North America: Zion National Park, Utah, USA

Zion National Park

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/maps/north-america/usa/zion-national-park/

About

Zion National Park is a park in the U.S. that is located in southern Utah. The land is surrounded by landmarks, including the Cathedral Mountains, Temple of Sinawava, and the Great White Throne. The hike in these mountains is about 16 miles along the trails, and can be very tiring. After years of snow and rain storms hitting against the rocks, it has created beautiful scenery for all to see. There is plenty of wildlife that roam the National Park, including things like a petite kangaroo rat, to common animals like deer, foxes, and much more!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fci4ylynQwI

Weather and Climate

http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliF302000.pl?utzion

Annual Temperature Range:

• • Summer (July):

Average low: 65 degrees Fahrenheit

Average high: 101 degrees Fahrenheit

• • Winter (December and January):

Average low: 27 degrees Fahrenheit

Average high: 53 degrees Fahrenheit

• • Spring (March-May):

Average high: March- 63 degrees Fahrenheit, April- 72 degrees Fahrenheit, May 82 degrees Fahrenheit

Average low: March- 32 degrees Fahrenheit, April- 43 degrees Fahrenheit, May- 52 degrees Fahrenheit

• • Fall (September and October):

Average low: September- 60 degrees Fahrenheit, October- 49 degrees Fahrenheit

Average High: Spetember- 89 degrees Fahrenheit, October- degrees Fahrenheit

• • The altitude changes, which go from 3,700ft to 8,700ft, affect temperature at the Park. The higher the elevation, the colder it will be.

Annual Precipitation Range:

From July to December, precipitation average approximately 0.8 inches per month. The rainy season lasts from January to March, with average precipitation at 1.5 inches per month. The driest months are April-June, when Zion receives approx. 0.4 inches per month.

Air Masses and Regimes:

N.p.: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007. Print.

During the summer, maritime tropical air masses come up from the Baja California region, bringing warm, humid air. However, the maritime tropical air loses moisture as it goes further inland and away from the moist ocean source. Zion, Utah is very far away from the ocean, so the air loses moisture and becomes dryer. In the winter, maritime polar air masses come down from the northwest coast, bringing cool, humid air. This cold air brings a slight rainy season and the occasional snowfall. However, Zion is at a low enough latitude that winter temperatures rarely drop below freezing.

Climate types:

Zion National Park climate type is between dry subtropical and dry tropical. Weather conditions in Zion are quite extreme, which is why it is in between the two climate types. Dry tropical climate has higher temperatures while dry subtropical has lower temperatures. Zion is tropical because of the high air pressure with little rainfall.

Severe Weather:

http://www.tbo.com/ap/zion-national-park-floods-trapped-seven-people-in-narrow-canyon-20150916/

Wind Patterns and Direction:

Zion's latitude is 37 degrees North, which means the dominant wind pattern is the Westerlies. Wind direction is predominantly southwest.

N.p.: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2008. Print.

Climates Affects on Plants and Animals:

• • An example of a plant that has gone through adaptations to live in Zion are ferns. Ferns tend to live in damp and shaded regions. Some ferns, like xerophytic ferns, have adapted to the dry climate (6). These fern have adapted by changing color and/or growing scales to deflect the sun, and by leaves that can curl into balls to keep in water (6).

  • Mule deer and bighorn sheep are common in Zion National Park. Bighorn sheep have hooves adapted to climbing the steep, rocky cliffs of Zion. Mule deer have adapted to consume high-fiber, low starch plants and shrubs typically found in Zion (7). They get maximum nutrition from these plants through a process of fermentation, in which they ferment plants before digesting them. Mule deer and bighorn sheep are prey for mountain lions in Zion. Mountain lions have long tails that help them balance on steep and rocky cliffs. Because animals are often scarce in this desert-like region, mountain lions hunt a variety of prey, eating anything they can get their paws on (7).

