TW: park fatalities. Would a timeline/categorization infographic of Zion deaths be valuable to this community?
I'm a research scientist and (amateur) graphic design enthusiast. Zion is my favorite NP and I just visited for the second time a few weeks ago, during which I joined this group while getting excited for my trip.
Like many others, my heart broke reading about the recent death in the park. I've seen so many comments circulating about Angel's Landing falls and other deaths in the park since then. I came across archives of all park related incidents (https://npshistory.com/morningreport/incidents/zion.htm) and it honestly hasn't left my mind since.
Long story short, I'm part-way through compiling an infographic timeline of all park related deaths since recordkeeping began in the 1980s, but its taking me a while and I'm not going to prioritize it if its just for me... but it doesn't have to be just for me.
I'd be really happy to share this resource with you all if it sounds like something people would be interested in and, more importantly, if it would be useful to prospective Zion visitors.
My goals are to not sensationalize whatsoever (for example: I refuse to use a stick figure icon falling for fall-related deaths, none of the categorical icons will depict humans being hurt)... my goal is purely to inform.
For example, I've noticed some deaths occur in "clusters," indicative of an increase in broader hazardous conditions rather than genuine, by-chance accidents... these are things that really might help people be safer in Zion.
My plan right now is to categorize first by CoD (falling, climbing, MVA, drowning, etc) and use a category marker along the timeline, then also come up with a way to indicate if this happened at a popular destination like Angel's Landing, Narrows,
Is this something you're interested in? Any requests?* Suggestions?
*I refuse to do anything that is distasteful, disrespectful, sensationalizing, or dishonoring to these victims. On that note, I'm all ears to hearing suggestions as to how I can make sure the final data visualization values these moral guidelines. I'm also genuinely interested to hear if you think this is a bad idea altogether despite my positive intentions- really... I am listening.
Thank you.