the powell geographic expedition of 1869 entered the area after their first trip through the grand canyon. john wesley powell visited zion canyon in 1872 and named it "mukuntuweap", under the impression that that was the paiute name. powell survey photographers john k. hillers and james fennemore first visited the zion canyon and kolob plateau region in the spring of 1872. hillers returned in april 1873 to add more photographs to the "virgin river series" of photographs and stereographs. hillers described wading the canyon for four days and nearly freezing to death to take his photographs.