Rock Fall Closes SR-9 in Zion National Park

KSL ^ | September 23, 2015 | Faith Heaton Jolley

[beaversmom]

ZION NATIONAL PARK — A major rock fall closed state Route 9 in Zion National Park early Wednesday morning and is expected to remain closed into the weekend.

The large rocks fell on the highway about 4:30 a.m. about 200 feet from the Pine Creek Bridge on a switchback near the Mount Carmel Tunnel, according to park officials. The largest boulder is around 19 feet high, 20 feet long and 15 feet wide and officials said it weighs around 200 tons. The second boulder measured at approximately 10 feet high, 10 feet long and 15 feet wide, weighing about 100 tons.

The road is closed between Canyon Junction and the east entrance of the park. However, the Scenic Drive and Zion Canyon will remain open and all park facilities including the visitor center, museum, campgrounds, and shuttle buses are open and operating as normal.

Road crews used a machinery to break up the boulders, but the road has not yet been cleared. Until the road is cleared, emergency response will not be available on the east side of Zion National Park.

"The area that the rock fall occurred in is a part of the Springdale Sandstone rock formation. There are cliffs that are near the road and because the road is carved into the side of the mountain, rock falls can and do occur." –Dave Sharrow, Zion National Park hydrologist

Engineers with Zion National Park, the Utah Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration will be assessing the section of cliff face above the rock fall for immediate hazards and it's possible that additional rock will need to be removed from the cliff face before the road can be reopened, officials said.

This particular section of state Route 9 has seen several rock falls in the last 20 years.

"The area that the rock fall occurred in is a part of the Springdale Sandstone rock formation," according to Zion National Park hydrologist Dave Sharrow. "There are cliffs that are near the road and because the road is carved into the side of the mountain, rock falls can and do occur."

Park officials said the highway will likely not be reopened until the weekend, and until then, commuters should seek alternate routes. Alternate east and west routes are available via Highway 59 from Hurricane to Fredonia, Arizona, and via Highway 14 from Cedar City to Long Valley Junction on Highway 89. People traveling to the park may also access it by traveling east on state Route 9 from I-15.

[beaversmom]

That meme still cracks me up.

[beaversmom]

I saw Capitol Reef/Waterpocket Fold to Glen Canyon along the Burr Trail in 2007...desolate, spooky, and fun!

[EternalVigilance]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wi8r82QpXM8

[beaversmom]

Thanks. I love visuals. Also going to send to a friend that loves “earth stuff”. :)

[Night Hides Not]

Sad to say, but I went to Grand Canyon a week after visiting Yosemite, and I experienced a small let down.

I love Kanab...an hour from Bryce Canyon and 30 minutes from Zion.

[Elsie]

"The area that the rock fall occurred in is a part of the Springdale Sandstone rock formation. There are cliffs that are near the road and because the road is carved into the side of the mountain, rock falls can and do occur." –Dave Sharrow, Zion National Park hydrologist

Engineers with Zion National Park, the Utah Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration will be assessing the section of cliff face above the rock fall for immediate hazards and it's possible that additional rock will need to be removed from the cliff face before the road can be reopened, officials said.

This particular section of state Route 9 has seen several rock falls in the last 20 years.

"The area that the rock fall occurred in is a part of the Springdale Sandstone rock formation," according to Zion National Park hydrologist Dave Sharrow. "There are cliffs that are near the road and because the road is carved into the side of the mountain, rock falls can and do occur."

---

The Department of redundancy Department has been notified.

[Elsie]

Road crews used a machinery to break up the boulders, ...

HMMMmmm...

At LEAST it wasn't Mormon missionaries; disobeying rule #54!

[Elsie]

I hear a faint “Beep-Beep!” re-echoing thru the canyons...

[rottndog]

I’ve ridden my bike through Zion and Bryce....stunning scenery...amazed these rock falls don’t happen more often.

[Elsie]

Long Canyon - Pucker Pass; right??

Went thru there once (downhill) in an old ‘77 Chevy one ton van.

[Elsie]

I shudda read ahead!

[rottndog]

Sounds like the Frank Slide in Canada in 1903....

[Elsie]

You’re in Colorado and not been to GC?

An old Indiana boy here who has been 7-8 times (I’ve lost track)

My favorite was a rim-to-rim hike: North to South.

[Elsie]

Then there is the Slumgullion creep...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slumgullion_Earthflow

[Elsie]

Drive south from Boulder, on Utah 12, over the scary looking Hogback, to the campground at Calf Creek. Hike to the Falls (lower) an easy walk along a cool stream. Do plan to swim in the icy water pouring 127 down into the sandy pool (some folks there just might NOT have clothes on!)

For more adventure, tackle the Upper falls on Calf Creek.
37d 51’ 18” 111d 27’ 7”

You’ll have to find the road pulloff yourself, as the last time I was there it was unmarked.

[driftless2]

My wife and I have been through most of Utah. It seems practically the whole state could qualify as a national park. Great scenery everywhere.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

I was at Dead Horse Point UT and Arches NP a few weeks ago. It never disappoints! Beautiful area. After you get to know the area you can pinpoint it out in many movies on late night TV.

Been to ZION and Bryce. It was so hot! At Bryce the overflow camping areas were full. Earlier in the day we had stopped at Red Rocks and the manager told me of a new national forest campground still not on the maps. We went a few miles from overcrowded Bryce and had a great time in an almost empty campground.

[glock rocks]

On the other side of the mountain from the slide, there is a campground where campers were killed when a rock the size of a car rolled over their tent. Upstream at Hebgen reservoir, the old lady who owned a park of fishing cabins (my dad always stayed there on his Madison fishing trips) was saved from drowning by her dog guiding her in the dark to shore. The whole side of the reservoir dropped such that the cabins' roofs were all that showed.

The actual (slip/strike) scarp above the highway was ten to twenty feet tall, some of the landslides hundreds of feet tall, and the Hebgen dam was visibly tilted to one side (which caused a wave of water to cascade downstream to where the slide was). The Madison backed up behind the slide creating "Quake Lake" which the Army COE reinforced with concrete so it didn't burst and flood the towns below, and they could drain it in an orderly fashion. My family drove back through the area once they reopened 287. Quite an experience.

The quake happened during Mission 66, which was a ten year project to upgrade park facilities at Yellowstone (and other parks). The quake was in 1959. I recall a cartoon on the editorial page following the earthquake that showed the Mission 66 sign with the bottom half torn and hanging so it read 99.

Funny. I can vividly remember everything from my childhood. Nowadays, I can't remember what I had for breakfast.