Indian Paintbrush on the trail to Echo Canyon, Zion National Park, Utah
About this photograph
- Creator
- Margery H. Freeman
- Date created
- Unknown
- Location
- Zion National Park, Utah
- License
- This photograph copyright ©2009. All Rights Reserved
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Learn more
- Search LEARN NC for canyons, Colorado Plateau, Echo Canyon, flowers, geology, Indian paintbrush, Mukuntuweap National Monument, National Monument, national parks, sandstone, slot canyon, UT, Utah, William Howard Taft, and Zion National Park.
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Indian Paintbrush flower under snow on the trail to Echo Canyon, Zion National Park, Utah. Echo Canyon is a slot canyon accessible from the East Rim Trail. The lower part of the canyon meets the main valley through a steep series of erosion-carved potholes and channels. Going further in the canyon requires rappelling skills and wetsuits to wade the cold, stagnant pools of water present year-round in the canyon.
This area was protected as Mukuntuweap National Monument by President William Howard Taft in 1909 and was later renamed Zion National Park. Zion is located on the Colorado Plateau, but borders the Basin and Range Province. Elevations in the park vary from 3,600 to 8,700 feet, allowing for a wide range of animal and plant life, all of which are adapted to the area’s arid conditions. Elevation differences and geologic processes such as tectonic uplift, erosion, and sedimentation have created environments ranging from high plateaus and riparian environments to deserts and deep sandstone canyons. The park is located in Washington, Iron and Kane Counties in southwestern Utah.
