Zion National Park

Get a large ( http://flickr.com/photos/wolfgangstaudt/2332583053/sizes/l/ ) view! Zion National Park is a United States National Park located in the Southwestern United States, near Springdale, Utah. A prominent feature of the 229-square-mile (593 km²) park is Zion Canyon, 15 miles (24 km) long and up to half a mile (800 m) deep, cut through the reddish and tan-colored Navajo Sandstone by the North Fork of the Virgin River. Located at the junction of the Colorado Plateau, Great Basin, and Mojave Desert regions, this unique geography and variety of life zones allow for unusual plant and animal diversity. A total of 289 bird species, 75 mammals (including 19 species of bat), 32 reptiles and numerous plant species inhabit the park's four life zones: desert, riparian, woodland, and coniferous forest. Notable megafauna include Mountain Lions, Mule Deer and Golden Eagles, along with reintroduced California Condors and Bighorn Sheep. Common plant species include Cottonwood, Cactus, Datura, Juniper, Pine, Boxelder, Sagebrush and various willows. Human habitation of the area started about 8,000 years ago with small family groups of Native Americans; the semi-nomadic Basketmaker Anasazi (300 CE) stem from one of these groups. In turn, the Virgin Anasazi culture (500 CE) developed as the Basketmakers settled in permanent communities. A different group, the Parowan Fremont, lived in the area as well. Both groups moved away by 1300 and were replaced by the Parrusits and several other Southern Paiute subtribes. The canyon was discovered by Mormons in 1858 and was settled by that same group in the early 1860s. Mukuntuweap National Monument was established in 1909 to protect the canyon, and by 1919 the monument was expanded to become Zion National Park (Zion is an ancient Hebrew word meaning a place of refuge or sanctuary). The Kolob section was proclaimed a separate Zion National Monument in 1937, but was incorporated into the park in 1956. The geology of the Zion and Kolob canyons area includes nine formations that together represent 150 million years of mostly Mesozoic-aged sedimentation. At various periods in that time, warm, shallow seas, streams, ponds and lakes, vast deserts and dry near-shore environments covered the area. Uplift associated with the creation of the Colorado Plateaus lifted the region 10,000 feet (3000 m) starting 13 million years ago. From Wikipedia ( http://wikipedia.org/ ) , the free encyclopedia

Right Fork Canyon

Sunrise in the Right Fork of North Creek in Zion National Park. The cottonwoods were just starting to turn color the first week of November. Since the water was flowing, I used a 10-sec exposure for more interesting reflection.

Right Fork

Underneath the waterfalls in the Right Fork of North Creek Canyon in Zion National Park. This canyon often gets overlooked due to its proximity to the much more popular Left Fork of North Creek (i.e. The Subway). It's a nice hike to this spot and chances are good you won't see anyone else.

Double Falls

Although it's a pretty long hike up the Right Fork to get here, Double Falls is a lovely place to visit in Zion National Park. We had the entire canyon to ourselves all day. My brother Paul is standing above the falls. He had to hold very still so I could blur the water.

The Famous Crack

The famous crack in the Left Fork of North Creek Canyon in Zion National Park (ie The Subway) with some nice fall colors.

The Subway in Autumn

I love hiking The Subway in Autumn. To get this shot, I used a shutter speed of 0.8sec and threw some leaves into the cascade to get some nice streaks. Read more about this amazing hike in my latest blog post here: http://actionphototours.com/the-subway-in-autumn/

The Subway in Autumn

The leaves are falling in Zion National Park, so I ventured down to the Subway to get some photos of this iconic spot. We weren't able to get our permits the night before, so we couldn't do the full canyon from the top. Instead, we hiked bottom up and spent a lot of time enjoying the views. What a great hike!

Descending Mystery Canyon

Here I am descending one of the best rappels in Mystery Canyon. This rappel ended in a deep, emerald-green pool. The swim was quite refreshing as I was starting to get pretty hot!

Mystery Canyon

Zion NP has a plethora of scenic and technical slot canyons. One of my favorites is Mystery Canyon. This shot is from the final rappel that drops you right into the Virgin Narrows. I really like doing it when fall color starts to hit. Read more about it and see some video clips in my latest blog article:
http://actionphototours.com/mystery-canyon/

Zion's Little Tree

Even though it's November, there's still a little bit of the Milky Way visible early in the evening. I helped setup this shot for a client using two light panels with different color temperatures. This iconic little tree is located on east end of Zion National Park. If you're ever interested in a night photography outing, just send me an email!

The Famous Bridge

Sometimes you can get a decent shot in the middle of the day. That happened on a partly cloudy day on the Par'us Bridge in Zion NP. The fall color this year wasn't as good as in years past, but it's still a classic view.