Archangel Cascades is one of those places in Zion National Park that feels almost hidden compared with the park’s better-known landmarks.

Located along the **Left Fork of North Creek on the route to the Subway**, the cascades spread across broad shelves of Navajo Sandstone, with the water breaking into dozens of small channels as it works its way down the canyon. The National Park Service classifies the bottom-up route through Left Fork as a strenuous **9-mile round trip**, and a wilderness permit is required year-round.

There are several different actual cascades, with this one being highlighted by the red sandstone and spruce trees in the background.

What makes this spot even more interesting is the geology underneath the water.

The Navajo Sandstone that dominates Zion began forming roughly **180 million years ago**, when this part of the Colorado Plateau was covered by an immense field of windblown sand dunes. Over time those dunes were buried, compressed, and cemented into sandstone. In Zion, the Navajo Sandstone eventually reached thicknesses of more than **2,000 feet**.

Then the process essentially reversed.

As the Colorado Plateau was uplifted, flowing water began cutting into those ancient rock layers. That erosion continues today, carving Zion’s narrow canyons and continually reshaping the sandstone landscape.

Archangel Cascades is a beautiful small-scale example of that process. Instead of one large vertical waterfall, the Left Fork spreads across the sloping sandstone in a series of shallow cascades, following the natural contours and channels worn into the rock before continuing downstream. The cascades sit just below Zion’s famous Subway formation.

There’s something pretty remarkable about standing there and realizing that the water in front of you is still carving its way through the remains of an ancient desert nearly 200 million years old.

For those who have made the hike into Left Fork — **did Archangel Cascades surprise you, or were you completely focused on reaching the Subway?**

Arch Angel Cascades, Zion National Park