Zion Canyon National Park is one of the most beautiful and spectacular areas in the United States. It is a 229 square mile protected area located near Springdale Utah, and features Zion Canyon, which is 15 miles long and roughly 1/2 mile deep. The Canyon was cut through Navajo sandstone by the Virgin River over the course of thousands of years. The first human settlements in the area were around 8,000 years ago, and the US government established it as a national park with full protections on November 19, 1919. Since that point, the area has been off limits for any form of development, ensuring it's unspoiled nature and preserving it's beauty. Zion has always been a popular tourist location to visit for hiking, photography, camping and outdoor activities, but over the course of recent years has seen a decline in visitation numbers along with most other national parks. The debate over federal funding for the upkeep of areas that did not bring in enough tourism money to support themselves has gone on for years, with development and natural resources companies attempting to loosen protections and open the areas up to development, but as it stands today Zion remains under federal protection and has not been sold to private industry or companies. This may be in part due to a large scale advertising campaign over the course of the last two years that drew attention to the national parks system, and highlit national parks of the American southwest in particular. This campaign was successful at raising interest and tourism numbers at nearly every national park in the area, however numbers at Zion increased far more than other parks. The reason for this may be it's close proximity to Las Vegas, being only a short 2.5 hour drive from the city.
Zion Canyon National Park is one of the most beautiful and spectacular areas in the United States. It is a 229 square mile protected area