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Show Zion Canyon Park j Is Valuable Asset To Southern Utah Massive rock mountains which are painted in rainbow hues and which tower up a half or two-I two-I thirds of a mile, are among the 'remarkable formations to be found in Zion National park, one of the ."southern Utah park.-," groups of which Grand Canyon National park also is one. Zion has an area of m arly 150 miles, and includes in-cludes the colorful Zion canyon. It i is reached by only the Union Pacific Paci-fic railroad at Lvnd, from which ' bu.-es make park tours. The principal color feature is the combination of a brilliant red lower section and a white top on j most of the formations, brought lout with unusial force in the lofty I Great White throne, which rises 2,500 feet, nearly half a mile, above the canyon floor. So inacees-ible arc- the sheer cliffs of this great laiflmaik that park authorities will not permit any attempt to j scale the peak. j Zion National park takes it-name it-name from that given to the canyon can-yon by the early Mormon settlers. Deeply religious, they found in the awesome surroundings of the can-j yon constant reminders of the deity. This thought is expressed further in the names of many of the other formations, including j East ankJ West temples, Angels' landing, etc. i Man has done his part to make ' Zion National park one of the out-j out-j standing scenic spots of the coun-. coun-. try. Nearly half of Mount Carmel highway, whose 24 miles cost ?2,- 000,000 to build and which is con-i con-i sidered one of the unusual engi-; engi-; neering accomplishments of the ! day, lies in the park. In order to pill the road through the rock-ri'.bed park, it was necessary to build a tinnel more than a mile long through solrd rock. In six places whore the tunnel went near the cliff, giant "windows" "win-dows" were chiseled out, offering panoramic view? of startling beauty to motorists passing through the tunnel. In other parts of the park, this unusual highway; doubles back and forth to get up ; over the cliff walls of the canyon. In an area of half a square mile, there is three and a half miles of i-oad. Scientific research has disclosed numerous evidences of cliff dwellers dwell-ers in Zion canyon. It is believed that these prehistoric people made hunting forays into the surrourtd-ir.g surrourtd-ir.g territory and possibly even farmed the fertile floor of the canyon can-yon and retired to their cliff homes at night for safety. Zion National park is an ideal spot for the tourist who wants to) "explore". Competent guides and sure-footed horses are available for absorbing jaunts over trails that are safe but which are sure to furnish a maximum of thrills. The park's official "season" is from May 15 to October 15, normally, nor-mally, but the winter visitor has a real treat in store, as the vivid coloring offers a splendid contrast against the snow. In spring, melting melt-ing snows serfd countless waterfalls water-falls gushing out of the rocks all over the park, and some of them tumble a thousand feet before they break into spray. |