Zion National Park
Zion National Park is located in southwestern Utah. It is filled with colorful canyons, mesas, and cliffs. Originally, It was named Mukuntuweap by the Native Americans who inhabited the area. Then, in the 1860's, Mormons settled in the canyon and named the lands surrounding the canyon Zion. Some of the pictures on this site were taken during the summer of 1999 on one of our personal family vacations.
Geology of Zion
There are three main processes responsible for the formation of Zion. They are: depostion, uplift, and erosion. . The rocks that make up Zion originated from the Jurassic Period. The lower layers of rock consist mainly of mudstones, siltstones, and sandstone. These were deposited primarily by slow moving streams and rivers. The thickest layer in the park is composed of Navajo Sandstone, which was formed from wind deposition of sand grains. This sandstone was not always as it is now. It used to be a desert of blowing sand dunes. However, crustal movement within the Earth caused a sinking of the land to below sea level. The sea once covered the dunes and Calcium Carbonate from the shells of the sea animals seeped into the sand and cemented the grains together. This is how the sandstone was formed. Later, other Earth movements caused uplift in the land. The sea drained away, and the rivers and streams carved and eroded the sandstone. This created the deep canyons we see today.
Areas of Interest
Kolob Canyon
Kolob canyon is located in the northwest part of the
park. The prominent feature in the canyon is the Kolob arch. It
stands 94 meters (310 feet) tall, and is the largest freestanding
arch in the world.
Checkerboard Mesa
The
Checkerboard Mesa, located in the canyons of Zion, is
characterized by the unusual crossbedding in the sandstone. The
horizontal crossbedding originates in how the sandstone was laid
down. Beds were partially eroded, then filled by the next set of
beds. The vertical crossbedding results from cracking due to
changing pressures on the rock during burial and exposure.
Weathering has helped to accent these grooves over time.
The Narrows
The
Narrows could be described as one of the crown jewels of Zion
National Park. The Narrows encompass a region of the Virgin River
deep within the bowels of some of Zion's fascinating canyons. The
Narrows includes a 2-mile region of the Virgin river with the
canyon walls being 30 feet apart and 1,000 feet high. Water
levels in the Narrows vary according to the seasons.
Other Examples of Geological Processes
This picture beautifully illustrates the deposition of
sediments. Each layer has a distinct visual boundary between
itself and the next. It shows how the aforementioned effects can
carve a magnificent landscape. This also appears to be an example
of uplifting, due to the fact that the rock formation has risn
well above sea level.
In this
picture, an alteration in the landscape is illustrated in the
structure of the rock in the background. It appears that some
type of bending has taken place.
The picture on the right
is a view of the Narrows. The Narrows are a prime example of the
gargantuan effects of erosion on the Zion region. Over time,
water carved into the rocks of Zion and formed the canyons like
the one viewed here. With canyon depths of over 1,000 feet as
stated before, the process of erosion in forming the canyons was
by no means a quick process.
Conclusion
Hopefully the pictures provided on this website were able to illustrate the phenomenal geologic diversity found in this playground of the Gods known as Zion. The processes responsible for carving this visual masterpiece are not complicated ones in the geologic sense. However, they do illustrate that with some time and hard work these "slow" processes can lead to mindblowing backdrops.
