Overview of the Collection
UUS_P0464
Wasatch Research Center photograph collection
1930-1955
Wasatch Research Center (Farmington, Utah0
Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections & Archives
Photograph Collection
Merrill-Cazier Library
Utah State University
3000 Old Main Hill
Logan, UT 84322-3000
Phone: 435 797-8248
Fax: 435 797-2880
Email: scweb@usu.edu
1 box
.5 linear feet
The Wasatch Research Center photograph collection consists of 127 photographs taken or commissioned by the U.S. Forest Service Intermountain Forest and
Range Experiment Station in Ogden,
Utah and sent to the Wasatch Research Station in Farmington between 1930 and 1955. Most of the photos, both from the ground and from the air, were part of exhibits or
published
reports intended to document floods and flood damage, man-made attempts to control flooding and erosion, natural and man-made drainage, riparian areas, dams, and watershed
improvement. In particular, employees of the Experiment Station and Research Center presented the exhibits to members of the state and national legislatures after a series of
deadly and destructive floods during the 1920s, 1930s, and 1950s as evidence that investing in terracing and other “erosion and flood control structures” would be
cost-effective in the long-run.
Material in English
Processed in December of 2011
Unknown
No restrictions on use, except: not available through interlibrary loan.
It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances.
Permission to publish material from the Wasatch Research Center photograph collection must
be obtained from the Special Collections Photograph Curator and/or the Special Collections
Department Head.
Initial Citation:
USU_P0464; Wasatch Research Center photograph collection;
Photograph Collections Special Collections and Archives. Utah State University
Merrill-Cazier Library. Logan, Utah.
Following Citations:USU_P0464,
USUSCA.
Historical Note
As a result of snow-melt and rainfall which often accumulated in streams and rivers mainly during the summer months of July and August, Utah experienced periodic flooding
throughout the 20th Century. Some of the deadliest floods and those most damaging to property in towns and cities, to farm land, and to riparian zones occurred in 1923, several
times in the 1930s, and again in the 1950s, all dates that correspond directly to the majority of the sets of photographs in this collection. These major floods might have led
congress and the scientific community in Utah to take a more proactive approach toward controlling high volumes of water to minimize damage to land and property.
The photographs in this collection document the damage caused throughout Utah by flooding and erosion. But they also demonstrate how effective such “control systems” as
terracing were in limiting flooding and erosion. Through ground photos and aerial photos, the Forest Service also appears to have discovered that vegetation and trees in
riparian zones, which is to say in the lands near rivers and streams, was a critical factor in the build-up of excess water, or the lack thereof in given regions. By taking
photographs at various locations in Utah, especially in canyons, around rivers and their tributaries, agencies tasked with these projects might have been able to determine the
factors which contribute to flooding and erosion, and to devise ways to prevent such events in cost-effective ways through human intervention.
The Wasatch Research Center photograph collection consists of 127 photographs taken or commissioned by the U.S. Forest Service Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station in Ogden,
Utah, and sent to the Wasatch Research Station in Farmington between 1930 and 1955. Most of the photos, both from the ground and from the air, were part of exhibits or published
reports intended to document floods and flood damage, man-made attempts to control flooding and erosion, natural and man-made drainage, riparian areas, dams, and watershed
improvement. In particular, employees of the Experiment Station and Research Center presented the exhibits to members of the state and national legislatures after a series of
deadly and destructive floods during the 1920s, 1930s, and 1950s as evidence that investing in terracing and other “erosion and flood control structures” would be
cost-effective in the long-run.
Water and Water Rights
Images
Public Works
Flood damage prevention -- Utah -- Photographs
Flood damage -- Utah -- Photographs
Flood control -- Utah -- Photographs
Floods -- Utah -- Photographs
Soil erosion -- Utah -- Photographs
Soil conservation -- Utah -- Photographs
Terracing -- Utah -- Photographs
Aerial photography in soil conservation -- Utah -- Specimens
Aerial photographs
Utah -- Aerial photographs
1
1
1:01:01
"Official Air National Guard Photograph: “Bountiful Peak: South looking North"
1935
1
1
1:01:02
"Bountiful Peak: Southeast looking Northwest"
1935
1
1
1:01:03
"Bountiful Peak: Northwest looking Southeast"
1930-1955
1
1
1:01:04
"Bountiful Peak: Northeast looking Southwest"
1935
1
1
1:01:05
"Bountiful Peak: North Northeast looking South Southwest"
1935
1
1
1:01:06
"Bountiful Peak: West looking East"
1935
1
1
1:01:07
"Physiography of, left to right: Centerville, Ward, and Holbrook Canyon, Utah. By A.R.C."
