Mormons migrated from the lower Virgin River area in the late 1850s. The canyon was named by settler Isaac Behunin, who named the canyon after a "place of peace" mentioned in 2 Samuel 5:7 of the Bible. Explorer John Wesley Powell is credited with the name "Mukuntuweap", supposedly the native name of the canyon. In 1909, the canyon was first declared a national monument, and in 1919 was declared a national park. The Zion-Mount Carmel Highway, cutting through Pine Creek Canyon and lower Zion Canyon, first opened in 1930.