Utah Zion National Park map and highlights

Zion, Utah on the map. National Park Zion (state Utah) on the map of US    

Zion, Utah   

Established: 1919   Acreage: 146,551    

     

The names of the trails in Zion—Emerald Pools, Hidden Canyon,  Gateway to the Narrows, Canyon Overlook—hint at what can be found beyond  the road. The park has a number of surprises, too—a desert swamp, a  petrified forest, springs and waterfalls. As with Yellowstone, many  scoffed at the first stories of Zion, a wild, rugged country of  little-known canyons and plateaus in southern Utah. Nevertheless, the  massive, multicolored, vertical cliffs and deep canyons were real.    

     

The centerpiece of the park is Zion Canyon, a narrow, deep (2000  to 3000 foot high walls) canyon with vividly colored cliffs which  intimidated the Paiute Indians, who refused to stay here after dark.  Along the bottom of the canyon flows the Virgin River, deceivingly  powerless in looks, yet this small river carved the rock gorge of Zion  Canyon almost singlehan-dedly. Fremont cottonwoods, willows and velvet  ash line the banks of the river, providing a midday refuge from the  summer heat for picnickers, as well as for mule deer and many birds.  Bobcats, ringtail cats, foxes, rock squirrels and cottontails rest under  rocky ledges. The park is also home to mountain lions and mule deer.    

     

Connecting Zion Canyon with the high plateaus to the east is  Zion-Mount Carmel Highway, which goes through two tunnels. At one end of  the longer tunnel is the Great Arch of Zion, a 'blind' arch carved high  in a vertical cliff wall. On the other side of the tunnel is slickrock  country. Here rocks colored in white and pastels of orange and red have  been eroded into many shapes. The mountains of sandstone known as  Checkerboard Mesa provide a fine example of naturally sculpted rock art.  In the northwest corner of the park are the Finger Canyons of the  Kolob, where the Kolob Canyons Road penetrates the heart of the  brilliant red rock country of the steep-walled Finger Canyons. The Kolob  has forests of pin-yon, jupiter, ponderosa pine, fir and quaking aspen.  In winter and early spring, the area is buried under a thick snowpack,  which heightens the hues of this already colorful landscape.    

     

In prehistoric times, Zion was inhabited by Basketmakers and  Puebloans, and the rainbow canyons once sheltered an ancient race of  cave dwellers. When Europeans first discovered the area, the Paiute  claimed the region. In 1776, Father Escalante, while on an expedition in  the Southwest, chanced upon the Zion region. Fifty years passed before  other white men—trappers and fur traders—ventured to Zion. Eventually,  the Mormons from Salt Lake City established a small settlement and named  the area 'Zion,' meaning 'the heavenly city of God.'    

     

Above right, top: The Narrows of the Zion Canyon. The enormous height of the walls dwarfs the hiker.    

Above right, middle: The sheer, vividly colored Watchman towers above the canyon floor.    

Facing page: Great White Throne—the symbol of Zion National Park—conveys an overwhelming sense of nobility.  

Right: West Temple looms above the Visitor Center in Zion National Park.   

Zion, Utah on the map. National Park Zion (state Utah) on the map of US