USA - Utah, Zion National Park

Zion National Park is Utah’s first national park, which is located the small town of Springdale. With millions of visitors it is the most visited park in Utah. Zion has an area of almost 600 km² and it consists of a number of high plateaus that are intersected by deep canyons. Zion NP is located at the junction of the Colorado Plateau, Great Basin, and Mojave Desert regions.

The most important part is Zion Canyon. That is a gorge - 24 kilometers long and 800 meters deep - with high rising walls and slopes. The canyon walls are reddish and tan-coloured sandstone. The gorge has been carved out by the North Fork Virgin River and thanks to the river the canyon has a richly varied flora and fauna with numerous plant and bird species, as well as many different mammals and reptiles. In spring, when the snow in the mountains melts, the Virgin River drains large amounts of debris and sediment. As a result the erosion is still in full swing.

In 1909 the area was named “Mukuntuweap National Monument” in order to protect the canyon, which nine year later became Zion National Monument; Zion being a term used by the Mormons, who were living in the area. In November 1919 the monument was redesignated as “Zion National Park”.

Main picture: View from Canyon Overlook into the Pine Creek Canyon
PiP1: Checkerboard Mesa along the Zion - Mount Carmel Highway
PiP2 and 3: Zion Canyon near the Zion Lodge