Also found in this section of the park is Kolob Arch with its span of 310 feet, one of the longest freestanding arches in the world. The arch can be reached by hiking 7 miles from Lee Pass along the La Verkin Creek Trail. Punctuating the Zion-Mt. Carmel Highway is a one-mile tunnel blasted out of solid sandstone. Begun in 1927 and completed in 1930, it was considered at the time to be something close to a miracle in engineering.
Visitors still use the tunnel when entering the park from the east.
Near the tunnel in the eastern part of Zion is the Checkerboard Mesa, a prominent example of naturally sculpted rock art. Horizontal lines, the remnants of ancient sand beds, are etched into a checkerboard pattern by vertical fractures that have been enlarged over the years by runoff from rains and melting snows.