Sentinel Slide

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 lose earth. Debris from the Sentinel Slide is visible at the first sharp bend toward Canyon Junction., [Caption]: 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 occurred 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 unstable walls and the slopes slump toward the river. Canyon-widening is an ongoing process.