One of the most recognized landmarks in Zion National Park, Court of the Patriarchs reach into the Utah sky. These three photogenic peaks bear the biblical names of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Towering above Birch Creek Canyon almost 2000 feet, the Court of the Patriarchs represents nearly a full layer of Navajo Sandstone. This exposed sandstone is one of nine Zion rock layers that together span 150 million years of sediment deposits. The Patriarch cliffs represent one of the thickest layers of sediment, making up some of the tallest cliffs in the world. Occasional flash floods in the Virgin River increase water volume by 100 times and bring down tons of loose rock and sand, scouring out new side canyons and re-channeling the river. Here in Zion Canyon this magnificent scenery is always experiencing change, but its subtleties are seldom recognized in such an immense canyon.
The Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest is a protected area high in the White Mountains in Inyo County in eastern California. Protected within the Inyo National Forest, the Bristlecone Pine Forest is home to the oldest trees in the world, bristlecone pines. The bristlecone pine trees grow between 9,800 and 11,000 feet above sea level, in xeric alpine conditions. Some of these living trees exceed 4000 years of age and exhibit spectacular growth forms of twisted and beautifully colored wood.
