Ashburn, VA

73° F
Location Chevron down
Location News Videos
Use Current Location
Recent

Ashburn

Virginia

73°
No results found.
Try searching for a city, zip code or point of interest.
settings
Ashburn, VA Weather
Today WinterCast Local {stormName} Tracker Hourly Daily Radar MinuteCast Monthly Air Quality Health & Activities

Around the Globe

Hurricane Tracker

Severe Weather

Radar & Maps

News

News & Features

Astronomy

Business

Climate

Health

Recreation

Sports

Travel

Video

Podcasts

Winter Center

News & Features AccuWeather Prime Astronomy Business Climate Health Recreation Sports Travel

News / Weather News

Sudden rockslide in Lake Powell stuns tourists, sends boaters fleeing large wave

The rockslide, which may have ties to the ongoing megadrought in the West, launched plume of water in the air and created a massive wave in its wake.

By Zachary Rosenthal, AccuWeather staff writer

Published Jun. 1, 2022 11:52 AM EDT | Updated Jun. 1, 2022 1:07 PM EDT

Copied

This intense rockfall was captured on video in Lake Powell, Arizona, on May 31. The recorder described this scene as an "experience of a lifetime."

Tourists on Lake Powell captured astounding video of massive red rocks on the side of the reservoir toppling over into the water, generating a wave powerful enough to capsize a small watercraft.

Mila Carter and her husband Steve were out boating on Lake Powell — a human-made reservoir on the Colorado River in Utah and Arizona — when the pair noticed the beginnings of the rockslide and began recording the collapse.

The video shows a large portion of the cliff — which was more exposed to the elements than usual due to a persistent drought that has brought the lake to its lowest water level ever — toppling into the water, creating an explosion-like plume of dust and a massive wave of water that rushed out from the impact site.

After noticing loose rock falling from the cliffs of Lake Powell, Jeff Carter took out his camera and captured stunning photos of a large rockslide. (Jeff Carter)

Mila, who lives Thatcher, Arizona, with her husband, told 2News her husband sped their boat away from the wave once the rocks fell into the water.

"[The wave was big] enough that it would have just swallowed our boat and swallowed jet skiers or kayakers or anything in its way,” Mila said. “After we were out of the way, we just kind of stopped and watched and made sure we hadn’t seen anything tragic."

Thankfully, no one was injured by the rockfall or the wave, which Mila says was even more impressive than the video shows.

"I feel like the video didn't do that big tidal wave justice," Carter told Fox 13 Utah. "It was just -- it was huge and so I'm grateful we were out of the way."

After noticing loose rock falling from the cliffs of Lake Powell, Jeff Carter took out his camera and captured stunning photos of a large rockslide. (Jeff Carter)

Local geologists told 2News that rockslides are not uncommon in and around Lake Powell, though it is definitely rare to capture such a good video of the phenomenon.

"Rockfall is a natural canyon widening process," said Tyler Knudsen, a senior geologist with the Utah Geological Survey. "A rockfall this size, you know it may be a once-a-year type event. We know there have been even larger rockfalls that have happened in Glen Canyon so I would say this is kind of a medium-sized rockfall."

Another geologist told Arizona's Family that the rockslide may be connected to the ongoing megadrought that has caused record-low water levels at Lake Powell.

FILE - This Aug. 21, 2019 file photo shows Glen Canyon Dam in Page, Ariz. The elevation of Lake Powell fell below 3,525 feet (1,075 meters), a record low that surpasses a critical threshold at which officials have long warned signals their ability to generate hydropower is in jeopardy. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan, File)

"The saturation, and then drying with the falling water levels kind of contributed to that thing falling over," said Joseph Cook, a geologist with the Arizona Geological Survey. "It might have fallen over anyway, but having a reservoir there may have sped up the process."

