“Hanging Gardens” (Zion National Park, Utah)
A “hanging garden” in Ohio would require a shepherd’s pole or sturdy tree limb, but in Zion National Park, we found such gardens trailing from the edges of sheer cliffs. The Weeping Rock Trail was an easy stroll that provided identifications for some of the intriguing plant life we had admired during our park stay and ended beneath a dripping cliff resplendent with blooming greenery.
We wondered “why…”
And “how…?”
Zion’s majestic peaks are comprised predominately of porous sandstone, a tangible reminder of their sand dune origin. This sandstone absorbs rainfall with the thirst of a giant sponge. The moisture then trickles down through the rock layers until it reaches impenetrable slate. With its downward path now cut off, the water flows out horizontally, eventually reaching daylight at cliff’s edge, a process that can take hundreds of years! According to our shuttle bus driver that afternoon, one sample of water was determined to have had a journey of 4000 years from absorption to its reappearance as drips down a rock wall!
The rather elegant result of the sandstone’s perch upon slate is the hanging gardens, whimsical oases that dangle from a desert wall of solidified sand.
More on Utah:
“Road to Zion (National Park, Utah)”
“Into ‘The Narrows’ (Zion National Park, Utah)”
“The Subway (Zion National Park, Utah) Part One”
“The Subway (Zion National Park, Utah) Part Two”
“Court of the Patriarchs and The Emerald Pools of Zion (National Park, Utah)”
“Hanging Gardens (Zion National Park, Utah)”
“Hoodoo Heaven” (Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah)
“Smokey the Bear and Tibetan Monks? I Must be in Boulder (Utah)… ”
“Dogs and Cars -but not Cows…” (Boulder, Utah)
“The Cows… Part One (Boulder, Utah)”
“The Cows… Part Two (Boulder, Utah)”
“Pictographs at Lower Calf Creek Falls (Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah)”
“The Goosenecks at Capitol Reef National Park (Utah)”
“Hiking ‘Smart’ in Grand Wash (Capitol Reef National Park, Utah)”
“The Lodge at Red River Ranch (Teasdale, Utah)”
“Of Pictographs and Petroglyphs…”
“A Reef in the Desert (Capitol Reef National Park)”
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what a magic “Hanging Garden”!
I hope I can get a chance visit there!
I particularly love the last shot. Just a thought HD…just wondered if setting the pics so that when clicked it gives a popup allowing a much larger view…
Zion National Park is a treasure trove of beauty!
We spent a summer in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and they also have some beautiful hanging gardens.
I love the colour contrast of the green garden and the red Zion rock. Nice photos.
hello … good night i was here
iWalk and Jean-Luc,
The hanging gardens were truly lovely. And the mist spraying from the cliff felt pretty wonderful on that hot summer day…!
JollyJo,
I’ve wanted to do that! I don’t know how… Any suggestions?
MsJoan,
It’s been years since I’ve visited Glen Canyon. What a great summer that must have been!
Thanks Mark H,
The vibrant color contrasts really caught my attention too! Wild flowers really “pop” against that red dirt…
Thanks for the visit Tozie!
That looks like a beautiful place.
You are lucky to have visited somewhere as tranquil as that.
I would love to see a park like that.
Thanks Julie. Our Utah trip was definitely a major blessing! I hope you get the chance to visit Zion NP someday…