BRYCE CANYON’S VIRTUAL EDGE: AN ONLINE FIELD-GUIDE TO BRYCE CANYON NATIONAL PARK VIA SUU’S EDGE PROGRAM

To celebrate the Centennial of the National Park Service, the Intergovernmental Internship Cooperative through Southern Utah University sought to enhance the geoscience understanding of the next generation of visitors. This project aimed to create GIS maps of Bryce Canyon National Park to highlight geographic and geologic features, including a virtual field trip of noteworthy and informative locations. We used a series of applications within ArcGIS to make the information available and accessible to a non-scientific audience interested in geography, structural geology, paleontology, sedimentology, and other basic concepts exhibited in the park. These applications include interactive maps the user can access online to explore Bryce Canyon at the macro-, meso-, and micro-scales. We completed a scientific literature review and collaborated with resource management scientists at the Bryce Canyon National History Association to compile the most recent database of resources. Additionally, we field-checked the area and collected specific photographic data to bolster the digital educational opportunities. Furthermore, this interdisciplinary project partially fulfilled the undergraduate experiential education requirement that helps students develop professional skills through SUU’s EDGE Program. This online resource will be available to the public to kick off our focus on the National Park Service’s next 100 years.