The Narrows is the narrowest section of Zion Canyon in Zion National Park, Utah, United States. Situated on the North Fork of the Virgin River and upstream of the main canyon, The Narrows is one of the premier hikes in the park and on the Colorado Plateau. The Narrows refers to both the 3.6-mile (5.8 km) bottom-up hike from the Temple of Sinawava to Big Springs, as well as the 16-mile (26 km) top-down hike from Chamberlain's Ranch back to the Temple of Sinawava. [1]
Mormon Pioneer and Explorer Nephi Johnson was guided to Zion Canyon in November 1858 by a friendly Paiute Indian, and was probably the first European-American to see The Narrows. Soon after, in 1861 and 1862, the towns of Virgin and Springdale, just south of Zion Canyon, were founded. The next year, Isaac Behunin built a cabin in upper Zion Canyon for summer farming. [2]
The Narrows was descended (and named) in 1872 by geologist and explorer Grove Karl Gilbert as part of the Wheeler Survey. His party traveled from Navajo Lake through the Narrows to Zion Canyon and Springdale on horseback. John Wesley Powell had traversed the nearby Parunaweap Canyon (the East Fork of the Virgin) earlier in the same year. [3]
From when Zion became a National Park (1919), tourists were guided up the Narrows on horseback well into the 1960s. The through-hike of The Narrows became popular starting in the late 1960s.
The Virgin River runs south through upland aspen forest from near Navajo Lake at 9,200 feet (2,800 m) elevation, 11 miles (18 km) to Chamberlain's Ranch, 5,900 feet (1,800 m) where the through-hike of The Narrows starts. The river turns west and a gorge starts to form within 2 miles (3.2 km). By the time the North Fork enters Zion National Park, 5 miles (8 km) from Chamberlain's Ranch, the gorge is 500 feet (150 m) deep. three and a half miles (5.6 km) further, at the confluence with Deep Creek, the gorge is 1,300 feet (400 m) deep, and the combined river turns south. The gorge from here is continuous and has vertical sandstone walls from 40 to 100 feet (12 to 30 m) apart, with pockets of forest on both sides. From Deep Creek to Big Spring is 2.7 miles (4.3 km). At Big Spring, the canyon narrows again, and the true Narrows begin. For most of the next 3.6-mile (5.8 km) stretch to the Mouth of the Narrows, the river runs wall to wall, with vertical sandstone cliffs on both sides. A mile (1.6 km) south of the Mouth of the Narrows is the Temple of Sinawava, where the river enters main Zion Canyon, a flat-floored, quarter- to half-mile-wide (400 to 800 m) canyon with sandstone mountains on each side, their summits 2,400 feet (730 m) above. Eight miles (13 km) further south, where the canyon widens again, is the town of Springdale and the southern boundary of Zion National Park.
Hiking The Narrows is arguably the quintessential Zion experience. [4] The Narrows can be hiked either as a top-down through-hike from Chamberlain Ranch to the Temple of Sinawava, or as an up-and-back bottom-up hike from the Temple of Sinawava. Hiking is done largely in the river as, for a third of the route, the river runs canyon wall to canyon wall. Water levels change from season to season; most hikers will wade at least waist-deep and many will swim a few short sections.
The Narrows hike from the bottom up starts at the Temple of Sinawava and ends as far as Big Springs at the 4.3-mile mark. This hike requires a permit. Around the first bend is Mystery Falls, the exit point for Mystery Canyon. At the 2.5-mile point is Orderville Canyon, beyond which lies the Wall Street section of the Narrows, named after the sheer cliff walls surrounding the trail. After this section, the water gets periodically deeper and may require swimming in certain areas. One will need to negotiate a series of boulders at the 4-mile mark, and reach Big Springs at the 4.3-mile mark, where one is required to turn around. The entire hike up to Big Springs is 8.6 miles and may require up to 8 hours. [4]
The through-hike can be done in a day or as a two-day backpack trip. [5] Chamberlain's Ranch is accessed by the dirt North Fork Road east of the Park, and is situated in a rolling forest of aspen and scrub oak. No sign of the gorge ahead can be seen from the ranch. The hiker proceeds down the river and into an ever-deepening gorge, eventually getting to The Narrows and ending at the Temple of Sinawava. The hike is 16 miles (26 km) long and is very tiring because it is in the river itself. Permits are required before hiking the Narrows from the top and can be obtained at the Zion National Park Wilderness Desk. Reservations should be made ahead of time as permits can be difficult to get during the summer months.[ citation needed ]
Hiking in the river is strenuous. The water is often murky and the bottom of the river is covered with rocks about the size of bowling balls. This makes proper footwear and bringing in trekking poles or a walking stick essential. The Narrows may be closed in the spring due to flooding while the snow melts off the upland areas to the north if the flow rate is higher than 120 cubic feet per second (3.4 m3/s). Thunderstorms can cause The Narrows to flash flood during the summer. Rain showers upriver can cause flash floods in the canyon without it raining over the canyon itself. Thus, hikers should exercise caution when hiking The Narrows during rainy periods as the winding canyon and sheer walls make approaching flash floods all the more sudden and difficult to evade.[ citation needed ]
The Virgin River is a tributary of the Colorado River in the U.S. states of Utah, Nevada, and Arizona. The river is about 162 miles (261 km) long. It was designated Utah's first wild and scenic river in 2009, during the centennial celebration of Zion National Park.
