Earth from Space - Image Information


LOCATION Direction Photo #: ISS017-E-5351 Date: Apr. 2008
Geographic Region: USA-UTAH
Feature: ZION CANYON, INCISED PLATEAU


IMAGE
 
Zion National Park, Utah

Zion National Park is located in southwestern Utah, along the western margin of the Colorado Plateau. The park was established in 1919, after roadway improvements in southwestern Utah allowed access to the preceding Mukuntuweap National Monument (1909), located in Zion Canyon. The towering cliffs bounding the North Fork of the Virgin River are formed mainly of tan to light pink Navajo Sandstone, the remains of a sand dune sea that covered the area during the early Mesozoic Era, nearly 200 million years ago. At that point in its history, the Zion region would have looked much like the present-day Sahara Desert.

Younger, brown rock that caps the Navajo Sandstone (image right) records how the environment fluctuated between shallow seas and deserts. This high-resolution astronaut photograph illustrates the incised nature of the bedrock in the park. The long linear features are fractures in the rock-joints--caused by tectonic stresses. The mainly north-northwest trending joints channel water runoff, and they appear to be the main factor that determined the present canyon network.

While the park is perhaps best experienced by hiking, backpacking, or biking, Utah State Route 9 (SR-9) provides automobile access up the side of Zion Canyon. The road is visible in the astronaut photograph as a thin brown line climbing the south wall of the canyon (lower left; more obvious in the large image). Access to the rest of the park is provided by a shuttle bus system instituted in 2000 to reduce vehicle noise, improve air quality, and improve wildlife habitat.


Images: All Available Images Low-Resolution 284k
Mission: ISS017  
Roll - Frame: E - 5351
Geographical Name: USA-UTAH  
Features: ZION CANYON, INCISED PLATEAU  
Center Lat x Lon: 37.2N x 112.9W
Film Exposure:   N=Normal exposure, U=Under exposed, O=Over exposed, F=out of Focus
Percentage of Cloud Cover-CLDP: 10
 
Camera:: N2
 
Camera Tilt: 9   LO=Low Oblique, HO=High Oblique, NV=Near Vertical
Camera Focal Length: 800  
 
Nadir to Photo Center Direction: W   The direction from the nadir to the center point, N=North, S=South, E=East, W=West
Stereo?:   Y=Yes there is an adjacent picture of the same area, N=No there isn't
Orbit Number: 2043  
 
Date: 20080426   YYYYMMDD
Time: 212448   GMT HHMMSS
Nadir Lat: 37.2N  
Latitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Nadir Lon: 112.4W  
Longitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Sun Azimuth: 236   Clockwise angle in degrees from north to the sun measured at the nadir point
Space Craft Altitude: 180   nautical miles
Sun Elevation: 55   Angle in degrees between the horizon and the sun, measured at the nadir point
Land Views: DESERT, DUNE, PLATEAU  
Water Views: CHANNEL, RIVER, SEA  
Atmosphere Views:  
Man Made Views:  
City Views:  

Photo is not associated with any sequences


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