Facts About Zion National Park

Zion National Park is a recognized National Park, and is open for tours in the Southwest US.  The park is located near Springdale, Utah.

Here is a list of some of the interesting facts about Zion National Park:

  • The park is named after the Hebrew word, “Zion.”  This word translates as “a place of peace and relaxation.”
  • In Zion National Park there is an area called Weeping Rock.  In this area, the water that can be seen oozing from the rock surfaces has taken more than 1,000 years to travel through the stone from its source in a natural, underground spring.
  • The popular movie “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” was filmed near Zion National Park, at the ghost town of Grafton.
  • The Virgin River which runs through the park has four native fish species: Virgin River Spinedace, Speckled Dace, Flannelmouth Sucker, and Desert Sucker.
  • Over 124,000 acres of Zion were declared by the US government as wilderness in March 2009, which protects the area against any future development and guarantees the preservation of its natural beauty.
  • One of the most endangered species of bird, the California condor, as well as peregrine falcons are among the many bird species found in Zion.  Currently, there are 288 bird species known to exist in the park.
  • The world’s longest tunnel is 1.1 miles long.  It is located in Zion National Park and is known as the Zion-Mt. Carmel tunnel.  It was opened and dedicated on July 4, 1930.
  • In 2002, the Olympic Torch passed through Zion National Park on its way to Salt Lake City.
  • One of the word’s largest freestanding natural arches is located in Zion’s backcountry.  Kolob Arch measures about 287 feet in length.
  • There are many canyons in Zion that are so well hidden that most early surveyors missed them completely.  There were actually canyons in Zion that are more than twenty miles long that went completely un-noticed by surveyors for years!
  • Zion has one of the most diverse in Utah.  There are currently over 900 species of plants recognized as existing in the park.
  • There has been a human population of Zion Canyon for more than 8,000 years.