Little Cottonwood Canyon, near Salt Lake City, Utah, is one of the most active avalanche zones in the US. By instituting water-based interventions linked to a series of subterranean aquifers created from abandoned silver mines, we aimed to alter the course and formation of avalanches. Proposed techniques include: the manipulation of surface temperatures, the alteration of the snowpack, and the fostering of preventative vegetation.
Unpacking Avalanche Snowpacks
Subterranean Projection on Surface Topography
Geologic Survey of Little Cottonwood Canyon
Four interventions [sprinkler, stream, irrigation, and hot spring] work collectively to create seasonal specific, avalanche mitigation tactics that complement the natural cycles of the slopes. Upon implementation, the proposal will relink the community’s mining history with the current and future needs of the canyon.
Spectacle of micro-climate produced by geothermal hot spring
Supplemental Cartography
Seismic Activity in the Alta region
Vegetation Zones in a High Alpine Climate