Rain after the earthquake in Zion a cause for concern?

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — An earthquake rocked the area near Zion National Park late last week, and more rounds of wet weather are expected in the coming days, as the remains of a powerful atmospheric river drenches Utah.

This prompted the ABC4 newsroom to wonder: Could this set the stage for a rockfall in the iconic national park?

“The two together are probably not an ideal combination,” said Sam Hudson, a geology professor at Brigham Young University. “Fortunately, so far, we have not seen any mass casualties or destruction due to this earthquake, but I think that is a legitimate concern.”

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The 3.5-magnitude quake struck just before 7:30 p.m. Friday, about two miles east of Springdale, the city closest to the park's southwest entrance.

Clouds gather over Zion National Park on February 5, 2024.

An earthquake this strong could cause a house to shake slightly, as if a large truck were passing or children were flopping around inside, said Katherine Weeden, a research scientist at the University of Utah's seismic stations.

“Those are usually the first things people think about before they realize, 'Oh, it's an earthquake,'” she said.

It is not uncommon for an earthquake of this magnitude to occur near Zion National Park, which is located near the Hurricane Fault, the most active and earthquake-prone fault in southern Utah.

“It's a geologically unstable place,” Hudson said. “It's a place we love because of its ruggedness and huge cliffs… but it's vulnerable to earthquakes, landslides and failure.”

He said Friday's earthquake could be a catalyst for future failure, noting that recent heavy rains and wet weather expected this week could lead to instability in the region.

Prolonged rainfall can cause water to pool on the surface of rocks, potentially undermining and eroding steep slopes, said Tyler Knudsen, senior geologist with the Utah Geological Survey.

“So, if you have really steep terrain and you add moisture to it, it can weaken that and help destabilize the slope, and then you add to that seismic energy and that can act as a catalyst for slope movement,” he said.

A view of Zion National Park from the southwest entrance on February 5, 2023.

He described Zion National Park and the area near Springdale as essentially a deep canyon, with massive, steep cliff faces and fairly weak rock units.

He added: “It is a country that suffers from landslides and rockslides.”

However, Knudsen noted that rockslides and landslides generally occur immediately after an earthquake.

This was the case on September 2, 1992, when a 5.8 magnitude earthquake occurred in St. George, triggering a major landslide in Springdale.

The landslide destroyed three homes, disrupted utility lines, threatened other buildings, and led to the temporary closure of the southwest entrance to Zion National Park, according to the US Geological Survey.

“That was interesting to a lot of people because the epicenter was about 30 miles away, so it kind of showed how unstable that slope really was,” Knudsen said.

ABC4 reached out to the National Park Service in Zion, but they were not available for an interview Monday. In a note, a company spokesperson said there was no major cause for concern regarding last week's earthquake.

The park's only current closure related to a rockslide stems from an incident in November, when there was a rockslide near Weeping Rock. The shuttle station, parking lot and trail have since been closed.

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