The geology of the Zion and Kolob canyons area includes nine known exposed formations, all visible in Zion National Park in the U.S. state of Utah. Together, these formations represent about 150 million years of mostly Mesozoic-aged sedimentation in that part of North America. Part of a super-sequence of rock units called the Grand Staircase, the formations exposed in the Zion and Kolob area were deposited in several different environments that range from the warm shallow seas of the Kaibab and Moenkopi formations, streams and lakes of the Chinle, Moenave, and Kayenta formations to the large deserts of the Navajo and Temple Cap formations and dry near shore environments of the Carmel Formation.
Zion Canyon is a deep and narrow gorge in southwestern Utah, United States, carved by the North Fork of the Virgin River. Nearly the entire canyon is located within the western half of Zion National Park.
State Route 9 (SR-9) is a 57.075-mile-long (91.853 km) state highway in southern Utah, serving Zion National Park. It starts at the western terminus at exit 16 on Interstate 15 (I-15), passing through Zion National Park, and ending at the eastern junction with U.S. Route 89 (US-89). The entire length of the highway has been designated the Zion Park Scenic Byway. There is a fee to travel through Zion National Park, but the Zion-Mt. Carmel Highway is open to private vehicles year-round. A separate fee is required for vehicles 7'10" wide and/or 11'4" tall or larger. This fee pays for a park employee to stop traffic from the other side of the Zion - Mt. Carmel Tunnel to allow the larger vehicles to pass through. There is a smaller tunnel in Zion National Park that does not require an escort. Commercial vehicles are prohibited from using SR-9 and are directed to use SR-20 instead.
Angels Landing, known previously as the Temple of Aeolus, is a 1,488-foot (454 m) tall rock formation in Zion National Park in southwestern Utah, United States. A renowned trail cut into solid rock in 1926 leads to the top of Angels Landing and provides panoramic views of Zion Canyon.
Zion National Park is an American national park located in southwestern Utah near the town of Springdale. Located at the junction of the Colorado Plateau, Great Basin, and Mojave Desert regions, the park has a unique geography and a variety of life zones that allow for unusual plant and animal diversity. Numerous plant species as well as 289 species of birds, 75 mammals, and 32 reptiles inhabit the park's four life zones: desert, riparian, woodland, and coniferous forest. Zion National Park includes mountains, canyons, buttes, mesas, monoliths, rivers, slot canyons, and natural arches. The lowest point in the park is 3,666 ft (1,117 m) at Coalpits Wash and the highest peak is 8,726 ft (2,660 m) at Horse Ranch Mountain. A prominent feature of the 229-square-mile (590 km2) park is Zion Canyon, which is 15 miles (24 km) long and up to 2,640 ft (800 m) deep. The canyon walls are reddish and tan-colored Navajo Sandstone eroded by the North Fork of the Virgin River.
The Zion – Mount Carmel Highway is a 25-mile (40 km) long road in Washington and Kane counties in southern Utah, United States, that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.
The historical buildings and structures of Zion National Park represent a variety of buildings, interpretive structures, signs and infrastructure associated with the National Park Service's operations in Zion National Park, Utah. Structures vary in size and scale from the Zion Lodge to road culverts and curbs, nearly all of which were designed using native materials and regional construction techniques in an adapted version of the National Park Service Rustic style. A number of the larger structures were designed by Gilbert Stanley Underwood, while many of the smaller structures were designed or coordinated with the National Park Service Branch of Plans and Designs. The bulk of the historic structures date to the 1920s and 1930s. Most of the structures of the 1930s were built using Civilian Conservation Corps labor.
