Pa'rus - Changing Landscapes

Looking towards the Watchman.

NPS/Abi Farish

Quick Facts

Location:

Pa'rus Trail

Changing Landscapes

Learn 

Rock layers of Zion Canyon are arranged in a way that allows water to travel through them. The desert sand dunes that formed the Navajo Sandstone layer contain wind-blown sand particles that have space in-between them. The ancient floodplain that formed the Kayenta layer is a mudstone that has tightly packed together particles. Water that is absorbed at the highest points of the canyon can travel through the Navajo Sandstone, but is not able to travel through the tightly packed mudstone particles of the Kayenta layer. Where these two rock layers meet, water is forced to travel sideways until it comes out of the rock face in the form of seeps and springs.  

Look

Do you see any evidence of seeps and springs at the boundary of the Navajo Sandstone and Kayenta layer? Cottonwood trees and other water-loving plants are a good indication of a nearby water source. 

Connect

Zion National Park is located along the edge of a region known as the Colorado Plateau. Here, the rock layers have been uplifted, tilted, and eroded, forming a feature called the Grand Staircase, a series of colorful cliffs stretching between Bryce Canyon and the Grand Canyon. Each rock layer of the Grand Staircase holds stories of ancient environments and inhabitants very different from those found here today. What stories will you uncover? 

Open Transcript 

Transcript

1 00:00:07,907 --> 00:00:09,626 Hi, I'm Ranger Kelsie.

2 00:00:09,626 --> 00:00:11,361 Welcome to Zion National Park.

3 00:00:11,361 --> 00:00:12,746 Around me, you can see the towering

4 00:00:12,746 --> 00:00:14,481 cliffs of Zion Canyon

5 00:00:14,481 --> 00:00:17,417 and hear the constant flow of the Virgin River.

6 00:00:17,417 --> 00:00:19,736 Zion National Park is a geologic time capsule

7 00:00:19,736 --> 00:00:23,023 that has been building for over 250 million years.

8 00:00:23,089 --> 00:00:26,209 Each of the layers present here reveals a little bit about how

9 00:00:26,209 --> 00:00:29,679 Zion would have looked during the time of its deposit.

10 00:00:29,763 --> 00:00:31,981 For at least the past 2 to 3 million years,

11 00:00:31,981 --> 00:00:33,767 the Virgin River has been carving down

12 00:00:33,767 --> 00:00:36,770 to reveal the storybook through time out in front of us.

13 00:00:36,803 --> 00:00:38,538 You'll see a gradual red slope.

14 00:00:38,538 --> 00:00:40,290 This is known as the Kayenta lay

15 00:00:40,290 --> 00:00:43,343 and was deposited around 195 million years ago

16 00:00:43,526 --> 00:00:46,079 when Zion would have looked much different.

17 00:00:46,079 --> 00:00:49,332 This layer is dominated by mud, silt and sandstones

18 00:00:49,382 --> 00:00:52,836 that would have been left behind in rivers and small lakes.

19 00:00:52,919 --> 00:00:55,889 Think of the modern day Tigris and Euphrates valleys.

20 00:00:55,889 --> 00:00:56,906 The layer directly above

21 00:00:56,906 --> 00:00:59,909 the Kayenta layer is known as Navajo Sandstone.

22 00:01:00,060 --> 00:01:03,363 This sandstone was deposited around 185 million years

23 00:01:03,363 --> 00:01:05,298 ago, back when large, windswept

24 00:01:05,298 --> 00:01:07,584 sand dunes could be seen for hundreds of miles.

25 00:01:07,584 --> 00:01:09,803 Think of the modern day Sahara Desert.

26 00:01:09,803 --> 00:01:12,021 The Temple Cap Formation can be spotted

27 00:01:12,021 --> 00:01:14,607 on top of the Sentinel over to your right.

28 00:01:14,607 --> 00:01:18,278 This layer was deposited around 170 million years ago

29 00:01:18,361 --> 00:01:21,231 when a shallow sea intruded onto the continent.

30 00:01:21,231 --> 00:01:23,066 When it rains here in Zion, Water picks up

31 00:01:23,066 --> 00:01:24,984 some of the minerals rich in this layer

32 00:01:24,984 --> 00:01:27,053 and streaks the sandstone below.

33 00:01:27,053 --> 00:01:28,488 On your journey through the park,

34 00:01:28,488 --> 00:01:30,557 think about how each of these previous landscapes

35 00:01:30,557 --> 00:01:33,409 has influenced the one that you see around you today.

36 00:01:33,409 --> 00:01:36,930 Forces of rock and water continue to shape Zion Canyon

37 00:01:37,013 --> 00:01:39,649 and the world just as us humans do.

38 00:01:39,649 --> 00:01:42,418 Every road that's paved, trail that's built, down

39 00:01:42,418 --> 00:01:45,421 to every footstep on that trail contribute to erosion.

40 00:01:45,655 --> 00:01:48,024 Always make sure to stay on designated trails

41 00:01:48,024 --> 00:01:49,876 to help us protect this geologic wonder.

Duration:

1 minute, 50 seconds

Ranger Kelsie talks about the rock layers visible in Zion Canyon.