Original subtitles

ANNOUNCER: WHEN YOU SEE THIS SYMBOL YOU KNOW YOU'RE

WATCHING TELEVISION THAT'S EDUCATIONAL AND INFORMATIONAL.

THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

DYLAN: I'M DYLAN DREYER.

JOIN ME ON AN HISTORIC ADVENTURE THROUGH ONE OF

THE MOST BREATHTAKING JEWELS OF THE ENTIRE

AMERICAN WEST, THE AWESOME CANYONS OF ZION NATIONAL

PARK.

DYLAN: WE'LL MEET THE ANCIENT PEOPLE WHO FIRST SETTLED

HERE AND DISCOVER THEIR INCREDIBLE VILLAGES CARVED

INTO THE STEEP CLIFFS OF THE CANYON WALLS.

WE'LL TRAVEL THROUGH THE WILDERNESS WITH THE FIRST

EUROPEAN PIONEERS AND EXPLORE ZION'S DEEPEST AND

MOST DANGEROUS CAVES, AND WE'LL EXPERIENCE THE

BEAUTY OF ZION CANYON FROM THE PERSPECTIVE FEW PEOPLE

WILL EVER ATTEMPT.

DYLAN: ZION NATIONAL PARK LIES AT THE INNER SECTION

OF THREE IMPORTANT ECOSYSTEMS IN SOUTHERN

UTAH, THE HIGH COLORADO PLATEAU,

THE BARREN MOJAVE DESERT, AND THE GREAT BASIN.

THIS GEOGRAPHY CREATES AN UNUSUAL DIVERSITY OF

PLANTS AND ANIMALS THAT ALL INHABIT THE FOUR

UNIQUE LIFE ZONES OF THE PARK,

DESERT, RIVERBED, WOODLAND,

AND PINE FOREST.

DYLAN: THE FIRST HUMANS BEGAN SETTLING IN ZION

EIGHT THOUSAND YEARS AGO, AND THE REGION BECAME THE

CENTER OF A MYSTIC LAND.

THEY LIVED IN SOME OF THE MOST REMARKABLE STRUCTURES

EVER BUILT BY ANCIENT PEOPLE.

DYLAN: THEY BUILT APARTMENT-LIKE COMPLEXES

OF MUD AND STONE PERCHED HIGH ON THE

SIDES OF CANYON WALLS.

MANY HOMES FACED A CENTRAL KIVA,

OR ROUND UNDERGROUND ROOM WHERE CEREMONIES OF GREAT

IMPORTANCE WERE HELD.

♪ SINGING ♪

DYLAN: HERE, WE ARE WITNESSING A CELEBRATION OF CREATION

AND THE INITIATION OF A YOUNG MAN INTO ADULTHOOD.

DYLAN: THE CLIFF PEOPLE HAD MANY GODS.

THEY BELIEVED THOSE GODS WOULD GUIDE THEM TO TRUTH

AND UNDERSTANDING.

MAN: HELLO, GREAT SPIRIT, WHOSE BREATH GIVES LIFE TO

ALL CREATION.

HEAR MY WORDS.

[EAGLE SCREECHING]

MAN: I ASK YOUR BLESSINGS COME TO ME.

LET THE RAYS OF SUN STRIKE MY SKIN AND MAKE ME CLEAN.

[SCREECHING CONTINUES]

MAN: BLESS MY PATH IN THE CIRCLE OF LIFE.

[SCREECHING CONTINUES]

[EAGLE SCREECHING]

DYLAN: THEIR NATIVE AMERICAN NAME WAS

HISATSINOM, MEANING THE "ANCIENT ONES".

THEIR CULTURE AND UNIQUE WAY OF LIFE LASTED FOR

MORE THAN A THOUSAND YEARS.

TODAY, HISTORIANS CALL THESE PEOPLE ANCIENT

PUEBLOANS.

PUEBLO IS THE SPANISH NAME FOR VILLAGE.