The Colorado River is a major river of the western United States and northwest Mexico in North America. Its headwaters are in the Rocky Mountains where La Poudre Pass Lake is its source. Located in north central Colorado it flows southwest through the Colorado Plateau country of western Colorado, southeastern Utah and northwestern Arizona where it flows through the Grand Canyon. It turns south near Las Vegas, Nevada, forming the Arizona–Nevada border in Lake Mead and the Arizona–California border a few miles below Davis Dam between Laughlin, Nevada and Needles, California before entering Mexico in the Colorado Desert. Most of its waters are diverted into the Imperial Valley of Southern California. In Mexico its course forms the boundary between Sonora and Baja California before entering the Gulf of California. This article describes most of the major features along the river.
Bee Hive is a 6,904 feet (2,104 m) Navajo Sandstone mountain in Zion National Park in Washington County, Utah, United States, that is part of the Towers of the Virgin.
The West Temple is a prominent 7,810-foot mountain summit composed of Navajo Sandstone in Zion National Park in Washington County of Utah, United States. This, the highest feature in Zion Canyon, was originally called "Temp-o-i-tin-car-ur" meaning "Mountain without a trail" by the Paiute people. It was called Steamboat Mountain by local Mormon settlers before 1934, when the USGS officially changed it to its present name, which was applied by John Wesley Powell during his explorations in 1872. West Temple is situated two miles northwest of Springdale, Utah, one mile northeast of Mount Kinesava, and two miles west of the park headquarters. It is one of the notable landmarks in the park. The nearest higher peak is Windy Peak, 10.46 miles (16.83 km) to the north. Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains into tributaries of the Virgin River.
The Watchman is a 6,545-foot (1,995 m) sandstone mountain summit located in Zion National Park, in Washington County of southwest Utah, United States.
Mount Kinesava is a 7,285-foot (2,220 m) sandstone mountain summit located in Zion National Park, in Washington County of southwest Utah, United States.
Johnson Mountain is a 6,106-foot (1,861 m) Navajo Sandstone summit located in Zion National Park, in Washington County of southwest Utah, United States.
The Sentinel is a 7,120+ ft elevation Navajo Sandstone summit located near the Court of the Patriarchs in Zion National Park, in Washington County of southwest Utah, United States, that is part of the Towers of the Virgin. The national park map lists the elevation as 7,157-feet.
Observation Point is a 6,507-foot (1,983 m) elevation Navajo Sandstone feature located in Zion National Park, in Washington County of southwest Utah, United States. Observation Point is situated at the north end of Zion Canyon, towering 2,100 feet above the canyon floor and the North Fork of the Virgin River which drains precipitation runoff from this viewpoint. A popular 8-mile round-trip trail climbs from the Weeping Rock trailhead along Zion Canyon Road to reach the top. Neighbors visible from the point include The Great White Throne, Cathedral Mountain, Angels Landing, and Cable Mountain. This geographical feature's name was officially adopted in 1934 by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names.
Cable Mountain is a 6,940-foot (2,120 m) elevation Navajo Sandstone summit located in Zion National Park, in Washington County of southwest Utah, United States. Towering 2,600 feet above the floor of Zion Canyon at the Big Bend area, Cable Mountain is situated immediately northeast of The Great White Throne, separated by the chasm of Hidden Canyon. It is set on the east side of the North Fork Virgin River which drains precipitation runoff from this mountain. Its neighbors include Angels Landing, Cathedral Mountain, The Organ, and Observation Point. This mountain's name was officially adopted in 1934 by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names. It is so named in association with the draw-works which used cables to lower timber from the top of the plateau down to the valley bottom from 1901 through 1927. Wood to construct the Zion Lodge came down the cable works. A 7.4-mile trail, much of it an old wagon road, leads to the views from the top.
Three Marys are three sandstone pillars in Zion National Park in Washington County, Utah, United States.
Shunesburg Mountain is a 5,960-foot (1,820 m) mountain in Zion National Park in Washington County, Utah, United States.
The Pulpit is a 4,600-foot (1,400 m) elevation Navajo Sandstone pillar located in Zion National Park, in Washington County of southwest Utah, United States. The Pulpit is situated in the Temple of Sinawava at the north end of Zion Canyon, rising 160 feet above the canyon floor and the North Fork of the Virgin River which drains precipitation runoff from this rock. It is a photographic icon seen from the parking area at the end of Zion Canyon Scenic Drive, and the entrance to The Narrows. Neighbors include Mountain of Mystery to the north, Observation Point to the southeast, Angels Landing and The Organ to the south, and Cathedral Mountain to the southwest. The first ascent was made April 15, 1967, by Fred Beckey, Eric Bjornstad, Hal Woodworth, Pat Callis, and Galen Rowell.
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