January 8, 2008

Landslide Susceptibility Map of Utah (pdf)

A new digital map is now available which shows areas of Utah that are vulnerable to landslides. The Utah Geological Survey (UGS) map is a statewide landslide susceptibility map at 1:500,000 scale.

"Landslides have caused significant economic loss in Utah and the exposure to landslide hazards increases as development continues to expand into landslide-prone areas," said Richard Giraud, UGS Senior Geologist. "The map is at a statewide scale and designed for general planning to determine areas where landslide hazards may exist and more detailed landslide-hazard studies are needed for planning and development."

Landslide susceptibility categories for the map were established using mapped landslides, geologic units, and statistic-derived landslide slope-angle thresholds in each geologic unit. A 10-page digital booklet summarizes the methods used to produce the map. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) spatial data files are provided as geodatabase (gdb) and shape file formats. Commercial software is required to fully utilize GIS files.

This map is a cooperative project of the Utah Geological Survey and the Utah Division of Homeland Security funded through the federal Pre-Disaster Mitigation Grant Program. The map took 18-months to complete. The next review is tentatively planned for five years from now after additional geologic mapping has been completed.

Map 228DM is available for $19.95 at the Natural Resources Map & Bookstore, located at 1594 West North Temple, Salt Lake City (801-537-3320 or 1-888-UTAHMAP; geostore@utah.gov). The map can also be viewed on the UGS website at http://geology.utah.gov/online/m/m-228.pdf.