Zion Canyon Loop - The Most Scenic Drives in America: 120 Spectacular Road Trips - page 391

high, are composed of Navajo sandstone—the remains of ancient dunes. In some places,
dinosaur tracks send the imagination careering back to times when these giants walked the
Earth. Even Zion's human history dates from the Paiute Indians, who hunted there, to the
Anasazi, more than a thousand years earlier.
In the 1860s one of Brigham Young's enthusiastic pioneers, Isaac Behunin, is said to
have christened the area by proclaiming, “This is my Zion!” (The biblical reference names
the hill in Jerusalem where the Temple was built.)
Today's visitors, regardless of their religion, are similarly awed by the wonders here.
For the most direct access to the park's premier delights, follow the Zion Canyon Scenic
Drive into the seven-mile trench that forms the centerpiece of the park. The canyon was
carved over eons by the deceptively serene but relentless Virgin River. The canyon floor,
an oasis of cottonwoods and box elders, is surrounded by awesome rock formations. The
clusterofsky-highmonolithsknownastheCourtofthePatriarchsseemstosuggestameet-
ing of Titans. The Great White Throne, to the north, is a mass of Navajo sandstone with a
flat,palecrownthatsparklesinthesun.Toppedbyjuniperandpine,AngelsLandingforms
a high ridge on the canyon's western side. At the scenic spur's terminus the popular Gate-
way to the Narrows Trail leads up the river to a deep, narrow chasm.