DYLAN: ABOUT EIGHT HUNDRED YEARS AGO,

A MASSIVE DROUGHT TURNED THE LAND OF THE ANCIENT

PUEBLOANS TO DUST.

INVADERS, WAR, AND FAMINE SPREAD THROUGH THE CLIFF

CITIES LIKE THE WIND, AND A ONCE GREAT SOCIETY

QUICKLY VANISHED.

DYLAN: THE FEW NATIVE TRIBES THAT REMAINED

MIGRATED THROUGH ZION CANYON IN THE SPRING AND

FALL IN SEARCH OF WILD SEEDS AND GAME ANIMALS.

DYLAN: THEY BELIEVED THE GODS HAD PLACED

GUARDIANS TO PROTECT THE SACRED LAND.

DYLAN: YOU CAN IMAGINE WHAT ZION MUST HAVE MEANT TO

THE NATIVE PEOPLE WHO LIVED IN THE SHADOWS OF

THE ANCIENT CANYON WALL.

THE LAND PROVIDED THE NATIVE PEOPLE WITH

EVERYTHING THEY NEEDED, BUT WAS ALSO HARD AND

UNFORGIVING.

[MAN SPEAKING NATIVE AMERICAN]

DYLAN: CHILDREN GREW UP QUICKLY AND BELIEVED THAT

POWERFUL SPIRITS WERE ALWAYS WATCHING THEM.

THEY ALSO BELIEVED NOT ALL OF THOSE SPIRITS WERE

GOOD.

[BOY SPEAKING NATIVE AMERICAN]

[OWL HOOTING]

MAN: TODAY, YOU HAVE MET KINESAVA.

HE HAS PLAYED A TRICK ON YOU.

HE IS FOND OF PRANKS.

HE LIVES IN THE CANYON OF THE SPIRITS.

[OWL HOOTING]

MAN: WE CANNOT SEE THEM.

WE KNOW THEM ONLY BY THE SIGNS THEY GIVE US.

THE OWL REMINDS US THAT DEATH IS LURKING NEAR.

[OWL SCREECHING]

DYLAN: THESE ANCIENT TALES WERE PASSED DOWN

FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION AND CONNECTED

THE PEOPLE TO THE LAND.

DYLAN: ALONG WITH THEIR INCREDIBLE CLIFFSIDE

HOMES, THE ANCIENT PUEBLOANS OF NEW MEXICO

BUILT A COMPLEX SYSTEM OF ROADS THAT CONNECTED THEIR

GREAT CITIES AND OUTLIER TOWNS.

ARCHEOLOGISTS HAVE DISCOVERED AT LEAST 180

MILES OF SMOOTH, LEVEL HIGHWAYS MORE THAN 30 FEET

WIDE.

SOME EVEN INCLUDED LARGE RAMPS AND STAIRWAYS UP AND

DOWN CANYON RIDGETOPS AND VALLEYS.

IT REQUIRED A GREAT SOCIETY INDEED TO PULL OFF

THESE MASSIVE CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS,

AND YET SO MUCH ABOUT THESE PROUD AND ANCIENT

PEOPLE IS STILL UNKNOWN.

DYLAN: COMING UP NEXT, BRIGHAM YOUNG AND MORMON

MISSIONARIES ARRIVE IN UTAH,

AND LATER, ZION'S NARROW CANYONS ARE BEAUTIFUL;

BUT WHEN THE RAINS COME, THEY'RE ALSO DEADLY.

DON'T GO AWAY.

THE JOURNEY CONTINUES RIGHT AFTER THIS.

ANNOUNCER: WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

ANNOUNCER: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

DYLAN: WELCOME BACK TO "JOURNEY".

I'M DYLAN DREYER.

THE FIRST EUROPEANS TO SET FOOT IN THE GREAT CANYONS

OF SOUTHERN UTAH WERE MORMON MISSIONARIES IN THE

MID-1800'S.

IT WAS THE MORMONS WHO GAVE ZION CANYON ITS NAME,

MEANING A PLACE OF PEACE, HARMONY,

AND DEVOTION TO GOD.

