Sentinel landslide at Zion National Park (IMAGE)

University of Utah

Sentinel landslide at Zion National Park

Caption

This Google Earth aerial image of Zion Canyon shows the location of a huge rock-avalanche landslide that collapsed off a peak named the Sentinel 4,800 years ago, dammed the Virgin River and created a lake that lasted 700 years until it filled with sediment, producing the flat, cottonwood-dotted canyon floor enjoyed today by millions of visitors to Zion National Park in Utah. The orange line above the slide shows where part of the Sentinel collapsed to generate the slide. A University of Utah study provides the first direct date for the slide and details of its size and speed.

Credit

Google Earth, Jeff Moore, University of Utah

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