The Idaho Springs siftings-news., 1919-11-28

~ ference amendment
Californians-always the best of boosters-have
long contended that Yosemite valley is the
preme expression of scenic loveliness They hold
that there is nothing like 1t earth To them
the valley whose compelling beauty the world
acknowledges supreme" But Utah enthus-
lasts believe that when Zions beauty is known to
the public Yosemite will be put in the second
rank OF course the Zion National park will
hardly rank with Yosemite as a national park
for the latter contains 1892 acres, while the
former will have only 76SOO acres But the con-
test in loveliness between Yosemite valley and
Zion canon is likely to be close and Interesting.
Yellowstone National park in Wyoming, Mon
taha and Idaho, as everybody knows, the first
national park to be established 1S72) in the
world 1t is our oldest and largest and most
famous scenic natural park. Its geysers and bears
| heve made its name worldwide household word
| Yosemite in California, established in 1890 is
sc'ircely less famous all the world knows of its
waterfalls and its big trees-the Oldest and
largest living things in the world. And Yosemite
valley its greatest beauty, is familiar to every
| one through pictures 1t is visited yearly by thou
| sands; this the attendance was 1864
The proposed Zion National park lies In south
| ern Utah. about POO miles south of Salt Lake
City. The state has made It accessible to the
| tourist by building 100 miles of automobile high
| way from Lund the Salt Lake route The Ar
| rowhead trail from Salt Lake City is also avail
| able. President Taft in 1909 created the Mum
kuntuweap national monument of 1880 to
| preserve tne WOnuefIully scenic area OF tne
canon of the Rio Virgin. In recent years other
scenic canons discovered. and in 1918 Presi-
dent Wilson enlarged the national monument to
| 76,S00 acres and changed its name to Zion In
| the debate over the Zion National park bill in the
house Representative yelling of Utah said in
| part
This region obtained its Zion canon be-
cause of the devout reverence of the Mormon
| pioneers who settled upon the Virgin river more
than go years ago. Its perpendicular walls pre-
| l.Ia
| Indians, who infested these regions and these
| people looked upon Zion a convenient
and hospitabe refuge when threatened by at
tack from these troublesome Indian tribes. Zion
| canon is an extraordinary gorge from bril-
| liantly colored sedimentary rocks by the north
| fork of the Virgin river Its proportions
| about equal to those of Yosemite valley in Yo-
| semitic National park; the walls several hun
| dred feet lower and the canon Is considerably
narrower. In the cutting of the gorge however
| the torrental stream and wind and rain have
| carved domes. spires towers and other curious
| forms that strikingly resemble many of the fea
| lures of Yosemite valley.
| More interesting than the carving of lions
| cliffs is their exquisite cooring. Red predomi-
| mates, as it does in the Grand in Arizona,
| but there amazing combinations of brown,
| black, and white colors with the red and with
| each other. White sandstone is superlmposed on
the red strata, and other layers of the red rock
| lie in turn upon the white. The action of water
| produced symphony of color that gives the
| canon its greatest charm. The finishing touches
| are given by the forests of the valley floor and
the trees on the rim and in the inches Of the
nearly perpendicular canon walls"
Until recently Zion has been practically mac
| cessible and scarcely tens have seen 1t where
thousands have Yosemite. But Zion's visi-
| tors have paid eloquent tribute. The Indians
called it Munkuntuweap-Lan of God-because
| it was so beautiful. The fierce Mormon zealot
| named it Little Zion" because of its heav-
| enly beauty Away back in the seventies
| John Wesley Powell of Grand canon fame
| was tempted far out of his way by the exceeding
| beauty of temple of rock "lifting its opaescent
| shoulders against the eastern sky 1t was the
| vermon body and shining white dome of the
| West Temple of the Virgin ut the entrance to
| Munkuntuweap.
| Again impressed with the marvellous
beauty of outline. the infinite complication OF
these titanic buttes. 1t is doubtful if in this re-
Grand offers more varied spectacle; yet
| all is welded together in Il superb ensemble II.
S. Dellenbaugh. topographer of the Powell party,
| wrote this on his second visit.
Nothing exceed the wondrous beauty of
| Zion canon" wrote C. E. Dutton "In its proper
4 tons 1t is about equal to Yosemite. but in the
4 nobility and beauty of its sculptures there is no
| comparison. 1t is Hyperion to Satyr'