The Sundial (Zion National Park)
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The Sundial is a elevation white
Navajo Sandstone The Navajo Sandstone is a geological formation in the Glen Canyon Group that is spread across the U.S. states of southern Nevada, northern Arizona, northwest Colorado, and Utah as part of the Colorado Plateau province of the United States.Anonymou ...
summit located in
Zion National Park Zion National Park is an American national park located in southwestern Utah near the town of Springdale. Located at the junction of the Colorado Plateau, Great Basin, and Mojave Desert regions, the park has a unique geography and a variety ...
, in Washington County of southwest
Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
, United States.


Description

The Sundial is situated in the "Towers of the Virgin", west of Zion's park headquarters, towering above the floor of
Zion Canyon Zion Canyon (also called Little Zion, Mukuntuweap, Mu-Loon'-Tu-Weap, and Straight Cañon; ''weap'' is Paiute for canyon) is a deep and narrow gorge in southwestern Utah, United States, carved by the North Fork of the Virgin River. Nearly the entir ...
and the
Virgin River The Virgin River is a tributary of the Colorado River in the U.S. states of Utah, Nevada, and Arizona. The river is about long.Calculated with Google Maps and Google Earth It was designated Utah's first wild and scenic river in 2009, during the ...
which drains precipitation
runoff Runoff, run-off or RUNOFF may refer to: * RUNOFF, the first computer text-formatting program * Runoff or run-off, another name for bleed, printing that lies beyond the edges to which a printed sheet is trimmed * Runoff or run-off, a stock market ...
from this mountain. Its nearest higher neighbor is
The West Temple The West Temple is a prominent 7,810-foot (2,380 m) mountain summit composed of Navajo Sandstone in Zion National Park in Washington County of Utah, United States. This, the highest feature in Zion Canyon, was originally called "''Temp-o-i-tin-ca ...
, one half mile to the southeast, and
Altar of Sacrifice Altar of Sacrifice is a Navajo Sandstone mountain in Zion National Park in Washington County, Utah, United States, that is part of the Towers of the Virgin. Description Altar of Sacrifice is situated west-northwest of Zion's park headquarter ...
is set approximately one mile to the north-northeast. Other neighbors include
The Witch Head The Witch Head is a white Navajo Sandstone mountain in Zion National Park in Washington County, Utah, United States, that is part of the Towers of the Virgin. Description The Witch Head is situated west of Zion's park headquarters, towering ...
,
Bee Hive A beehive is an enclosed structure in which some honey bee species of the subgenus '' Apis'' live and raise their young. Though the word ''beehive'' is commonly used to describe the nest of any bee colony, scientific and professional literature ...
, The Sentinel,
Mount Spry } Mount Spry is a small 5,720-ft elevation mountain summit made of Navajo Sandstone located in Zion National Park, in Washington County of southwest Utah, United States. Officially named in 1934, it honors William Spry (1864-1929), the third gove ...
, Bridge Mountain, and
Mount Kinesava Mount Kinesava is a sandstone mountain summit located in Zion National Park, in Washington County of southwest Utah, United States. Description Mount Kinesava is located immediately west of Springdale, towering above the town and the floor ...
. This geographical feature was named by the park's third superintendent, Preston P. Patraw, because it had long been used as a
sundial A sundial is a horological device that tells the time of day (referred to as civil time in modern usage) when direct sunlight shines by the apparent position of the Sun in the sky. In the narrowest sense of the word, it consists of a flat ...
to regulate clocks in the nearby town of Grafton. The Sundial's name was officially adopted in 1934 by the
U.S. Board on Geographic Names The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) is a federal body operating under the United States Secretary of the Interior. The purpose of the board is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geographic names throughout the federal govern ...
.


Climate

Spring and fall are the most favorable seasons to visit The Sundial. According to the
Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
system, it is located in a
Cold semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...
zone, which is defined by the coldest month having an average mean temperature below , and at least 50% of the total annual precipitation being received during the spring and summer. This desert climate receives less than of annual rainfall, and snowfall is generally light during the winter.


Gallery

File:The Sundial from the Chinle Trail.jpg, West aspect of Sundial. West Temple to right File:Temple's Peak, Zion National Park - panoramio.jpg, The Sundial centered, from the southwest File:Classic Zion (23864216807).jpg, The West Temple (left), The Sundial, The Witch Head, Altar of Sacrifice (right) File:The West Temple (left) with the Towers of the Virgin.jpg, The West Temple (left), The Sundial, The Witch Head, Altar of Sacrifice (right) File:Towers of the Virgin.jpg, Towers of the Virgin. Left to right:The Sundial, The Witch Head, Broken Tooth, Rotten Tooth, Altar of Sacrifice (upper right). File:Sundial Witch Head.jpg, The Sundial (left) and The Witch Head (right) File:The West Temple, Zion National Park, Utah.jpg, The West Temple (left), The Sundial (right) File:Cemetery, Grafton Ghost Town, 4-30-14g (14306852474).jpg, Mt. Kinesava (centered), The Sundial to left, seen from Grafton cemetery File:Morning Fog on the Towers of the Virgin.jpg, The Sundial (left), The Witch Head, Broken Tooth, Rotten Tooth, Altar of Sacrifice. File:Moonset and Towers of the Virgin (5015826076).jpg, Moon over The Sundial File:The Sundial from Chinle Trail.jpg, The Sundial from Chinle Trail


See also

*
List of mountains in Utah Mountains in Utah are numerous and have varying elevations and prominences. Kings Peak, in the Uinta Mountains in Duchesne County, Utah, is the highest point in the state and has the greatest prominence. It has elevation and prominence . It ...
*
Geology of the Zion and Kolob canyons area The geology of the Zion and Kolob canyons area includes nine known exposed formations, all visible in Zion National Park in the U.S. state of Utah. Together, these formations represent about 150 million years of mostly Mesozoic-aged sedimenta ...
*
Colorado Plateau The Colorado Plateau, also known as the Colorado Plateau Province, is a physiographic and desert region of the Intermontane Plateaus, roughly centered on the Four Corners region of the southwestern United States. This province covers an area of ...


References


External links


Zion National Park
National Park Service
Weather forecast


{{DEFAULTSORT:Sundial, The (Zion National Park) Mountains of Utah Zion National Park Mountains of Washington County, Utah Sandstone formations of the United States Landforms of Washington County, Utah North American 2000 m summits