Upriver, the Virgin continues its carving.
The canyon walls close in, and sunlight narrows to slender beams.
These vertical walls inspired the southern Paiute to call this place Tihachipia, meaning "steep canyon." For those who travel Zion's century-old trails, they'll find these walls imbued with the stories, traditions, and spiritual beliefs of those who have called it home for countless generations.
These rock layers represent 150 million years of Earth's history.
Like pages in a book, the layers can be read.
They speak of tropical oceans, coastal sand dunes, and deserts rivaling the Sahara.
The white tips of the Navajo Sandstone harken back to the time of the dinosaurs.
From space, satellites pick up the ancient striated stone chiseled out by the Virgin River.
The park forms the western edge of the massive Colorado Plateau.
Red sandstone highlights the elevated expanse.
