16 U.S.C. § 271 — Establishment; description of area

Congress created Canyonlands National Park in the State of Utah. The goal is to preserve the area's outstanding scenic, scientific, and archeological features so the public can enjoy, benefit from, and be inspired by them. The park's boundaries follow a specific map, called the "Boundary Map, Canyonlands National Park, Utah," numbered 164-91004 and dated June 1970. That map shows the park covers roughly 337,258 acres. The park is created "subject to valid existing rights." That means anyone who already had a legal right to use land inside the new boundaries — such as a mining claim or easement — keeps that right even though the land is now part of the park. The official boundary map is kept on file at the National Park Service offices, part of the Department of the Interior, and is open for the public to inspect.