All photos were taken by Jett Dunlap.

Video of Zion and Bryce will be coming soon.

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Bryce National Park

The major feature of the park is Bryce Canyon which, despite its name, is not a canyon but a giant natural amphitheater created by erosion along the eastern side of the Paunsaugunt Plateau. Bryce is distinctive due to geological structures called hoodoos, formed by wind, water, and ice erosion of the river and lake bed sedimentary rocks. The red, orange, and white colors of the rocks provide spectacular views for park visitors. Bryce sits at a much higher elevation than nearby Zion National Park. The rim at Bryce varies from 8,000 to 9,000 feet (2,400 to 2,700 m).

The Bryce area was settled by Mormon pioneers in the 1850s and was named after Ebenezer Bryce, who homesteaded in the area in 1874.^[3] The area around Bryce Canyon became a U.S. National Monument in 1923 and was designated as a national park in 1928. The park covers 56 square miles (150 km²) and receives relatively few visitors compared to Zion National Park and the Grand Canyon, largely due to its remote location. The town of Kanab, Utah, is situated at a central point between these three parks.

Zion National Park

The beginning of the canyon is usually delineated as the Temple of Sinawava, a vertical-walled natural amphitheater nearly 3,000 feet (910 m) deep. The canyon actually begins much further upstream, however, and runs southward about 16 miles (26 km) through the Narrows to reach the Temple, where the North Fork plunges over a tall waterfall. The gorge then runs southwest through the national park, approaching 2,000 feet (610 m) deep in places. While the canyon rim is dominated by desert, the canyon floor supports a forest and riparian zone watered by the North Fork Virgin River. The gorge then merges with Pine Creek Canyon as it winds out of the national park and past the community of Springdale. The canyon’s end is where it meets the Virgin River, some 100 miles (160 km) northeast of Lake Mead, which the river ultimately flows into.^{[2] [3]}

Zion Canyon Drive and Zion-Mount Carmel Highway are the two major roads throughout the canyon. Zion Canyon Drive ends at the Temple of Sinawava, where hiking trails follow the river upstream to the Emerald Pools. Hiking trails further upstream descend into the Narrows, where the canyon floor is on average 20 feet (6.1 m) wide. Hiking is permitted in the Narrows when water levels are low enough, however, flash floods are known to rise quickly following heavy rainstorms. Many areas in the drainage of Zion Canyon have little or no soil cover, contributing to extremely brief but heavy storm runoff. In contrast, the floor of most of the main Zion Canyon is close to 1,000 feet (300 m) wide, and is rich with river-deposited sediments. Tributaries to the river within the canyon include Deep, Kolob, Goose, Pine, and Oak Creeks.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zion_Canyon

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bryce_Canyon_National_Park

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