[2004, UT] Zion - Weeping Rock

Weeping Rock, shuttle bus的第七站, Virgin River (和公路!)在此轉了個180的大彎, 叫做The Big Bend。 站在路面上只能瞻仰巍峨的山璧, 要見到大轉彎還得努力往上爬才行。 Hidden Valley的步道口也在此, 我們先甘後苦, 先來點簡單的。

這條步道有點上坡, 但是因為實在很短, 還沒開始喘就走到了。 觀景台在凹進去的山壁裡, 答答的水滴就從頭頂的岩層上像下雨一樣地低落下來。 往外望去, 像賞一幅濕潤的雨中即景。

好端端的石頭怎麼會哭泣? 當然也是源自於岩層的組成結構。 這些水來自更上層的Echo Canyon, 往下流的水來到這裡遇到無法穿透的頁岩(shale), 只好改道走水平路線, 直到遇到垂直的山壁表面才滲了出來。 "Spring line"指的就是可滲透跟不可滲透的岩層交接處。 有著水流滋潤的山壁常常會長滿了植物, 形成hanging garden。

解說牌上寫的:

Mud deposited in lowland streams millions of years ago was covered over with wind blown sand. Centuries of pressure squeezed the mud into thin shale layers and the sand into thick layers of sandstone. Water passes easily through sandstone but not through shale. Rain and snow falling on the plateau above soaks into the sandstone. When it reaches the hard shale it moves sideways to emerge on the face of the cliff as a spring.