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Zion National Park Facts

Zion National Park Facts
Zion National Park is a 146,597 acre park located in the state of Utah in the United States. Native Americans inhabited the area for at least 8,000 years before Mormons began to settle the region in the mid-1800s. President William Howard Taft designated the area Mukuntuweap National Monument in 1909 in order to protect Zion Canyon - the park's main feature. In 1918 the name was changed to Zion National Monument in honor of the Mormons who settled there in the mid-1800s. In 1919 the monument was changed to a national park, with a separate Zion National Monument in the Kolob region. In 1937 Zion National Monument and Zion National Park became one national park.
Interesting Zion National Park Facts:
The first people to exist in the Zion National Park area are believed to have hunted camel, giant sloth and mammoth approximately 12,000 years ago. They tracked the animals in the region but when the animals died out about 8,000 years ago the way of life changed.
It eventually became a place where farming took hold.
Zion National Park's landscape includes red rock, canyon, desert, cliffs, and plateaus.
Zion National Park is home to a variety of wildlife species including 29 reptile species, 9 fish species, 207 bird species, 67 mammal species, and 7 amphibian species.
Animals that are found in Zion National Park include gray foxes, ring-tail cats, coyotes, badgers, cougars, bobcats, cottontails, jackrabbits, mule deer, and kangaroo rats.
Birds that can be seen in Zion National Park include peregrine falcons, red-tailed hawks, golden eagles, California condors, white-throated swifts, and many others.
There are 19 bat species living in the Zion National Park area.
In the desert regions of Zion National Park plants such as sagebrush, rabbitbrush, Indian paintbrush, and prickly pear cactus are commonly found.
There are over 1000 different plant species found in Zion National Park.
Zion National Park is popular with rock climbers. Some of the shorter walls include Prodigal Son, Spaceshot, Moonlight Buttress, and Touchstone.
Zion National Park's most popular hiking trails include Canyon Overlook, Emerald Pool Lower, The Narrows, Angels Landing, and The Subway.
There is a tunnel that cuts through Zion running 1.1 miles in length that was created in 1930 to make the park accessible to visitors. Prior to this it was extremely difficult for visitors to reach the park because of the landscape and limited roads. The tunnel is called Zion-Mt. Carmel Highway and Tunnel.
It is believed that the landscape formations of Zion National Park formed about 250 million years ago. At one point Zion was a shallow sea-covered area, and possibly had the largest desert on earth at the time.
The lowest elevation at Zion National Park is approximately 3,666 feet at Coal Pits Wash.
The highest elevation at Zion National Park is approximately 8,726 feet at Horse Ranch Mountain.
Visitors to Zion National Park can camp, go horsebackriding, hike, rock climb, sightsee, swim, ATV, and canyoneer.
Tourists must be careful of weather warnings and flashfloods, which can occur when it rains.


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