Zion National Park

1. Zion National Park Jenny Kim Pd:5

2. Map Of Zion National Park Zion

3. Current Formations • The climate can be varied depending on the elevations and seasons. The spring weather is very unpredictable. But the summer weathers are very hot with temperatures ranging from 95 to 100 degrees. But at night it could be 65-70 degrees. In the winter there's rain or light snow. Then there's heavier snow up higher. During the day it could be 60 degrees. But at night it could be anywhere from 20 to 30 degrees. Winter storms could last for a few days. There's a lot of plants at Zion. There are over 100 species of plants growing. Some of them didn't start growing till the 1800s. Zion is located on the edge of the Colorado plateau. 240 million years ago it used to be a flat basin. The rocks in Zion national park are sandstones. Zion went through a process called sedimentation. It continued until 10,00 feet of rocks formed. There are narrow canyons. Also the rocks at Zion are colorful. At Zion there are birds, fish, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and spiders and etc.

4. What is the Main Force that Caused These Formations? • The narrow canyons are very used to flash floods. Flash floods are often from storms that are many miles away. When a flash flood happens the water level raises really quickly. It could take seconds to minutes. The narrow canyons get flash floods because the rocks cannot absorb the water. At Zion, uplifting is still occurring. In 1992, an earthquake happened and caused a visible landslide. The landslide is located just outside of the Springdale entrance. Also erosion is still happening. The sandstones get eroded and softens the sandstone. It then causes it to collapse, In return this widens the canyon.

5. Geologic History • It started with sedimentation. When Zion used to be a flat basin area sedimentation happened and kept building and building until it formed the mountains and high lands. The mud, sand, and gravels just kept eroding. The lithification happened and this is when water with a bunch of minerals are filtered through the sedimentation. Over time the materials were transformed into rocks. The seabed became limestone, the mud became mudstones, and desert sands became sandstone. So each layer of the rocks are different in color, thickness, the type of mineral, and appearance. The uplift happened and that is when the earth pushed the surface up. Since Zion is made from sandstones the water erodes them very easily. So the narrow canyons do get flash floods.

6. Activities in the Park • At Zion's Nation park you could go biking, camping, climbing, backcountrying, hiking, horseback riding, and off road. Backcountry is where you could go hiking in the part called the Subway. But you need a permit. Off road is where you could go on dirt bikes or jeeps and explore the park on certain places. I would like to go to this park because it sounds like a fun place to go and visit. Also there's a lot of fun activities to do. So I would visit this park.

7. Work Cited • National Park Services. "Geologic Formations." www.nps.gov. National Parks Services, 15 Dec. 2010. Web. 15 Feb. 2012. • National Parks Services. "Flash Floods." www.nps.gov. National Park Services, 13 Aug. 2008. Web. 15 Feb. 2012. • Travelwest. "Zion National Park Geological Facts." www.zioncanyon.com. Travelwest, 2002. Web. 15 Feb. 2012 • "Activities Inside Zion National Park ." www.utah.com. www.utah.com, 2012. Web. 15 Feb. 2012.