Mud & Debris

Grand Staircase Escalante NM  (credit: SWP Media)

Utah's Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument consists of broad sandstone buttes, huge curving amphitheaters, and deep-walled canyons that bisect the high desert landscape. The solitude of these vast spaces draw visitors from across the USA and elsewhere who drive the region's winding roads or walk on wilderness tracks across solid redrock. Rain is sparse but when it does fall, particularly during mid-Summer monsoons, a rock-covered drainage or narrow canyon can become deadly zones to traverse.

A geologist happened to observe the results of one such monsoonal downpour, from a safe location, in what was typically a dry wash in the Vermilion Cliffs on the Utah/Arizona border. His video is a cautionary example on the power of mud and debris flows when they occur in a desert. WHB

Managing A Rivers' Restoration Restoring 4 Fish