Abstract
A high-intensity rainstorm focused above Slide Canyon in North Ogden, Utah, released a total of 21.3 cm of rainfall in a 24-hour period during September 1991. This storm exceeded all previous records for the state and resulted in a debris flow that discharged onto an existing fan and into a residential neighborhood (Camarren Cove Subdivision). Poorly sorted deposits of cobbles and boulders with saturated sand-, silt-, and clay-sized fractions issued 500 m beyond the canyon mouth and deposited debris 1.8 m deep. Water and mud also penetrated an additional 100 m into Camarren Cove. Flow depths exceeded 4.2 m in at least two bedrock reaches of the canyon. One home was dislodged 0.6 m off its foundation and destroyed. Approximately 400 homes were affected by the storm in North Ogden, and another 350 in neighboring Harrisville. High-intensity rainfall on a sparsely vegetated, high-gradient mountain canyon containing abundant unconsolidated deposits provided an ideal combination for this disaster. This investigation discusses the event in light of other historical debris flows occurring along the Wasatch Front and illustrates the need for more stringent building-code policies at the base of active fans in mountainous regions. [Key words: debris flow, rock levee, Wasatch Front, Utah.]
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