1 

Exploring Goblin Valley 

Geology 1010 Chris Johnson 

 
Project by Olivia Chilcote 
11/11/2020 
 
 

 
 2 
 

Essay 
 
Goblin Valley State Park is a very unique location. It has formations unlike anywhere else

in the world. In this paper I will discuss the formations of the park. I will also discuss what

caused the unique goblin formations. Weathering and erosion have also had a big impact on

the park. Goblin Valley has an intricate story.

The park is located near Hanksville, Utah and Greenville, Utah. The park lays 100 miles

below the visitor observation point. This is where the goblin or hoodoo figures lay. They are

built with three sandstone boulders stacked on top of eachother. (Mohlenbrock, R. H., 2020)

Erosion has reduced many of them to just one or two boulders.

Goblin Valley is a part of the Colorado Plateau, which is around 500 million years old.

The same process that created the park created many other State Parks in the west ,The

Colorado Plateau was formed under water. The seas deposited great quantities of sediment of

the years that hardened into sandstone, siltstone, and shale several miles thick. (Mohlenbrock,

R. H., 2020) There are 4 main layers: Entrada, Curtis, Summerville, and Morrison

Formations.(Orndorff, Wieder, & Futey, 2009) The goblins only lay in the entrada layer and the

other layers tower over them.

The sandstone, siltstone, and shale make up the bottom layers of the park, including all

the hoodoos. Uplifting and faulting helped arrange the hoodoos, followed by erosion and

weathering which gave each one its unique shape. (Orndorff, Wieder, & Futey, 2009) The

bottom layers are less solid and get moved away easily compared to the tops of the hoodoos.

This helps create each goblin like shape.

 3 
 
The park had been a part of Native American travels and discovery. Goblin Valley was

discovered in 1920 by the settled Utahns. It was discovered by Arthur L. Chaffin, a miner,

engineer, and trader, as he was headed to Greenville. (Orndorff, Wieder, & Futey, 2009) In

1949, he returned and photographed the park so he could share it. Utah gave Goblin Valley its

name and state park status in 1964. (Orndorff, Wieder, & Futey, 2009)

I had the opportunity to visit the park this past October and observe its unique features.

The park is free range, meaning you can go and explore anywhere you would like. They do have

a few different trails and specific locations to visit. The park is divided into 3 main sections or

valleys. There is a cave named the Goblin’s Lair that visitors can actually repel to, or take a long

hike that wraps around on the back side of the park. There are also “Three Sisters” that stand

off of the entrance road to welcome you in. (Rice, 2018.)

I hiked to a second observatory point where I could see the “Three Sisters” more clearly.

The trio is much taller than the rest of the park and you can see some other sediments aside

from the sandstone. I also hiked to the top of the cave to repel. The hike on its own was

amazing. We hiked higher up to some of the lighter stone and could see more of the different

layers.

One thing I found interesting was the erosion that you could easily see throughout the

valley. Below each of the big boulders that create the goblin, is soft sandstone. (Orndorff,

Wieder, & Futey, 2009) It is more prone to weathering than the upper level. You could see the

raindrop imprints and how the water had pushed the sand with gravity. There were many

impressions from the rain, even on the ground. Some deeper parts of the park still held water

that had not yet evoparted.

 4 
 
There were also marks from the wind. The sand on the ground was pushed into the

direction the wind traveled, smoothing it out. Some of the goblins also held wind marks. The

wind was part of the process that led to its original formation and it continues to change the

park. You can see the erosion marks within some of my close up pictures.

Aside from the park, there is a campground located about a mile away. It has some of

the similar formations located in the valley. Visitors can climb and explore even in the

campground area. There is also a short hike that takes you to a look out where you can see

both the campground and valley area. There are also 3 hikes you can do if you would rather

travel to the park on foot or you can take the main road to the valley. The hikes include: Carmel

Canyon, a 1.5-mile hike, Curtis Bench, an easy 2.1-mile trail, and Entrada Canyon, a 1.3-mile

trail. (Steadman, 2007.) Each are different ways you can walk that offer their own view.

Visiting Goblin Valley State Park was an amazing experience. I enjoyed getting to see the

unique features and structures the park has to offer. The sandstone goblins each held their own

shape. The park, along with the Colorado Plateau has a cool history. If you haven’t had the

opportunity to travel here, I would highly recommend it.

 
 5 
 
References

Mohlenbrock, R. H. (2020). Goblin Valley State Park. Natural History, 128(3), 42–44.

Milligan, M. (1999). The geology of Goblin Valley State Park. Utah Geological Survey,

Department of Natural Resources.

Orndorff, R. L., Wieder, R. W., & Futey, D. G. (2009). Goblins on the March. Natural

History, 118(5), 46–47.

Steadman, J. (2007). Chapter 50: GOBLIN VALLEY STATE PARK. In Best in Tent Camping:

Utah (p. 160).

RICE, L. (2018). Hiking Among Hoodoos. Scouting, 106(3), 42. 

 
 6 
 

Photographs 

This image shows the whole valley. In it you can see the small goblin’s and the different layers
in the background, including the white cap of the mountains.

This is the higher mountains, rather than the goblins. If you look at the ground you can see how
the wind has pushed the sand and some water imprints.
 7 
 

The “Three Sisters” is shown in this image. They stand away from the main valley.

This is the campground that is a little over a mile away from the camp. It has more of the
Morrison Formation in the mountains than the mountains located in the valley.
 8 
 

This image shows one of the Hoodoos that still holds all three boulders. You can also see how
the sand has run down the formation from rain on the closer boulder.

This image shows the valley taken from the main observatory point.
 9 
 

Map