Weeping Rock Turns To Sobbing Rock

Steady rain had begun to fall when my wife and I arrived at Weeping Rock during our vacation in Zion National Park, Utah around noon (MDT), Wednesday, September 11, 2013. In normal conditions, water seeping from above creates a drip-drip effect along the rim of the cave-like overhang. It started that way, but in about 15 minutes streams of water began to roll down the adjacent rock wall, then another narrow stream joined it from the rim. Tourists enthusiastically photographed the progression until a sudden and violent torrent of water, rock and soil blasted from a hole high above the rock face. The malodorous "super waterfall" pushed alarmed onlookers backward with a start. Many areas of the park erupted in similar spontaneous waterfalls as heavy rains continued to fall, with flash floods occurring in certain areas.