DYLAN: NEPHI JOHNSON WAS ONE OF THE FIRST PEOPLE OF

EUROPEAN DESCENT TO EXPLORE THE UNKNOWN REALMS

OF ZION CANYON.

DYLAN: HE WAS A MORMON MISSIONARY LIVING AMONG

THE PAIUTE INDIANS.

IT IS SEPTEMBER 1858.

NEPHI: BRIGHAM YOUNG SENT ME TO EXPLORE THE SOURCE

OF THE PA'RUS RIVER EAST OF TUMBLEWEED CANYON...

... IT IS A STRANGE AND REMARKABLE PLACE.

STONE TOWERS STAND IN COUNCIL LIKE ANCIENT

PATRIARCHS.

MONOLITHIC TEMPLES WITH ALTARS AND THRONES RISE TO

THE CLOUDS LIKE SHRINES TO THE DIVINE.

NEPHI: THE PAIUTES HAVE WARNED ME THE UNKNOWN

CANYON IS THE DOMAIN OF SINAWAVA AND SUPERNATURAL

SPIRITS.

I AM AWED BY THE MAJESTY OF GOD'S CREATION.

[MAN SPEAKING NATIVE AMERICAN]

NEPHI: I WAS TOLD THE INDIANS ARE AFRAID OF THIS

PLACE, BUT IT IS I WHO FIND MYSELF UNWILLING TO

CHALLENGE THE PROBABILITY OF THEIR SUPERSTITION.

DYLAN: IN THE FALL OF 1912,

A GUIDE NAMED TOAKENE BROUGHT EARLY

PHOTOGRAPHER TURVEY DENOS TO THE UNEXPLORED REALMS

OF ZION CANYON.

IN A WAY, DENOS PERSONIFIED THE

PHOTOGRAPHERS, NATURALISTS,

AND MODERN EXPLORERS WHO WOULD FOLLOW.

TURVEY: I WAS HEADED FOR SANTA FE WHEN I HEARD

ABOUT THIS PLACE.

I DISCOUNTED THE EXAGGERATED CLAIMS.

IN TRUTH, THEY WERE TOO MODEST.

NOTHING PREPARED ME FOR WHAT I FOUND.

IT IS A JOURNEY THROUGH TIME.

THE ENTIRE HISTORY OF THE EARTH IS WRITTEN ON THE

POETRY OF ROCK AND STONE.

TURVEY: I CAME TO TAKE PHOTOGRAPHS,

BUT I AM HAUNTED BY CURIOUS LEGEND OF THE

SACRED CAVE AND HIDDEN TREASURES AT A PLACE THEY

CALL THE CENTER OF THE EARTH.

TURVEY: WHAT IF THE LEGEND IS TRUE?

ARE THERE PLACES YET UNKNOWN?

IS THERE A SACRED CENTER OF THE EARTH?

TURVEY: TOAKENE HAS AGREED TO GUIDE ME TO THE DEEP

RECESSES OF THE INNER CANYONS.

I AM CERTAIN HE KNOWS MORE THAN HE'S WILLING TO TELL.

TURVEY: ONLY AFTER GREAT PERSUASION DOES HE AGREE

TO TAKE ME WHERE NO WHITE MAN HAS GONE BEFORE.

TURVEY: I CAN NEITHER DESCRIBE OR CAPTURE THE

SPLENDOR OF THIS CREATION.

I AM AWED BY THE GRANDEUR OF THIS PLACE.

DYLAN: DON'T GO AWAY.

THE JOURNEY CONTINUES RIGHT AFTER THIS.

ANNOUNCER: WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

ANNOUNCER: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

DYLAN: THE ZION WILDERNESS IS BREATHTAKING,

BUT IT CAN ALSO BE DEADLY.

ROCK SLIDES ARE COMMON, AND DURING THE RAINY

SEASON, FLASH FLOODS CAN RIP THROUGH NARROW CANYONS

WITH ALMOST NO WARNING.

