Zion National Park - Utah

"Balancing Act" - Zion National Park

After a weekend storm in Zion National Park, the Virgin River turned a beautiful chocolate brown and was running fast. I found this rock cairn in the middle of the river and used a long exposure to smooth out the water.

Normally I am not a fan of rock cairns, as they are considered harmful to the environment: the rocks that are moved to create them provide shelter to small organisms, and when not used to mark a trail they are visually unappealing. Whenever I come across them, I knock them over. This one was too far in the river for me to do the same, and this particular setup did make for a calming, zen-type photograph.

Please consider refraining from creating rock cairns, and if you come across them get your photos, then return the habitat to it’s natural state :)

UtahZionZion National Parkbrownchocolaterock cairnrocksthe Virgin River

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