Epic Flash Floods - Top 5 Places to Watch the Mayhem

Dan

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note - might want to turn off the music!

Redwall Cavern is one of the many icons in Grand Canyon - a huge alcove that Powell said could seat thousands of people. It's pretty damn impressive in great weather, but in a flash flood, this place is mind blowing.

If I had a wishlist for the Top 5 places to watch a flash flood, I think this would certainly make it. Anyone else have photos, videos or locations that would be perfect for the mayhem?
 
This is a good one too - taken from "the patio" in Matkatamiba Canyon in the big ditch. We used this footage in "last of the great unknown." Awesome spot to kick back, while all your boats are getting blown out of the mouth!


this is a shot of me at the same location in calmer conditions...
matkat.jpg
 
One video comes to mind but I don't have time to go find it. On YouTube Hell Hole Canyon 2012 flood. AMAZING!!! Besides I think it is on a thread here on BCP. I would love to see that canyon flood in person but from a safe distance of course.
 
This past August we witnessed some pretty amazing flooding in Zion canyon. I took a few photos from the shuttle bus that didn't turn out very well but I got some good stuff from under weeping rock. While we were under weeping rock the water and debris erupted out of the Echo canyon like a cannon, it was a pretty humbling experience.

You can find the orginal post here.

Tyler under weeping rock.

Tyler and the Flood by Summit42, on Flickr



Echo Canyon Flash Flood by Summit42, on Flickr


Weeping Rock Pano by Summit42, on Flickr


Heaps Canyon and The Emerald Pools by Summit42, on Flickr
 
Yes Dan that is the one! Amazing. Gorgeous. Beautiful. Breathtaking.
 
Incredible. I've always thought it would be great to be camped in my favorite alcove in lower Death Hollow for a flood. The alcove is right below a significant pour off, almost 180 feet high with a huge pool below. It would be a hell of a cool place to be if you didn't have to be anywhere anytime soon.

You can't see the top of it in this photo, but it's up there. The big pool Nate is floating in is there only because of the ferocity of the flood water that comes off of the pour off. The campsite is back inside the alcove.

 
This past August we witnessed some pretty amazing flooding in Zion canyon. I took a few photos from the shuttle bus that didn't turn out very well but I got some good stuff from under weeping rock. While we were under weeping rock the water and debris erupted out of the Echo canyon like a cannon, it was a pretty humbling experience.

You can find the orginal post here.

I was going to mention this experience, but Bill took care of it :). It was seriously the coolest experience I've had with the rain in the desert.
 
We were in Black Dragon canyon when it flashed a few years back. It wasn't very epic but it was pretty cool to see.

Black Dragon Canyon 5.2.2009 by Summit42, on Flickr


Black Dragon Canyon - 5.2.2009 by Summit42, on Flickr



September 2011 we drove down to the Swell and arrived during the tail end of a pretty massive thunder storm. The flow was pretty crazy where Straight Wash crossed 24 but I failed to take any photos due to the heavy rain. We tried to drive out towards North Temple Wash when we ran into a cold, wet, and muddy couple in their mid 50's who were in shock and frantically trying to get our attention. We made room for them in the car and drove them to the Goblin Valley VC. Earlier, they had parked in a wash and started hiking just before the storm moved in. Once it hit the husband ran down canyon to try and move their 4runner and save his camera gear but by the time he made it the windows were smashed in from the flood waters and the car was a total loss. The water came up and the wife couldn't make it down canyon for a few hours so she had no idea if her husband made it or was washed away. Luckily they had just reunited before we came across them. The next day we tried to find their 4runner just to get some pics but the roads were still pretty bad and they weren't exactly clear on where they were.

After we turned them over to the rangers at Goblin we drove down the Little Wild Horse road and the Chute/Crack Canyon drainage (38.57612,-110.745315) was still flowing pretty high. The waters had receded an easy 3' between the peak of the flood and the time I took this video. We camped a few hundred yards away and it was flowing all night long.


whitwilli the day after the flood

Wet by Summit42, on Flickr
 
I was in Capital Reef NP during a heavy rainstorm about 15yrs ago. It rained really hard for a couple of hours straight. We went over to the Fremont Falls to see what effect the rain would have on the river and the falls. It was incredible to see the amount of energy that water possesses when it is funneled together like that. The riverbed just above the falls is more like a canal with steep cliffs on either side that funnels the water to the falls. It is only about 10ft wide above the falls. The waterlevel had risen close to 8-10ft from it's normal levels and the water was literally shooting out of the falls. Pretty amazing. I was 16 at the time and don't have any pictures...:(
 
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