Zion Canyon is a deep, narrow gorge in southwestern Utah, carved by the North Fork of the Virgin River through Navajo Sandstone and forming the central scenic corridor of Zion National Park. Its striking shape reflects both steady erosion and sudden flash floods, which continue to reshape the canyon’s walls, arches, and hanging valleys. Known by several names, including Mukuntuweap and Little Zion, it also preserves a human history of Paiute naming traditions and later Mormon settlement, with Isaac Behunin credited for the name Zion. Protected first in 1909 and as a national park in 1919, it remains a place of remarkable beauty, active geology, and periodic danger.