The Potash Evaporation Ponds are one of the most unexpected sights in the Moab area: a series of large pools in an electric turquoise-blue, sitting in the middle of a red desert canyon with the Colorado River running alongside them. The contrast with the surrounding landscape is so extreme it looks unreal from the Dead Horse Point overlook above, where the ponds are visible against the river meander far below.
The Intrepid Potash mine has operated here since the 1960s. The ponds are not accessible up close to visitors — they are active industrial infrastructure — but they are clearly visible from Potash Road (UT-279) as it follows the Colorado River west from Moab. The same road passes ancient petroglyphs on the canyon walls and gives access to the Corona Arch trail.
The drive along UT-279 from Moab is excellent in its own right: a narrow road between the river and towering canyon walls, with rock art panels accessible from pullouts along the way.