A Giant Landslide Fashioned The Tranquil Valley Of The Zion National Park, Study Reveals

First Posted: May 28, 2016 06:55 AM EDT
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The researchers from the University of Utah concluded that a Utah mountainside collapsed 4,800 years ago in a gargantuan landslide, which is also known as "rock avalanche." This has been developed into a flat floor, which is also known as Zion National Park by obstructing the Virgin River and developing a lake that existed for 700 years.

Science Daily reports that the study was printed and featured on the cover of the June issue of the Geological Society of America's journal GSA Today. The study was led by Jeff Moore, the senior author of the study and the assistant professor of geology and geophysics at the University of Utah.

Professor Moore said that the ancient Zion landslide would cover New York City's Central Park with 275 feet of debris. He further said that you would need 90 times the volume of concrete in Hoover Dam to recreate the mountainside that failed.

Daily Mail reports that the landslide had a volume of 10.1 billion cubic feet (286 million cubic meters). It is 4.4 times bigger than Utah's 2013 Bingham Canyon copper mine landslide, which is one of the North America's largest historic, non-volcanic landslides that have a volume of 65 million cubic meters or 2.3 billion cubic feet.

The computer simulations complemented known landslide deposits. It also showed the huge slide rushed southeast across Zion Canyon in about 20 seconds. It has an average speed of 112 mph and a peak speed of 180 to 200 mph.

Professor Moore said that it was certainly moving over 150 mph when the huge wall and peak crashed down. He further explained that for 30 more seconds, the slide debris spread up and down Zion Canyon and by a minute it was pretty much done.

He said that the catastrophic landslide of massive proportion had two effects. These include a constructive-developing a paradise through cataclysm and the other is the extreme hazard that the same event would pose if it happened today. There are about 3.6 million people in the past year that enjoyed the flat and peaceful valley floor of Zion Canyon, which owes its presence to this huge landslide.

 

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