Walking Zion National Park, Utah
At Zion National Park, Utah, the Virgin River has cut a deep
canyon in brilliant white-to-red Navajo Sandstone. Giant towers loom upwards 1600 to 2200
feet - believed to be the tallest sandstone cliffs in the world. Nature's
magnificence is on display here in southern Utah, just three hours northeast of Las Vegas,
Nevada.
Photo: The Three Patriarchs
Click on any of the photos to see an enlargement
The Watchman guards the southern entrance. Everywhere you look up -- way up -- to see the formations, most of them white at the top and shading to deep red lower down. Near the bottom they have skirts of rocky slopes of the softer Kayenta formation of sandstone and siltstone.
Geology: Two hundred
forty million years ago this area of southwestern Utah was near sea level and sands,
gravels, and muds eroded down from the surrounding mountains and were deposited in layers.
The land rose and the mud flats became deserts, and thousands of feet of sand were
deposited, to be compressed into stone. Most of the stone making up the cliffs here
is from the Triassic and Jurassic periods - the age of the Dinosaurs.
Recommended Book: "Roadside
Geology of Utah" Compare
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Photo: Guide Wendy in her About.com hat at the Virgin
River
The
sea returned and capped the sandstone with limestone and gypsum. Then the great
uplift began for the entire Colorado Plateau, lifting it up as a giant unit to 10,000 feet
above sea level. At the same time the streams flowed down, eroding into the layers
of stone and producing Zion, Cedar Breaks, Bryce Canyon and the Grand Canyon.
Hanging by a Thread: We passed many
places where rock climbers were plying their art. Some routes take two days to scale.
Trails Both Wild and Mild
The floor of the canyon is at about 4000 feet, so lowlanders will want to take things slow
or find themselves breathless (not just from the beauty).
Rich pointed out the Angels Landing Trail, which he did many years ago. It is a steep 1488
foot ascent in a 5 mile round trip from the Grotto Picnic Area to the top of Angels
Landing.
Angels Landing Trail
map and directions.
Photo: Angels Landing
Easier trails for walkers rather than hikers are the Pa'rus Trail
from South Campground, a 3.5 mile roundtrip that follows the Virgin River, and the Emerald Pool Trail
of 3.2 miles from opposite the Zion Lodge.
The road up the canyon ends at the Temple of
Sinawava, where colonnades of red rock mark the narrowing of the canyon. The
Riverside Walk is a 2
mile roundtrip on a paved trail along the Virgin River as the gorge narrows. The cliffs
above are a 1000 feet high and the gorge eventually narrows to only 20 feet. This walk is
known for its colorful autumn foliage, which was just beginning to turn in early October.
Photo: Temple of Sinawava and Guide Wendy
Past
the end of the paved trail, walkers can continue up river, walking in the river itself up
to 4 feet deep and climbing over rocks. It is advised to check the Narrows Danger
Level before going this further route, to check for possible flash floods. We saw
several people coming back having waded in the river. We enjoyed views of even more rock
climbers high on the walls.
Photo: Along the Riverside Walk
InfoWest
Walks and Hikes in Zion more trail descriptions.
We drove back down the canyon and snapped photos of the
Great White Throne and paused to watch rock climbers inch their way up the sheer cliffs.
We plan to visit this magnificent park again and explore it in detail.
Most of the hikes in the park are short, but there are a couple of longer hikes. The
Observation Point hike starts at the Weeping Rock picnic area and climbs through Echo
Canyon with excellent views - 8 miles and strenuous with an ascent of 2148 feet. The
Lower West Rim to Cabin Spring trail is 10 miles with an ascent of 2640 feet, from the
Grotto picnic area to a high country viewpoint of the canyon.
Also
Walking in Bryce Canyon National Park
Walking in Grand Canyon National Park
Free Clipart Photos of Zion
Links
Zion
National Park: from Guide to Salt Lake City
Zion National Park: National Park Service site
US Parks
Geology.about.com
Books
and Video
"Roadside
Geology of Utah" Compare
Prices
"Frommer's Zion and Bryce
Canyon National Parks" Compare Prices
Bryce Canyon and Zion Video:
Compare Prices
