USE OF ARSGIS ONLINE STORY MAPS FOR ENGINEERING AND GEOTECHNOLOGY AWARENESS IN THE UTAH CEDAR VALLEY, IRON COUNTY, UTAH

This project focuses on some of the more common hazards to the construction challenges of the area because of the large amount of incomplete work being done by these contractors over the last fifty years. In the last two years a large influx of people have moved and built in some of these geohazard areas without being aware of what that means for the land in the future. By lacking the general knowledge of these hazards they are threatening to cause more problems to this valleys region, instead fixing previous mishaps and problems. Utah is one of the few states in the United States of America that does not require sellers, contractors, or real estate agents to notify or inform any buyers of geohazards present on property. For this project, the lead author researched, gathered and arranged geospatial information about some of the primary geohazards in the eastern portion of the Cedar Valley for the city of Cedar City, Utah. As of the present time, there is no official geohazard map of any part of the Cedar Valley and most up to date information is about twenty years old. Data sources include physical and digital data archives from the Southern Utah University library and 50 years of recent downloadable data from the internet.The lead author cross referenced data with the hazards that the construction industry in southern Utah frequently encounters including flooding, fault lines, collapsible and swelling soils, and ancient and active landslides. The information is consolidated in an ArcGIS online story map through. After the completion of the project, the interactive GIS map will be available to both industrial, commercial, residential and transportation construction and engineering firms as suggested reference material. It will also be open to the public through ArcGIS online, and all may request to add or change information currently on the story map. If a change is requested, the information will be checked and corrected or rejected. A link to the map is also located on the Southern Utah University Geosciences website. The projects will help the construction in the Cedar Valley to become safer, more reenforced and for contractors to know what issues they will be facing.