ZION NATIONAL PARK, Utah (AP) – The same unique geological quirks that lure people to the majestic slot canyons of the desert Southwest also make them deadly.
The curved, narrow sandstone walls glow in the sun with a cathedral-like light. When it rains, however, they can fill with raging rain water in an instant, leaving people with no escape.
That’s exactly what happened Monday evening to a group of seven hikers from California and Nevada who were trapped by floodwaters in the popular Keyhole Canyon in Zion National Park. The canyon is as narrow as a window in some spots and several hundred feet deep.
Six have turned up dead. One is still missing.
“That little bit of rain can turn what was a very comfortable daylong excursion into a horror story, literally in a split second,” said Colorado-based canyoneering expert Steve Allen.