Sentinel Slide
Canyon-carving usually continues steadily,
grain by grain. Occasionally Zion Canyon gets
a massive face-lift. In 1995 a landslide at the base
of the Sentinel, to your left, dammed the Virgin
River and washed out a section of road.
On the night of April 12, 1995, the first sign of
trouble was water streaming down the road below
this overlook. As the river backed up behind the
slide, park rangers became concerned about
catastrophic flooding and evacuated Watchman
Campground. Fortunately the river soon burst
through the loose earth. Debris from the Sentinel
Slide is visible at the first sharp bend toward
Canyon Junction.
The 1995 Sentinel Slide washed
out the canyon road (photo, right),
stranding guests at Zion Lodge. You
can see evidence of other big slides
in several places, including one that
occured in 1992 outside the park
near the south entrance.
Expanding Canyon
As the Virgin River downcuts the
canyon, water permeates and
weakens the side walls and banks.
Eventually there is rockfall from
unstables walls and the slopes
slump toward the river. Canyon-
widening is an ongoing process.
