How can I correctly use the timezone format specifier in a TO_DATE call in Oracle

I am trying to obtain a DATE object with the following statement:

TO_DATE('1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC','YYYY-MM-DD HH24:MI:SS TZR')

and

TO_DATE('1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC','YYYY-MM-DD TZH:TZM:SS TZR')

But in both cases, it is telling me: ORA-01821: date format not recognized.

I got the TZR format specifier from https://www.techonthenet.com/oracle/functions/to_date.php, namely:

TZD Daylight savings information. For example, 'PST'
TZH Time zone hour.
TZM Time zone minute.
TZR Time zone region.

What is the correct way to specify a date/time with a time-zone?

Datetime Format Models


TZR - Time zone region information. The value must be one of the time
zone region names supported in the database. Valid in timestamp and
interval formats, but not in DATE formats.

select to_timestamp_tz
  (
    '1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC',
    'YYYY-MM-DD HH24:MI:SS TZR'
  )
  as result
from dual;

RESULT
----------------------------------------
01-JAN-70 12.00.00.000000000 AM UTC

If you want a DATE type, you need to convert it:

select cast(to_timestamp_tz
  (
    '1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC',
    'YYYY-MM-DD HH24:MI:SS TZR'
  ) as date)
  as result
from dual;

RESULT
----------------------------------------
01-JAN-70

StackExchange Database Administrators Q#147906, answer score: 6