Located at the junction of the Colorado Plateau, Great Basin, and Mojave Desert regions, the park has a unique geography and a variety of life zones that allow for unusual plant and animal diversity.

[4] Human habitation of the area started about 8,000 years ago with small family groups of Native Americans, one of which was the semi-nomadic Basketmaker Ancestral Puebloans (who used to be called Anasazi by early non-indigenous archeologists[5]) (c. 300 CE).

Subsequently, what has been called the Virgin Anasazi culture (c. 500) and the Parowan Fremont group developed as the Basketmakers settled in permanent communities.

At various periods in that time warm, shallow seas, streams, ponds and lakes, vast deserts, and dry near-shore environments covered the area.

[12] As stated in the foundation document:[13] The purpose of Zion National Park is to preserve the dramatic geology including Zion Canyon and a labyrinth of deep and brilliantly colored Navajo sandstone canyons formed by extraordinary processes of erosion at the margin of the Colorado Plateau; to safeguard the park's wilderness character and its wild and scenic river values; to protect evidence of human history; and to provide for scientific research and the enjoyment and enlightenment of the public.The park is located in southwestern Utah mostly in unincorporated areas in Washington,[14] Iron,[15] and Kane counties.

[17] Geomorphically, it is located on the Markagunt and Kolob plateaus, at the intersection of three North American geographic provinces: the Colorado Plateau, the Great Basin, and the Mojave Desert.

[21] The road into Zion Canyon is 6 miles (9.7 km) long, ending at the Temple of Sinawava, which is named for the coyote god of the Paiute Indians.

[23] The Zion Canyon road is served by a free shuttle bus from early April to late October and by private vehicles the other months of the year.

[24] Other notable geographic features of Zion Canyon include Angels Landing, The Great White Throne, the Court of the Patriarchs, The Sentinel, The West Temple, Towers of the Virgin, the Altar of Sacrifice, The Watchman, Weeping Rock, and the Emerald Pools.

The first human presence in the region dates to 8,000 years ago when family groups camped where they could hunt or collect plants and seeds.

[21] That year, a Southern Paiute guide led young Mormon missionary and interpreter Nephi Johnson into the upper Virgin River area and Zion Canyon.

[36] Powell Survey photographers John K. Hillers and James Fennemore first visited the Zion Canyon and Kolob Plateau region in the spring of 1872.

[37] Paintings of the canyon by Frederick S. Dellenbaugh were exhibited at the Saint Louis World's Fair in 1904,[21] followed by a favorable article in Scribner's Magazine the next year.

[39] Travel to the area before it was a national park was rare due to its remote location, lack of accommodations, and the absence of real roads in southern Utah.

[31] Architect Gilbert Stanley Underwood designed the Zion Lodge in a rustic architectural style, while the Utah Parks Company funded the construction.

[31] Work on the Zion – Mount Carmel Highway started in 1927 to enable reliable access between Springdale and the east side of the park.

[41] The most famous feature of the Zion – Mount Carmel Highway is its 1.1-mile (1.8 km) tunnel, which has six large windows cut through the massive sandstone cliff.

[21] In 1896, local rancher John Winder improved the Native American footpath up Echo Canyon, which later became the East Rim Trail.

[36] Zion National Park has been featured in numerous films, including The Deadwood Coach (1924), Arizona Bound (1927), Nevada (1927), Ramrod (1947) and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969).

Traffic congestion in the narrow canyon was recognized as a major problem in the 1990s and a public transportation system using propane-powered shuttle buses was instituted in the year 2000.

[46] Usually from early April through late October, the scenic drive in Zion Canyon is closed to private vehicles and visitors ride the shuttle buses.

[48] Over a period of two hours, the river carved away part of the only exit road from the canyon, trapping 450 guests and employees at the Zion Lodge.

[53] The nine known exposed geologic formations in Zion National Park are part of a super-sequence of rock units called the Grand Staircase.

[59] Common daytime animals include mule deer, rock squirrels, pinyon jays, and whiptail and collared lizards.

[59] Stunted forests of pinyon pine and juniper coexist here with manzanita shrubs, cliffrose, serviceberry, scrub oak, and yucca.

[59] Stands of ponderosa pine, Gambel oak, Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir, White fir, manzanita and aspen populate the mesas and cliffs above 6,000 feet (1,800 m).

[59] Animals such as bank beavers, flannel-mouth suckers, gnatcatchers, dippers, canyon wrens, the virgin spinedace, and water striders all make their homes in the riparian zones.

Guided horseback riding trips, nature walks, and evening programs are available from late March to early November.

[19] The visitor center also utilizes multiple types of environmental technology, including windcatchers for passive cooling and cross ventilation, which bring the center's temperature down during hot summer weather, a trombe wall to keep heat in during the winter, and solar panels for an electrical source (excess energy goes to the power grid).

Zion is a center for rock climbing, with short walls like Spaceshot, Moonlight Buttress, Prodigal Son, Ashtar Command, and Touchstone being the most popular, highly rated routes.