Zion National Park is in southwest Utah and is distinguished by Zion Canyon’s steep red cliffs. Zion Canyon Scenic Drive cuts through its main section, leading to forest trails along the Virgin River. The river flows to the Emerald Pools, which have waterfalls and a hanging garden.
It is located at the junction of the Colorado Plateau, Great Basin, and Mojave Desert regions. At various periods in time, warm, shallow seas, streams, ponds and lakes, vast deserts, and dry near-shore environments covered the area. Uplift associated with the creation of the Colorado Plateaus lifted the region 10,000 feet starting 13 million years ago. The geologic formations in Zion National Park are part of a super-sequence of rock units called the Grand Staircase. Together, these formations represent about 150 million years of mostly Mesozoic-aged sedimentation in that part of North America.
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The road into Zion Canyon is 6 miles long, ending at the Temple of Sinawava which is the Coyote God of the Paiute Indians. At the Temple the canyon narrows and a foot-trail continues to the mouth of the Zion Narrows, a gorge as narrow as 20 feet wide and up to 2,000 feet tall. Good hikers love the trails but they are known to flood when it rains. The Zion Canyon road is served by a free shuttle bus from early April to late October. Other roads in Zion are open to private vehicles year-round.
Explore the quirky adventures and misadventures as I take you on a journey of the United States National Parks. These journeys inspired me to explore even more about the history of the United States, the good, the bad and the ugly. These journeys are encouragements to explore, or re-examine these beautiful lands. From mountain roads with hairpin turns to stunning seaside escapes to exploring good old American history, these are amazing journeys to take in this lifetime.
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