Some Great Macro Pictures of the Zion Snail

This is quite a good image of the Zion Snail.

On a beautiful early spring day, I was in Zion National park. Among many of the things it is famous for are its rock seeps and springs. Water falling on the Colorado plateau percolates down into the rock, and eventually flows from the more porous stone as is encounters less porous layers. One of the shorter hikes in the park showcases this quite nicely, the weeping rock. More can be seen around the park, including those I was headed for. These springs create a unique and stable habitat, home to many endemic species. Of these unique species the most “famous” is Physa zionis, the Zion Snail. It is mentioned and shown in both the park's informational video and a sign at the visitor center. It is a tiny species of bladder snail, about the size of a pinhead, that is only found in a few locations on the planet, all within Zion National park. I had just purchased an adaptor that could rotate my lens around, converting it into a macro lens for just a few dollars. My goal was to photograph this very small and very special organism.

Clouds envelop some of the Sandstone cliffs of Zion Canyon, early in the day the canyon had quit low cloud cover from the recent rains.

Zion was quite interesting on this day, low cloud cover partially obscured the red canyon walls. The park's parking lot was completely full, and so we had to park the car outside. Zion is quite special for a National Park, as you can just walk in. The town of Springdale is right at the mouth of the canyon, and you can just walk over a bridge and you are in Zion National Park. To reduce crowding the park does not allow people to drive up the canyon, so you must board shuttle buses that make stops at the trailheads of the big hikes. Riding up the road into the heart of the park I was able to spot two peregrine falcons. These birds nest on the steep sandstone cliffs of the canyon. The drive up is quite picturesque as you make you way up a riparian corridor, and you can see mule deer, turkeys, and larger birds like Steller's jays. You pass the Zion Lodge and Angel's Landing, with its shear cliff faces and crowded summit. After going passed all this, the bus pulled up at the Temple of Sinawava. This is the last stop on the bus system and leads to the start of the World famous Zion Narrows. I have done this hike before, and it is quite the adventure. You hike up the Virgin River, with the steep canyon walls rising above you on both sides. On this particular day, the spring rains made the river run muddy and fast, I am not sure you would want to attempt the narrow, you might have been swept down river.

A beautiful waterfall pouring down the sandstone cliffs of Zion Canyon. I slowed the shutter speed down to give the falls a silky appearance.

The recent rainfall meant waterfalls were prevalent, with a high one flowing right off the edge of the canyon, and several more were along the trail. The Riverside walk as it is called, is paved and you could get a wheelchair down it if you really wanted to. Many of Zions trails are like this and it is quite rough on your feet by the end of the day. Along the Riverside Walk path you can see a variety of wildlife. Canyon wrens call from there unseen nooks, as rock squirrels rustle through the brush along the tails edge. People have been feeding these large rodents, despite the several hundred dollar fine for doing so, and they will come right up to you. I felt a little too close. I saw kids get right up to them. A man even had his phone, and fingers, mere inches from one's head. These animals have sharp teeth and could give a nasty bite. I jokingly wondered; if one took a bit of your finger off, would you have to pay a fine for feeding the squirrels?

A beautiful hanging garden in Zion National Park, with plants growing out of cracks in the rock.

I finally got far enough along the trail to reach the hanging garden springs. This is a magical place of dripping water and plants growing right out of the stone, something truly special to behold. I began my search for my quarry. They blend in quite well with the bits of organic debris and this makes them nearly impossible to spot. I previously had found a few in a smaller spring here, but could not locate any in this spot. I reached the biggest wall; an American Dipper jumped around the wall and hanging vegetation. It was here that I found a single snail.

Water dripping down a hanging garden in Zion National Park

Quickly attaching my macro adaptor and flipping the lens, I got to photographing the specimen. I was still new to learning how the adaptor worked and so my aperture was closed all the way down, making my shots so dark I had to use flash. This brought out some detail by removing some of the waters reflection, allowing you to actually tell that it is a snail. I also filmed it moving along but the high ISO makes it quite grainy, and the lack of a good stabilizer makes it a little shaky.

While photographing the snail, a group of people rounded the corner. A man was telling two others to look out for the snails. As they walked nearer I said, “I got one right here.” They were quite excited to see the tiny animal and tried to find more, but among all the tiny bits of organic material the snails are all but invisible. Although it is probably best to leave the species alone in its little refuge and to keep it a secret, I feel it is worth sharing; snails are not something people are usually excited about. Most people just obviously walk by, or put their hands on the wall, feeling the springs flow, which I personally would kind of discourage since who knows what oils or chemicals on our hands could do to these little animals and this ecosystem.

An even closer macro shot of the Zion Snail

I began the short walk back to the bus stop to continue my quick one day tour of Zion canyon. I would recommend the Riverside Walk to nature lovers, and as long as you are careful around the dripping springs and hanging gardens you may get the chance to see this incredible little creature and its incredible little ecosystem. Late afternoon was beginning to set in as I walked up to the road. Up above the red rock cliffs, I saw the moon. It looked really neat and I had to take the shot. With that done I boarded the bus and headed down canyon for the next hike.

The Moon over the Cliffs of Zion Canyon