Tourism Utah National Parks - Zion Research Paper

Tourism Utah National Parks - Zion - Research Paper Example Zion has some specific geological features that distinguish this national park from others. Zion is located at Colorado Plateau. Zion is characterized by a feature called Grand Staircase that formed as a result of uplift, tilting, and erosion of rock layers (The geology of Zion). Zion situates near the sea level and is seen as a flat basin in appearance. The eroded muds, sands, and gravels from surrounded mountains reached the basin and shaped Zion. It formed various layers at Zion. The mineral-laden waters gradually filtered through the accumulated sediments; and thereby the functioning of cementing agents like iron oxide, calcium carbonate, and silica have played a great role in transforming the deposits into stone (The geology of Zion). The volcanic activities at Zion region allowed the lava flow and cinder cones to form. In addition, there are ranges of other geological phenomena frequently occurring in the region. As discussed above, Zion National Park has many fascinating geolo gical as well as ecological features that attract large number of visitors to the park. Stynes reports that in 2006; there were 2.57 million recreation visits in Zion national park. Since thousands of people visit the park daily, all of them do not get staying facilities at park lodges. Therefore, several people depend on local lodges, motels, and cabins. In addition, the visitors greatly rely on local industries as they cannot get all their requirements inside the park. It greatly contributes to the sustainable growth of the local economy. For instance, as Stynes asserts, $113 million spent by park visitors assisted the economy to generate 2,432 job opportunities and increase the sale revenue to $143 million. The park itself employed large number of people and still creates new job opportunities. Hence, the Zion Park has considerably enhanced the overall development of the local economy. There are several common issues that affect national parks including Zion. Majority of the nati onal parks cannot use their resources to their fullest because of various reasons including lack of money, staff, and coordination (Top 10 issues facing national parks). National parks need to preserve the historic buildings and architectures as it reflects the culture of America; however, its maintenance costs are very high. In recent days, the areas surrounding national parks are being largely used for agriculture and living purposes; and these activities have adversely affected the wildlife to a large extent (Top 10 issues facing national parks). Foreign species’ invasion may affect park’s ecological balance as this process causes the extinction of natural species. In addition, construction activities also have become threats to the existence of national parks since these activities may lead to adverse environmental changes. Human caused noises also have a negative impact on the wildlife and it would negatively affect the sustainability of the national parks. At thi s juncture, the Soundscape Management becomes inevitable for the national parks. In order to protect the naturality of Zion national parks, various measures have been adopted. According to Havnes, these policies’ main intention is to protect the attributes of sound and thereby benefit the wildlife and nearly 3 million annual visitors to the park. As the writer describes, the park has been using ultra modern technologies to