Other Factors on Plants and Animals:

Two major factors include water and and geology. On the plateau, precipitation can reach up to 26 inches so species like sego lilies, greenleaf manzanita, yellow-bellied marmots, fir, elk, and black bear can be found. The geological factor comes from volcanic ash and the Chinle Formation's Lakes which has created a rich soil in a poisonous mineral selenium. These factors lead to Zions diversity. (10)

Biomes and Ecoregion's within Zion National Park:

Ecoregion:

The main ecoregion at Zion National Park is Colorado Plateau Shrublands (above). The location of this park also places it near ecoregion's such as the Great Basin Shrub Steppe, Arizona Mountains Forest, Mojave Desert, and Wasatch and Uinta Montane Forests. A few of the more common animals within this region are the American Black Bear, Bald Eagles, and Bobcats. Popular plant life includes Cheatgrass, the Jones Cycladania, and Welsh's Milkweed (4).

Biome:

Zion National Park's biome is consistent with Deserts and Xeric Shrublands. According to WorldWildlife.org, "Deserts and Xeric Shrublands vary greatly in the amount of annual rainfall they receive; generally, however, evaporation exceeds rainfall in these ecoregions, usually less than 10 inches annually." (5) This type of biome is introduced to extreme heat during the days, which in turn leads to cold nights. This is due to the lack of insulation throughout the landscape, which is provided by humidity and cloud coverage.

Environmental Threats:

There are numerous environmental threats to Zion National Park. Invasive species like cheatgrass is able to spread faster than other plants, and in the summer it drys out and becomes fuel for fires, harming the environment (9). Oil and gas drilling is another environmental threat that occurs. The Bureau of Land Management proposed drilling one mile away from Zion which creates consequences of water pollution, sonic pollution, and threatens endangered species.

https://www.google.com/imgresimgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fbioweb.uwlax.edu%2Fbio203%2Fs2014%2

Zion’s Topography

With the vast differences in elevation, water supply, and temperature, Zion’s topography is far from uniform. Zion’s topography has an especially diverse plant spectrum. In the canyon along waterways, there are ferns, mosses willows, and cattails, as well as gigantic cottonwoods along the river. Most people wouldn’t expect to find aquatic plants in the desert of Utah, but these plants survive because of the constant moisture from streams and rivers.(11)

At the lower elevations away from the waterways live arid shrubs and grasses. As you move up in elevation, the average temperature grows colder, making it possible for Pinyon-Juniper trees to live. At the very highest elevation in Zion, up on the sandstone cliffs, Ponderosa Pine, Douglas fir, and white pine are found. These trees have powerful roots to capture the limited moisture available to them.(11)

Animals of Zion vary depending on their elevation and moisture. Bighorn sheep, which are adept at climbing, live at Zion’s highest elevation on the cliffs. On the desert trails throughout the park, snakes, lizards, and other reptiles soak up the sun. As you descend to the water, you may find the Mexican spotted owl, yellow warbler, or other birds perched in the tall cottonwoods at the base of the canyon along the river. (12)

Common Rocks

In the eastern side of Zion, it is known as the "slick rock country" due to the mix of white and brown/orange rock. This type of rock is due to the fact that there is little iron-oxide compared to the other layers of sandstone. This is also a prime example for the erosion that occurred in this area. Another area in the eastern side known as the hoodoos, contains rock with many different shapes and sizes which vary more compared to any of the other parks near by. (13)

https://www.visitutah.com/plan-your-trip/recommended-itineraries/mighty5/slickrock-adventure/

Another common rock is a monolith that has taken place over the years, created through sedimentary rock. These monoliths will come about near the sand dunes that originated in ancient times. The Zion National Park is home to the largest monolith in the world known as the "Great White Throne". (14)

http://www.summitpost.org/great-white-throne-closeup/665316

Three other common rock types are Kayenta Formation, Navajo mudstone, and Kaibab Formation. Kayenta Formation is a 190 million years ago, Zion was an area of river floodplains and small lakes, as evident by the mudstones left behind. In these mudstones, geologists have uncovered dinosaur footprints and other fossils preserved in the mud. (20) Navajo Sandstone is made up of cross-bedded sandstone that shows evidence of sand dunes. 180 million years ago, the land that is now Zion was home to one of the largest deserts in the history of the world, and Navajo Sandstone is a remnant of that desert. (21) Limestone makes up the Kaibab Formation, which dates back 270 million years ago to a time when Zion was a shallow sea on the west coast of Pangea. Fossils of small ocean organisms like trilobites are found in this layer, which is the oldest layer in the park. (22)