October 1935
1
1
1:01:08
"Physiography of, left to right: Ford, Barnard Parrish, and Centerville Canyons. By A.R.C."
October 1935
1
1
1:01:09
"Erosion and stream flow control structures: A view across the head of Parrish Canyon which is badly denuded and eroding. CCC camp in foreground"
1930-1955
1
1
1:01:10
"North Fork of Parrish Creek showing erosion control work. By A.R.C."
1930-1955
1
1
1:01:11
"The Head of Steed and Hornet Creeks before terracing. By A.R.C."
October 1935
1
1
"One of the drainages of the Davis County Watershed near Bountiful. Possibly the Creek in which Mueller Park is located. By A.R.C."
1:01:12
October 1935
1
1
1:01:13
"The head of one of the branches of Ward Canyon on the left. By A.R.C."
October 1935
1
1
1:01:14
"Physiography, erosion and stream flow control structures at the head of Parrish Creek. Centerville Canyon on the right. By A.R.C."
October 1935
1
1
1:01:15
Aerial view of an unidentified canyon
1930-1955
1
1
1:01:16
"Terracing on Ford Creek drainage, Davis County"
1930-1955
1
1
1:01:17
"In the left foreground Farmington Canyon drainage. In the background, the dairy farms between ___ Creek and Canal Creek, which drain into Weber River. By A.R.C."
1930-1955
1
1
1:01:18
"In the left foreground Farmington Canyon drainage. In the background, the dairy farms between ___ Creek and Canal Creek, which drain into Weber River. By A.R.C."
October 1935
1
1
1:01:19
"Erosion-control work at the head of Parrish Creek. Centerville Canyon on the right. By A.R.C."
October 1935
1
1
1:01:20
"Physiography and erosion and stream flow control structures in the head of Parrish Canyon. By A.R.C."
October 1935
1
1
1:01:21
"North Fork of Parrish Creek, Utah, showing erosion control work. By A.R.C."
undated
1
1
1:01:22
"Physiography. Utah. The absence of ____ in Centerville Creek is particularly noticeable from the air. View at main forks of the Canyon. By A.R.C."
October 1935
1
1
1:01:23
"The Head of Centerville Canyon, Utah. By A.R.C."
October 1935
1
1
1:01:24
"View of North Fork of Parrish Creek showing erosion control work. By A.R.C."
October 1935
1
1
1:01:25
"From right to left showing heads of Parrish, Barnard, (?) and Ford Creeks. By A.R.C."
October 1935
1
1
1:01:26
"Right: forks of the head of Centerville Canyon. Right foreground: control work in the tributary of Centerville Canyon. Left background: control work in the head of South Fork of Parrish Canyon. By A.R.C."
October 1935
1
1
1:01:27
"The Head of Centerville Canyon. By A.R.C."
October 1935
1
1
1:01:28
"Erosion islands and erosion-control work in Ford and Davis Creeks, right to left. The head of Steed Creek unterraced on the left. By A.R.C."
October 1935
1
1
1:01:29
"Erosion islands and erosion-control work in the drainage basins of Parrish, Barnard, and the South Fork of Ford Creeks, right to left. By A.R.C."
undated
1
2
1:02:01-1:02:03
"Congressional Committee Information Show at Parrish cabin"
August 1955
1
2
1:02:04
"Spillway of debris basin at Willard, Utah being repaired as a result of bad leakage"
1930-1955
1
2
1:02:05
"U.S. Forest Service Photo of the site of Cottonwood Grove in Farmington Canyon. Site is near the stone monuments where four boy scouts and a newly married couple died in the flood of 1923"
1930-1955
1
3
1:03:01
"Flood damage at a private residence. Unknown date and location. Possibly taken by Richard Marston"
undated
1
4
1:04:01
"Soils profile at the mouth of Whipple Creek, a tributary of Farmington Canyon, exposed by the flood of July 10, 1936"
July 1936
1
3
1:04:02
"Documenting erosion in a gully in which flooding displaced and deposited sediment at the mouth of Ford Canyon. By E.S. Shipp"
1930
1
5
1:05:01
"Nine men build terracing on a hillside. Nothing else known"
1930-1955
1
6
1:06:01
"Instructor D.W. Goodrich, fifth from the left, and six reserve officers at flying school in the Air National Guard who provided aerial
photographs included in this collection"
October 1935
1
6
1:06:02
"Farmington Canyon drainage from the Utah Power and Light hydroelectric plant to a point above the main forks"
1935
1
6
1:06:03
"Looking down the road of Farmington Canyon to the remains of the old creek delta and the previous debris basin in the foreground and the comparatively level lake basic immediately beyond"
May 1939
1
6
1:06:04
"View across Death Hollow, lower channel of Ford Creek showing remains of the delta produced by Lake Bonneville. A.R.C."
