Not wanting to string this out too long, I’m grouping some photographs together in single posts. This set includes three from Zion Canyon, near the road’s end and the beginning of the route into the Narrows. (My hiking on this visit was largely limited to this short walk, as I had messed up my knee a few days earlier.)
I find the juxtaposition of canyon trees, especially when the foliage is taking on fall colors, and the sandstone cliff walls to be irresistible. Here the trees are mostly cottonwoods — including some very large and old specimens — and perhaps a few box elders. The coloration of the sandstone in this part of the world varies, sometimes in obvious ways (such as the contrasting red and white layers higher in the park) and sometimes more subtly. Here the contrast is subtle, with some of these rocks picking up an almost purple quality, which is then further modified by the color of light reflecting down from canyon walls high above.
Cottonwood Tree, Sandstone Cliff. Zion National Park, Utah. October 29, 2014. © Copyright 2014 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
And old cottonwood tree towers over streamside autumn foliage deep in a sandstone canyon
This giant and magnificent tree stands near a trail junction in a curve of the canyon, from some angle forming an impressive centerpiece of this amphitheater-like location.
Box Elder, Autumn. Zion National Park, Utah. October 29, 2014. © Copyright 2014 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Box elder trees with autumn foliage along the base of a sandstone cliff
The box elder trees provide much the same fall color as the aspens, but they have a more delicate form, with thinner branches that seem to more likely bend and drop toward the ground.
Autumn Color and Sandstone Cliff. Zion National Park, Utah. October 29, 2014. © Copyright 2014 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Autumn color along a canyon stream at the base of sandstone cliffs
These colorful trees are just a few of many that grow along the edges of the Virgin River as it flows right along the base of this sandstone cliff at the bottom of the canyon.
G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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