Drought conditions have dominated the western United States for years on end, and one peer-reviewed study published recently in the journal Nature Climate Change found that the western United States and parts of northern Mexico are experiencing their driest period in at least 1,200 years, with some calling the unprecedented period of dryness a "megadrought."

A formerly sunken boat sits high and dry along the shoreline of Lake Mead at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Tuesday, May 10, 2022, near Boulder City, Nev. The bathtub ring of light minerals shows the high water mark of the reservoir which has fallen to record lows. (AP Photo/John Locher)

The increasingly low water levels have exposed many things in Lake Powell, which was created by the federal government in 1963, over the years, including an old, long-lost shipwreck. In not-too-far-away Lake Mead, which is also seeing some of its lowest water levels on record, the low water levels unearthed the body of a murder victim from the late 1970s or early 1980s.

According to The Associated Press, recent hydrology modeling suggests there’s roughly a 1-in-4 chance that Lake Powell will not be able to produce hydropower for millions of residents in the west by 2024.

See also:

Scientists discover fossil of massive flying 'Dragon of Death'
Woman gored by bison in Yellowstone National Park
Florida could take early-season strike from brewing tropical system

For the latest weather news, check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch the AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios. AccuWeather Now is now available on your preferred streaming platform. 

Report a Typo
Comments that don't add to the conversation may be automatically or manually removed by Facebook or AccuWeather. Profanity, personal attacks, and spam will not be tolerated.
Comments
Hide Comments

Weather News

Severe Weather

Confirmed EF2 tornado devastates southwest Ohio town

Jul. 7, 2022
Weather News

Giant invasive snail sends one Florida county into quarantine

Jul. 5, 2022
Severe Weather

Derecho barrels through northern Plains, Midwest injuring at least 4

Jul. 7, 2022
Weather News

South Dakota skies go green amid severe storms

Jul. 6, 2022
Weather Forecasts

Brief cooldown to settle over Ohio Valley, Southeast

Jul. 7, 2022
Weather Forecasts

Hottest weather of the year on tap for Vegas, Dallas and OKC

Jul. 7, 2022
Weather News

Italy declares state of emergency due to worst drought in decades

Jul. 6, 2022
Severe Weather

Year's worth of rain inundates major Australian city

Jul. 7, 2022
Weather News

California town rebuilding to better withstand future wildfires

Jul. 5, 2022
Recreation

Why a zero-gravity chair is what you should add to your yard this year

Jun. 17, 2022
Recreation

How to keep your pup cool in the tough summer heat

Jun. 20, 2022
Show More Show Less Chevron down

Topics

News & Features

AccuWeather Prime

Astronomy

Business

Climate

Health

Recreation

Sports

Travel

Top Stories

Climate

'The lake is in trouble': Great Salt Lake reaches new historic low

16 hours ago

Astronomy

Telescope test captures 'deepest images of the universe ever taken'

1 hour ago

Weather News

Woman captures the moment lightning strikes her husband's car

16 hours ago

Suburban streets covered in flood water

1 day ago 0:59

Podcast: Lightning safety awareness

More Stories

Featured Topic

Local Arthritis Forecast

Featured Stories

Rare 'electric blue' clouds spotted in night sky over Seattle Deck boxes are the ultimate outdoor storage for your backyard Trusty weed trimmers to tackle your overgrown garden & lawn this summe...
AccuWeather Weather News Sudden rockslide in Lake Powell stuns tourists, sends boaters fleeing large wave
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs Podcast RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Shop AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Weather Blogs Winter Weather
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs Podcast RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Shop AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Weather Blogs Winter Weather
© 2021 AccuWeather, Inc. "AccuWeather" and sun design are registered trademarks of AccuWeather, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy | TAG Disclosure | Do Not Sell My Data checkmark Confirmed Not Selling Your Data

We have updated our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy.

I Understand

Get AccuWeather alerts as they happen with our browser notifications.

Notifications Enabled

Thanks! We’ll keep you informed.

FEEDBACK