September 1938
1
6
1:06:05
"Panoramic view of unconformities in gravel pit in Lake Bonneville deposits, three miles north of Plymouth, Utah"
May 1939
1
6
1:06:06
"Continuation of the panoramic view in the previous photo"
1930-1955
1
6
1:06:07
"View from across Davis Creek showing remains of delta produced by Lake Bonneville"
September 1938
1
7
1:07:01
"Binder: Water Utilization by Vegetation: Riparian Vegetation: Photos of Parrish Creek and Centerville Creek Channels"
1935-1944
1
8
1:08:01
"Echo Reservoir, drained because of 1954 drought. Taken by B. Fisher"
1930-1955
1
8
1:08:02
"Echo Reservoir drained. Taken by B. Fisher"
1954
1
8
1:08:03
"B. Fisher with Prof. Morris and eight other men during the 1953 ‘show-me-trip’"
1953
1
8
1:08:04
"B. Fisher with Prof. Morris and eight other men during the 1953 ‘show-me-trip’"
1953
1
8
1:08:05
"Richard Marston, B. Fisher and Junks (?) during a 1955 ‘show-me’ trip"
1955
1
8
1:08:06
"Richard Marston and 3 Junks, during the 1955 ‘show-me-trip.’ By B. Fisher"
1955
1
8
1:08:07
"Eight unidentified men on Congressional ‘show-me-trip.” By B. Fisher"
1955
1
8
1:08:08
"2 Junks and Richard Marston during the ‘show-me-trip.’ By B. Fisher"
1955
1
8
1:08:09
"3 Junks and Richard Marston during a ‘show-me-trip.’ By B. Fisher"
1955
1
8
1:08:10-1:08:15
"Beaver Dam, Farmington Canyon, near the lake. By B. Fisher"
1955
1
9
1:09:01
View showing Field Day group at Alpine Substation at Great Basin Branch
July 1936
1
9
1:09:02
"Erosion and stream flow control structures: Building terraces on Davis County erosion control project. Possibly taken by Swan"
September 1935
1
9
1:09:03
"Another view of a tractor building terracing in Davis County, Utah. By R.W.B"
1934
1
9
1:09:04
Boulders and sediment deposited in a gorge at the mouth of Ford Creek delta in Davis County, Utah in 1930 and afterward. Taken in 1934 by R.W.B"
1930
1
9
1:09:05
"Canal in north tributary of Ford Canyon following flooding. Taken by E.S. Shipp"
September 1930
1
9
1:09:06
Marked as Plot #7, this photo contains an unknown wooden structure surrounded by trees
1930-1955
1
9
1:09:07
"Two photos of men building erosion control structures, terracing, on a hillside, likely in the mid-1930s. Possibly take by Blodgett"
1930-1955
1
9
1:09:08
A man, possibly a surveyor, in a gorge clearly created by the erosion of rock by water. Likely in the early to mid-1930s in Utah, Also likely Ford Canyon
1930-1955
1
9
1:09:09
"View of a gorge created by water erosion surrounded by boulders. Possibly was the site of mineral excavation, as there appears to be a man-made mining chute"
1930-1955
1
9
1:09:10
"Five men survey flood damage and displacement of soil with a building in the background"
1930-1955
1
9
1:09:11
"A surveyor stands near the bottom of a deep gorge carved out by a flooded stream"
1930-1955
1
9
1:09:12
"A large basin filled with boulders washed down the hill to the back-right. Streams flow around the eroded rock as a man surveys the damage. 1930s, location and exact date unknown"
1930-1955
1
10
1:10:01-1:10:03
"Concrete steps of a building no longer there, in a field on a hillside. Taken by Etsil R. Fisher of Farmington, Utah"
1930-1955
1
10
1:10:04-1:10:06
"A very large boulder in a field near Davis Creek in 1930. Taken by Etsil R. Fisher of Farmington, Utah"
1930
1
10
1:10:07
"A large boulder near Davis Creek documenting floods and erosion in Wasatch National Forest. Taken by E.S. Shipp and Parkinson"
August 1930
1
10
1:10:08
“Looking downstream a gully near the head of a tributary of Ford Canyon, which contributed to debris deposited at the mouth of Ford Canyon. By E.S. Shipp”
1930
1
10
1:10:09-1:10:10
“Flood of Lost Creek in Provo Canyon in 1938”
July 1938
1
10
1:10:11-1:10:12
"Drainage Basins and slope vegetation in Provo Canyon’s Lost Creek"
1930-1955
1
10
1:10:13
"Boulders in Davis Creek. By E.S. Shipp and Parkinson"
August 1930
1
10
1:10:14
"View upstream from below the bridge at Halfway creek. By A.R.C"
August 1947
1
10
1:10:15
"Parshall flume after the Miller Canyon Flood of July 10, 1936. By A.R.C."
