Landslides

By: S. N. Eldredge The Utah Geological and Mineral Survey (UGMS) received funding for two years from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) for landslide inventory work. UGMS intended to develop a standard report form and a manual for recording information...

By: G. C. Willis In the spring of 1983 an old landslide near Thistle, Utah reactivated and moved downslope, forming a dam 220 feet (67 m) high which blocked a major railroad, highway, and river. Thistle Lake, which formed behind...

By: Gregg Beukelman According to the U.S. Geological Survey, landslides are a serious geological hazard common to almost every state in our country. Publication addresses Landslides: Serious and Common Geologic Hazards, Types of Landslides, Causes of Landslides, Landslide Distribution, Reducing...

By: J. J. Castleton Rock falls pose a hazard in Utah because we live, work, and recreate in close proximity to mountains and mesas. This publication explains how and why rock falls occur, and ways to reduce the potential damage...

By: A. Elliott Early in 2005, several landslides occurred in the Creekside Drive area of Mountain Green located in western Morgan County. Details about the geologic makeup of the area, as well as damage caused by the landslides are included...

By: A. Elliott Homeowners in Cedar Hills first detected movement on the Sage Vista Lane landslide on April 28, 2005, and by the next day the landslide had moved against the lower back wall of a townhouse unit. This publication...

By: A. Elliott The August 2001 Heather Drive landslide in Layton damaged six houses, forcing homeowners to evaluate them. This publication discusses the event and aftermath, as well as the geological makeup of the area in an attempt to explain...

By: W. F. Case Landslides occur as gravitational forces exceed the strength of the material in a slope. Rock slides, debris slides, and slumps “slide” on a weak, fractured, slick, clayey, or water-saturated surface. This two-page sheet discusses why landslides...

By: W. F. Case Rock falls are a natural process of cliff and hillside erosion. They consist of large rock fragments from a cliff, or boulders from a slope that bounce, roll, and slide down a hillside and come to...

By: GES staff Landslides are common in Utah. Landslide hazards are greatest near or on steep slopes or along streams. Listed below are suggestions on how to recognize landslides and landslide-prone areas, and what to do to reduce the likelihood...

By: F. X. Ashland and M. D. Hylland This pamphlet provides a nontechnical summary of the results of the Utah Geological Survey’s preliminary slope-stability evaluation of the Pine Ridge landslide at the Timber Lakes Estates in Wasatch County, and discusses...

By: F. X. Ashland The relationship between ground-water levels and late winter/early spring snowmelt was evaluated at selected northern Utah landslides where ground-water observation wells had previously been installed. The period of investigation between September 2007 and August 2008 was...

By: F. X. Ashland Using geomorphic analysis, and radiocarbon ages from a consultant’s landslide investigation, this publication outlines a partial movement history for the Little Valley landslide in Draper, Utah, and an approach for recognizing earthquake-induced reactivation in preexisting slides...

By: F. X. Ashland Earthquake-induced landslides, with the exception of liquefaction-induced lateral spreads, have not been recognized in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. This study assesses the feasibility of identifying such earthquake-induced landslides, given the documented latest Pleistocene to...

By: F. X. Ashland and G. N. McDonald Earthquake-induced landslides, with the exception of liquefaction-induced lateral spreads, have not been recognized in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. Based on the inferences of previous researchers that some prehistoric, catastrophic rock...

By: F. X. Ashland, R. E. Giraud, and G. N. McDonald We monitored ground-water levels in and adjacent to five Wasatch Front landslides to document seasonal and intermediate-term ground-water-level fluctuations that can be used to estimate design ground-water levels in...

By: F. X. Ashland Nationwide, estimated losses from damaging landslides range from $1.2 to $2.4 billion annually. In Utah, documented losses from damaging landslides in 2001 exceeded $3 million, including the costs to repair and stabilize hillsides along state and...

By: B. J. Solomon This publication is an engineering folio for the Springdale area. Three of the six plates deal with different hazards, which are: landslide hazards; flood hazards and problem soils; and earthquake hazards, shallow ground-water, rock-fall hazards, and...

By: M. D. Hylland, M. Lowe, and C. E. Bishop This publication is an engineering folio for western Wasatch County. Four plates detail the landslide hazards in the area. Four plates detail the flood hazards, earthquake hazards, and problem soils...

By: F. D. Davis Most of southeastern Utah is in the Colorado Plateau physiographic province. Only the western parts of Wayne and Garfield counties are in the Southern High Plateaus Section of the Basin and Range-Colorado Plateau subprovince. The Colorado...