Things to do / Travel Guide
Nature earns spotlight status in the southern Utah region. The diverse land, ranging in elevation from 3,700 to over 12,000 feet, provides habitats for a wide variety of plant and animal species, from the arid desert lands where cacti thrive, to the plush pine forests that hundreds of bird and mammal species call home.
Flora in Southern Utah
Much of the lower canyon levels of the southern Utah region are considered desert, an upper extension of the Mojave. Even in the arid climate, however, moisture provided by streams and springs supports diverse plant life. Sparse desert vegetation includes big sagebrush, rabbitbrush, bitterbrush, blackbrush, yucca, and various cacti and grasses. Perennial streams support cottonwood, willow, velvet, and ash. Rocky crevices collect rain or melted snow, providing moisture for plants with roots that can twist themselves toward the water supply, such as Pinyon pines and junipers. Cliffrose, mountain mahogany, barberry, and snowberry eke also can be found in the fractured rocks.
Zion National Park hosts almost 800 native species of plants, and hanging gardens are home to small clusters of shooting stars, monkey flowers, larkspurs, miner's lettuce, evening primrose, and the occasional orchid. The spring season means the blooming of sand buttercup, chorispora and early Indian paintbrush. Early May brings beautiful violets, orchids, pentstemons, sego lilies, and columbine and monkey flowers in the shady nooks, and in the late summer asters, sunflowers, bee flowers, and sweet clover can be found.
At elevations above 4,000 feet, the desert transforms into vast woodlands of pinyon pine and Utah Juniper. At about 7,000-8,000 feet, Ponderosa Pine, Gamber Oak, and Rocky Mountain Juniper become more common. It is in the cool mountain air, generally at about 8,000 feet, that spruce, aspens, and wildflowers sprinkle the scenery.
Fauna in the Southern Utah
You'll find some of nature's meanest and most majestic species in the southern Utah region. The region is even home to a monster (of the Gila variety) and the road runner (beep beep!). Poisonous lizards and snakes litter the desert floor, while larger wildlife like elk and mountain lion migrate between high and low country, congregating in the forests at upper elevations. Other larger wildlife visitors might find in the semi-arid desert climate include mule deer, desert bighorn sheep, pronghorns, coyotes, bobcats, foxes, skunks, porcupines, and many species rodents. Visitors should be cautious of poisonous rattlesnakes and scorpions, although these creatures will only attack if provoked.
More than 200 bird species can be spotted in the region, and, in the fall, the area surrounding Fish Lake Basin serves as the migration route for a variety of raptors including golden eagles, red-tailed hawks, Cooper hawks, and others. The endangered peregrine, prairie falcons, turkey cultures, ravens, and the American kestrel are also quite commonly spotted. The period from May-October is when you are most likely to spot these flying friends.
In the higher, more forested areas, visitors might catch a view of the bobcat, black bear, gray fox, porcupine, jack rabbit, cliff chipmunk, beaver, mice, and bats, some of which migrate from the lower elevations depending on the season. In the summer, larger animals tend to stay in higher, cooler elevations, while making their way down in the winter as the snow arrives.
Zion snails are unique to the region, found only on the wet walls of the sheer cliffs along the Virgin River Narrow in Zion National Park. Coral Pink Sand Dunes near Kanab is known for its scorpions, and Escalante State Park boasts the best wetland bird habitat in the southern Utah region. You are likely to see wetlands creatures like waterfowl, raptors and shorebirds in the Scott M. Matheson Wetlands Preserve near Moab. Hikers on Boulder Mountain, near Escalante, are likely to see deer, elk, and wild turkey.
Nature Spots in Moab, Zion, Bryce, Arches National Parks in Southern Utah and the Arizona Strip
Nature-Wildlife
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