July 1936
1
10
1:10:16
"Channel between forks and Parshall flume in west Miller Canyon. By A.R.C."
1936
1
10
1:10:17
"Soil profile exposed by channel cutting in the flood of July 10, 1936, at the mouth of Whipple Creek, a tributary of Farmington Canyon. By A.R.C"
July 1936
1
10
1:10:18
"Exhuming an automobile from the mud following a flood in Ford Canyon"
1930-1955
1
10
1:10:19
"Section of Ford Creek delta exposed by flood of 1930 showing soil erosion of about 30 feet. Taken by R.W.B in 1934 in Davis County, Utah."
1934
1
10
1:10:20
"Channeling by a flood in Whipple Creek, a tributary of Farmington Canyon. By H.E. Peterson"
1936
1
10
1:10:21-1:10:22
"Residence practically destroyed by the flood of Ford Canyon in 1923"
1930-1955
1
10
1:10:23
"Channel cut by Whipple Creek in Davis County on July 10, 1936, where 1.23” of rain fell in a half-hour"
July 1936
1
10
1:10:24
"Damaged aerial photo of water run-off from a canyon into the inhabited lands downstream"
1930-1955
1
10
1:10:25
"Huge boulder, machinery and debris deposited in a building by flooding"
1930-1955
1
11
1:11:01
"A carbon inventory of a series of photographs of physiography of Utah Canyons, only some of which are here included"
1930-1955
1
11
1:11:02-1:11:10
"Physiographical photos of canyons in Utah affected by flooding in the 1930s"
1936-1938
1
12
1:12:01
"The lake formed between Snow Slide Gulch and Vivian Park by mud and rock flow from the gulch on July 14, 1938. by A.R.C."
July 1938
1
12
1:12:02
“Showing height of mud-rock flow from Miller Canyon on July 10, 1936. By A.R.C.”
July 1936
1
12
1:12:03
"A 20-foot wide, 12-foot deep cross-section of Miller Canyon one-half mile from its confluence with Farmington Canyon shows flood erosion in July, 1936. By A.R.C."
July 1936
1
12
1:12:04
"The lake created by flooding in Provo Canyon between Snow Slide Gulch and Vivian Park on July 14, 1938. By A.R.C."
July 1938
1
12
1:12:05
“Material deposited on the Snow Slide Gulch alluvial fan by July 14, 1938 flood and attempts to drain the lake. By A.R.C.”
July 1938
1
12
1:12:06
"Vegetative cover at Lost Creek in Provo Canyon in July 1938. By A.R.C."
July 1938
1
12
1:12:07
"Jetties on the Virgin River below Bunkerville, Nevada, which prevented further loss of farmland during flood stages. By A.R.C."
July 1937
1
12
1:12:08
"Man examines flood damage in an apple orchard"
1930-1955
1
12
1:12:09
"Crew works near apparent site of flooding near railroad tracks next to stream"
1930-1955
1
12
1:12:10
"Shows several hundred tons of boulders deposited near the mouth of Farmington Canyon from Miller Canyon in the flood of July 10, 1936. By A.R.C."
July 1936
1
12
1:12:11
“Debris deposited at the lower end of Lost Creek in Provo Canyon in July 1938 mud-rock flow. By A.R.C.”
1930-1955
1
12
1:12:12
"View of Utah Valley from the head of Lost Creek, Provo Canyon . By A.R.C"
July 1938
1
13
1:13:01-1:13:06
"Six photos, most unrelated and without descriptions- a deer in the front yard of a home, an elderly woman with the deer, a snow-capped
flower or vegetation, and three landscapes, plus several unattached descriptions for unknown photos"
1930-1955
1
13
1:13:07
"Unidentified man walks in a field"
1930-1955
1
13
1:13:08
"Blurry image that is an unidentifiable copy and enlargement of another, marked NMR-29"
1930-1955