Zion
Zion is the 8th most visited National Park and Utah’s first National Park.
The area gets just 14” of precipitation per year, but it is estimated that Zion gets about 600 inches deeper every million years and flash floods are the key factors. And the heart of Zion is the Virgin River that is the sculptor of this magnificent gorge, along with waterfalls and seeping water. Most of the time the Virgin River seems too tame to do this work, but it can be so dangerous when it floods.
Zion became a National Monument in 1909 as Mukuntuweap National Monument. Mukuntuweap is a Paiute word meaning “straight canyon.” Steven Mather, the first director of the National Park System, felt this word was too awkward and since Zion was what the locals called it he chose it. Zion is a Hebrew word meaning a place of refuge or sanctuary. For me, it’s a good name since it reminds me of an outdoor cathedral, but I love the native designations, too.
Zion is located at the junction of the Great Basin and the Mojave Desert Provinces. This unique geography and the variety of life zones within the park make it significant as a place of unusual plant and animal diversity. Desert terrrain and huge, sculpted rock formations coexist with hanging gardens.
The gigantic stone masses of the West Temple and the Watchman guard our entrance. Watchman is 2,555’ from the canyon floor, West Temple is 7,810’. Zion-Mount Carmel Highway climbs Pine Creek Canyon. Note the talus slopes (a slope formed especially by an accumulation of rock debris).
Entering the park we immediately see the colorful, contrasting formations of orange, brown and the white slickrock (smooth, wind polished rock). Checkerboard Mesa is a landmark, massive hillside which has majestic criss-crossed markings. It’s 900’ above the highway. Anyone want to play chess? What do you see? You are seeing change in action — erosion — where wind from north to south carves horizontally and figures or cracks added a result of weathering from water freezing and thawing. Look to the right and you’ll see another example os cross-bedding called Crazy Quilt Mesa. All formed from ancient dunes, hardened to become Navajo Sandstone.
The tunnel is at 5,607’ and is considered an engineering feat. Completed in 1930, it was the first million dollar highway. Construction of the 1.1 mile Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel began in the late 1920's and was completed in 1930. At the time that the tunnel was dedicated, on July 4, 1930, it was the longest tunnel of its type in the United States. The purpose of the building the Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel (and the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway) was to create direct access to Bryce Canyon and Grand Canyon from Zion National Park.
Before 1989, large vehicles, including tour buses, motor homes, and trailers, were involved in more and more accidents and near misses in the tunnel due to an immense increase in the volume of traffic and in the size of vehicles passing through the tunnel. A study by the Federal Highways Administration in early 1989 found that large vehicles could not negotiate the curves of the tunnel without crossing the center line. To ensure safety, the National Park Service began traffic control at the tunnel in the spring of that year. Rangers posted at both ends of the tunnel convert two-way tunnel traffic to one-way for larger vehicles, ensuring safe passage. This service, for which a $15 dollar tunnel permit fee is charged, was provided for over 27,874 oversized vehicles in calendar year 2011. There are six switchbacks after the tunnel.
As we descend you may ask yourself how deep is this gorge? If you put Lake Superior, which is the deepest lake, inside the canyon it would not reach the rim--it would take two lakes. If you had Niagra Falls, it would take 14 falls to reach the bottom. It would take five Great Pyramids of Giza (tallest wonders of the world) stacked inside. Even if you were in the Willis Tower (Sears Tower in Chicago) you would be looking up. Not even if you stacked the Washington Monument, St. Louis Arch, and the Seattle Space Needle, you wouldn't reach the top. But you get the idea.
The area gets just 14” of precipitation per year, but it is estimated that Zion gets about 600 inches deeper every million years and flash floods are the key factors. And the heart of Zion is the Virgin River that is the sculptor of this magnificent gorge, along with waterfalls and seeping water. Most of the time the Virgin River seems too tame to do this work, but it can be so dangerous when it floods.
Zion became a National Monument in 1909 as Mukuntuweap National Monument. Mukuntuweap is a Paiute word meaning “straight canyon.” Steven Mather, the first director of the National Park System, felt this word was too awkward and since Zion was what the locals called it he chose it. Zion is a Hebrew word meaning a place of refuge or sanctuary. For me, it’s a good name since it reminds me of an outdoor cathedral, but I love the native designations, too.
Zion is located at the junction of the Great Basin and the Mojave Desert Provinces. This unique geography and the variety of life zones within the park make it significant as a place of unusual plant and animal diversity. Desert terrrain and huge, sculpted rock formations coexist with hanging gardens.
The gigantic stone masses of the West Temple and the Watchman guard our entrance. Watchman is 2,555’ from the canyon floor, West Temple is 7,810’. Zion-Mount Carmel Highway climbs Pine Creek Canyon. Note the talus slopes (a slope formed especially by an accumulation of rock debris).
Entering the park we immediately see the colorful, contrasting formations of orange, brown and the white slickrock (smooth, wind polished rock). Checkerboard Mesa is a landmark, massive hillside which has majestic criss-crossed markings. It’s 900’ above the highway. Anyone want to play chess? What do you see? You are seeing change in action — erosion — where wind from north to south carves horizontally and figures or cracks added a result of weathering from water freezing and thawing. Look to the right and you’ll see another example os cross-bedding called Crazy Quilt Mesa. All formed from ancient dunes, hardened to become Navajo Sandstone.
The tunnel is at 5,607’ and is considered an engineering feat. Completed in 1930, it was the first million dollar highway. Construction of the 1.1 mile Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel began in the late 1920's and was completed in 1930. At the time that the tunnel was dedicated, on July 4, 1930, it was the longest tunnel of its type in the United States. The purpose of the building the Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel (and the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway) was to create direct access to Bryce Canyon and Grand Canyon from Zion National Park.
Before 1989, large vehicles, including tour buses, motor homes, and trailers, were involved in more and more accidents and near misses in the tunnel due to an immense increase in the volume of traffic and in the size of vehicles passing through the tunnel. A study by the Federal Highways Administration in early 1989 found that large vehicles could not negotiate the curves of the tunnel without crossing the center line. To ensure safety, the National Park Service began traffic control at the tunnel in the spring of that year. Rangers posted at both ends of the tunnel convert two-way tunnel traffic to one-way for larger vehicles, ensuring safe passage. This service, for which a $15 dollar tunnel permit fee is charged, was provided for over 27,874 oversized vehicles in calendar year 2011. There are six switchbacks after the tunnel.
As we descend you may ask yourself how deep is this gorge? If you put Lake Superior, which is the deepest lake, inside the canyon it would not reach the rim--it would take two lakes. If you had Niagra Falls, it would take 14 falls to reach the bottom. It would take five Great Pyramids of Giza (tallest wonders of the world) stacked inside. Even if you were in the Willis Tower (Sears Tower in Chicago) you would be looking up. Not even if you stacked the Washington Monument, St. Louis Arch, and the Seattle Space Needle, you wouldn't reach the top. But you get the idea.