NATIVE POPULATIONS GREW ACCUSTOMED TO THESE

DANGERS OVER GENERATIONS, BUT MANY EUROPEAN SETTLERS

DISCOVERED THEM THE HARD WAY.

DYLAN: PHOTOGRAPHER TURVEY DENOS AND HIS GUIDE,

TOAKENE, ARE DESCENDING INTO ONE OF THE MANY SLOT

CANYONS AROUND ZION NATIONAL PARK.

DYLAN: A SLOT CANYON IS A NARROW CHANNEL FORMED OVER

THOUSANDS OF YEARS AS RUSHING FLOOD WATER CARVES

DEEP CUTS THROUGH SOLID ROCK.

SLOT CANYONS ARE FOUND ALL OVER THE WORLD,

ESPECIALLY IN SOUTHERN UTAH.

SLOT CANYONS CAN BE EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AT

CERTAIN TIMES OF THE YEAR.

RAINFALL AND SNOWMELT IN THE CLIFF HIGH ABOVE CAN

FLOOD THE CANYON IN MINUTES,

BUT THE BEAUTY OF THESE CANYONS DRAWS THOUSANDS OF

VISITORS EVERY YEAR.

DYLAN: SCIENTISTS DESCRIBE THESE CAVES THROUGH THE

PROCESS OF EROSION BY WATER,

WIND, AND TIME, BUT TO THE NATIVE PEOPLE,

THESE CANYONS WERE CARVED BY THE GREAT SPIRITS BACK

WHEN THE SKY WAS FIRST FILLED WITH LIGHT.

TURVEY: TOAKENE!

DYLAN: TURVEY DENOS WAS LUCKY TO SURVIVE,

BUT HIS PHOTOGRAPHS WERE LOST.

TURVEY: NO!

DYLAN: HIS EXPLORATION OF ZION NEARLY COST HIM HIS

LIFE.

DYLAN: DON'T GO AWAY.

THE JOURNEY CONTINUES RIGHT AFTER THIS DYLAN:

ANNOUNCER: WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

ANNOUNCER: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

ARCHEOLOGISTS BELIEVE THAT THE ANCIENT PUEBLOANS WITH

THEIR AMAZING CLIFFSIDE HOUSES WERE EXCELLENT ROCK

CLIMBERS, SO IT MAKES SENSE THAT MODERN-DAY ZION

CANYON IS A FAMOUS DESTINATION FOR ROCK

CLIMBING ENTHUSIASTS AROUND THE WORLD,

ALTHOUGH SOME CLIFFS REQUIRE A BIT MORE SKILL

THAN OTHERS.

WOMAN: THE CANYON CALLS TO US.

IT'S HARD TO EXPLAIN...

...LIKE A VOICE IN THE WIND.

CLIMBING HERE IS DANGEROUS.

THE ROCK IS SOFT AND UNPREDICTABLE.

IN SPITE OF THE RISK AND THE DANGER,

WE ARE DRAWN AGAIN AND AGAIN TO THE HEART OF THIS

LAND.

MAN: HELLO, GREAT SPIRIT, WHOSE BREATH GIVES LIFE TO

ALL CREATION.

HEAR MY WORDS.

[EAGLE SCREECHING]

MAN: I ASK YOUR BLESSINGS COME TO ME.

LET THE RAYS OF SUN STRIKE MY SKIN AND MAKE ME CLEAN.

BLESS MY PATH IN THE CIRCLE OF LIFE.

DYLAN: ZION NATIONAL PARK IS PART OF A PROUD FAMILY

OF NATIONAL PARKS THAT PRESERVE THE MOST

BEAUTIFUL CORNERS OF THE AMERICAN LANDSCAPE FOR

FUTURE GENERATIONS.

THESE PLACES DON'T SIMPLY PROTECT WILDERNESS AND

WILDLIFE; THEY TELL THE AMERICAN STORY.

I HOPE YOU ENJOYED OUR JOURNEY THROUGH SOUTHERN

UTAH.

UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN, SAFE TRAVELS.

♪ MUSIC ♪