Emerald pools is a beautiful stop along your route through Zion National Park. This hike will take approximately one hour and is a little over a mile round trip. You can most easily access the lower pools via the lower pools trail head which is marked as an additional waypoint on the cache page. Along your hike you will learn about the rock formations, erosion at the falls, and also about the rare desert oasis which is formed here.
Once you have crossed over the foot bridge, you will follow the trail along the Virgin River for half a mile in one of the most beautiful parts of Zion National park. Along the way you will see some spectacular views of the surrounding mountains and if you come at the right time, a chance to see the waterfalls flowing. Please stay on the trail for the entire hike, the parks department asks that we do not go off trail.
At the twin falls you will also see the greenish pools below you. Year round seeps and springs recharge the pools here (during the warmer months the pools are sometimes dry). Rare in a desert environment, these perennial waters create micro-habitats for a variety of animals and plants.
The Lower Emerald Pools are accessible via the trail from Zion Lodge.
Once you reach the pools, you will be looking for the “Desert Oasis” plaque which is located along the trail. You will use the information you find here and also from the cache page to answer several questions which are listed below.
Erosion at the Emerald Pools
After reaching the desert oasis plaque, the trail passes through a shallow alcove formed by an overhanging cliff that rises above lower Emerald Pool. The upper two-thirds of the cliff consists of pale-orange, very thick-bedded, cross-bedded sandstone of the Lamb Point Tongue. The lower one-third of the cliff exposes the upper part of the main body of the Kayenta Formation, which consists of reddish-brown sandstone with thin interbeds of light-green to light-gray sandstone and siltstone. The alcove formed as the result of a higher rate of stream erosion in the relatively soft Kayenta Formation as compared to the more resistant Lamb Point Tongue sandstone. When it rains, water can be seen cascading down 300 feet from the top of the falls.
*Note, in order to log this earth cache you must actually visit the Emerald Pools. Prior visits do not count towards a find.*
Email Me Answers to the Following Questions:
1. Once you reach the emerald pools, you will see two distinct rock formations along the cliff wall. Describe the color, texture, and type of rock for each of these formations. Does one formation appear softer/smoother than the other? If so explain why.
2. Observing the overhanging cliff, what do you think caused the depression in the ground where the emerald pools lie? What makes them green?
(Optional) - upload a photo of yourself or your party at the Emerald Pools.
-This EarthCache was approved with with special permission from Zion National Park-
