Disclosure controversy
False Kiva sits in a strange legal gray area: its location is semi-protected, meaning park rangers don’t have to tell anyone where it is, and you won’t find it on any official Canyonlands map. Because the site is so remote, it’s vulnerable to vandalism with no real protection.
The park’s official policy is to block public access with stanchions, and stepping past them violates the Archeological Protection Act of 1979, which can lead to fines or jail time. Local guides are forbidden from taking visitors there—doing so could cost them their National Park Service permits. The trailhead itself has no sign from the road, but the route is marked in spots by cairns and doesn’t require technical climbing gear.
Did You Know?
- Logan, Utah artist Keith Bond was commissioned in 2006 to paint a landscape for the Senate Chamber of the Utah State Capitol; he painted False Kiva in a mural titled Ancestral Home.
- A photograph of False Kiva by Wally Pacholka, entitled 'A True Image of False Kiva,' was featured on NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day on September 29, 2008.
More in Religious Places of the Indigenous Peoples of North America
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: False Kiva (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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