A red wildflower in Zion National Park, Utah
About this photograph
- Creator
- Margery H. Freeman
- Date created
- Unknown
- Location
- Zion National Park, Utah
- License
- This photograph copyright ©2008. All Rights Reserved
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- Search LEARN NC for Colorado Plateau, flowers, geology, Mukuntuweap National Monument, National Monument, national parks, plants, sandstone, Utah, wildflower, William Howard Taft, and Zion National Park.
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A red flower, possibly Slickrock Paintbrush, grows in a rock crevice at Zion National Park, Utah. Despite the area’s harsh, arid conditions, many hardy wildflowers, cacti, ferns, trees, shrubs, and grasses grow prolifically in the park.
The 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 range 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.
