MikePScott
Zion National Park, Utah - the Virgin River
Geomorphically, it is located on the Markagunt and Kolob plateaus, at the intersection of three North American geographic provinces: the Colorado Plateaus, the Great Basin, and the Mojave Desert. The northern part of the park is the Kolob Canyons section.
The 8,726ft (2,660m) summit of Horse Ranch Mountain is the highest point; the lowest point is the Coal Pits Wash at 3,666ft (1,117m).
Streams in the area take rectangular paths following jointing planes in the rocks. The stream gradient of the Virgin River flowing through Zion Canyon ranges from 50-80 ft per mile (9.5-15.2 m/km) (0.9–1.5%)—one of the steepest stream gradients in North America.
The road into Zion Canyon is 6 miles (9.7 km) long, ending at the Temple of Sinawava (Sinawava the Coyote God of the Paiute Indians). At the Temple the canyon narrows and a foot-trail continues to the mouth of the Zion Narrows, gorge as narrow as 20ft (6m) wide and up to 2,000ft (610m) tall.
Zion National Park, Utah - the Virgin River
Geomorphically, it is located on the Markagunt and Kolob plateaus, at the intersection of three North American geographic provinces: the Colorado Plateaus, the Great Basin, and the Mojave Desert. The northern part of the park is the Kolob Canyons section.
The 8,726ft (2,660m) summit of Horse Ranch Mountain is the highest point; the lowest point is the Coal Pits Wash at 3,666ft (1,117m).
Streams in the area take rectangular paths following jointing planes in the rocks. The stream gradient of the Virgin River flowing through Zion Canyon ranges from 50-80 ft per mile (9.5-15.2 m/km) (0.9–1.5%)—one of the steepest stream gradients in North America.
The road into Zion Canyon is 6 miles (9.7 km) long, ending at the Temple of Sinawava (Sinawava the Coyote God of the Paiute Indians). At the Temple the canyon narrows and a foot-trail continues to the mouth of the Zion Narrows, gorge as narrow as 20ft (6m) wide and up to 2,000ft (610m) tall.