Zion National Park
Utah is known for the” big five national parks”, Zion, Bryce Canyon, Arches and Capitol Reef. We visited four of the five and they are truly amazing. The parks are all part of the Colorado Plateau which occupies 130,000 miles in Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona. In this blog, I will be writing about Zion National Park located near Springdale, UT.
Zion became a national park on November 19, 1919 and later the Kolob Canyons area, was incorporated into the park on July 11, 1956. Upon entering the park, you find an outdoor display area at the visitor’s center that explains the history and features of the Zion. There is also a museum about the area and the people that made Zion their home. This is also the location were the ranger talks occur. During the peak season the only way to access most of the park is by using the shuttle bus system. Each of the shuttle stop are located at the most notable areas of the park. It is also nice not to have to try to find parking while you are trying to take in all the grandeur of the setting.
Due to the extreme variation in elevation Zion has desert, riparian, woodland and coniferous forests. Because of these different environments, Zion is home to numerous plant species as well as 289 species of birds, 75 mammals, and 32 reptiles spread through the park. The largest of the birds that make Zion home is the California Condor. The California Condor adults can have a wing span of nine feet and primarily live high on the cliffs. These birds are scavengers, who soar over great distance to hunt for food. Due to conservation efforts, the Condor is making a comeback. The biggest threat to them now is lead poisoning from bullet fragments in the carrion left behind by hunters.
Zion was formed by uplifts in the Colorado Plateau 13 million years ago. The area that is Zion today was once a great desert basin. Over time sandstone, limestone, mudstone and shale was deposited and the Virgin River cut through the deposits to form the Zion Canyon we see today. Zion’s shape is ever changing due to forces of nature, but the biggest change comes from flash flooding of the Virgin River which erodes the walls of the canyon resulting in massive rock slides.
There is so much to do in Zion from difficult hikes to the top of Angels Landing, to walks along the Virgin River. For the truly bold there is an opportunity to climb the walls that form the canyon. April was the time of the year we visited Zion and the weather was ideal and the crowds were small.
Red Canyon is near Zion National Park and is located in the Dixie National forest. Driving through the Red Canyon was truly amazing with the red rock archway over the road and the hoodoos and cliffs that frame your way. There is just so much to see not just in the big five but in all the areas surrounding the parks.
For more information about Zion National Park visit the following website https://www.nps.gov/zion/index.htm
Please feel free to share this post with your friends.
For more travel blogs from HorseTail Legacy LLC https://horsetaillegacy.com/01m8