Geological History's affect on rock types

Zion has a fascinating geologic history. The Park sits along the edge of the Colorado Plateau, an expansive area from central Utah to Northern Arizona. Bryce Canyon, Zion, and the Grand Canyon are all encompassed on the Colorado Plateau, along an area that—over millions of years—has uplifted, tilted, and eroded to expose beautiful cliffs called the Grand Staircase. The Grand Staircase offers an almost 2 billion year-old geologic history of the region. (17)

https://www.nps.gov/zion/learn/nature/rock-layers.htm

Plate tectonics responsible for the landforms

Orogeny occurred in the Mesozoic and Tertiary time periods. This is the process when the earths crust makes a mountain range by folding over, which in Zion was caused by lithospheric plate collisions and plate subductions, creating folds and faults. Zion has four main faults. The first is the Taylor Creek fault zone, where a thrust fault has pushed older rock over the existing younger rock. The other three faults (Hurricane, Sevier, and Paunsaugunt) are normal faults in which plate extension creates a fault plane and pushes strata higher than the surrounding strata. (18)

http://zion-gardner-bosch.weebly.com/plate-tectonics.html

Plate boundaries near Zion National Park

Zion is on the North American Plate. Zion is not near a plate boundary, with the nearest edge being 600 miles away. Earthquakes are very uncommon at Zion, however when they occur they are generally a magnitude of 1 or less. Landforms are mostly affected by erosion and water. (15)

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwi88OSXldDTAhWl0YMKHXUOB6YQjRwIBw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fmaxwatsongeography.wordpress.com%2Fsection-a%2Fhazardous-environments%2Ffault-linesplate-boundaries%2F&psig=AFQjCNHj8oMMHGTG6NqZSEYJDOUgAZ-WVg&ust=1493778629095805

Weathering and Erosion Processes affecting Zion National Park

About 240 million years ago, Zion was a basin just above sea level. However, it accumulated almost 10,000 feet of sediment over millions of years as sediment from mountains, with the help of streams and rivers, was deposited to form a pattern of deserts and shallow inland seas. Steep canyons are created by the combination of uplift and river cutting. While the Colorado Plateau rises, the Virgin River cuts deeper through the soft limestone. This combination can explain some of the stark differences in elevation around the Park. Also, landslides have had a dramatic effect on the landscape. Oftentimes, landslides in Zion have dammed the river, creating lakes in which sediments are deposited. When the dam breaks, a basin of sediment is left behind. (19)

https://www.google.com/search?q=erosion+at+zion&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiympPr6tPTAhUrwYMKHat4DA0Q_AUICigB&biw=911&bih=425#q=erosion+at+zion&tbm=isch&tbs=rimg:CUWg5YLRKIloIjgx0hlrJVtEw1bGAKt_14hfwGkCbwZnMIZOvEHM5h2QcpcPLgOzTpPoh-A4VGx_1J5Bohc_1_1getrMRioSCTHSGWslW0TDETu8Gqx7cJ5IKhIJVsYAq3_1iF_1AR9DnMq9Io9VAqEgkaQJvBmcwhkxG1LfX2LBEkuioSCa8QczmHZBylEYoOdQGefvIvKhIJw8uA7NOk-iERd-B1cKYvbggqEgn4DhUbH8nkGhHQ8nnfqx17nCoSCSFz_1-B62sxGEYmElcz05TOi

Liquid water Impact

Water played a large role in the creation of Zion helping create what we now see as cliffs. Currently, different waterways and flash floods influence Zion. The Virgin River makes a large impact on the land, creating new landforms like valleys. Flash flooding causes a large impact because there is not enough soil to absorb the water, causing it to run downhill and help form the park today. (18)

https://www.google.com/search?q=water%27s+effect+on+zion&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiD9M-I1dPTAhUN0IMKHS-FDJgQ_AUICigB&biw=911&bih=425

Glaciers Impact

It was once thought that Zion’s Canyon was flat because of debris from an ancient glacier. However, scientists at the University of Utah now believe that the flat canyon is the result of a giant landslide that occurred 4,800 years ago. A massive landslide down Sentinel Canyon dammed the Virgin River and created a lake that lasted 700 years (16).