UTAH GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Plate 6

a division of Utah Geological Survey Special Study 127

Utah Department of Natural Resources Geologic Hazards and Adverse Construction Conditions,

PLATE 6 St. George−Hurricane Metropolitan Area, Washington County, Utah

EXPANSIVE-SOIL- AND ROCK-SUSCEPTIBILITY MAP FOR THE R 13 W R 12 W

ST. GEORGE–HURRICANE METROPOLITAN AREA

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Although this product represents the work of professional scientists, the Utah Department of Natural Resources,
William R. Lund, Tyler R. Knudsen, Garrett S. Vice, and Lucas M. Shaw

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Utah Geological Survey, makes no warranty, expressed or implied, regarding its suitability for a particular use. 21
The Utah Department of Natural Resources, Utah Geological Survey, shall not be liable under any circumstances

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for any direct, indirect, special, incidental, or consequential damages with respect to claims by users of this
product.
2008

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For use at 1:24,000 scale only. The Utah Geological Survey does not guarantee accuracy or completeness of

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data.

EXPLANATION DISCUSSION
SYMBOLS Expansive soil and rock contain a significant percentage of clay minerals that can absorb water directly into their crystal structure when wetted, and therefore
SOIL
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Soils with high susceptibility for volumetric change are typically clay rich and have a liquid limit (LL) >45, _
a plasticity index (PI) >20, and/or a increase in volume as they get wet and shrink as they dry out. Some clay minerals can swell as much as 2000 percent upon wetting. The resulting expansion
14 o Municipality boundary ESH _
swell/collapse test (SCT) value of >3 percent swell. Soils with these characteristics are of limited aerial extent at the surface in the study area, forces can be greater than 20,000 pounds per square foot, and can easily exceed the loads imposed by small structures, resulting in cracked foundations and 30 29 28 27 26 25
but are frequently found at depth as shown by the geotechnical database (see GEOTECHNICAL DATA EVALUATION section in accompanying other structural damage. Many bedrock formations in the St. George – Hurricane metropolitan area consist in whole or part of shale, claystone, or mudstone
Interstate Highway text). This phenomenon reflects the fact that most of the geotechnical data available for the study area come from the municipalities of St. strata, which contain expansive clay minerals. These rock units and the expansive soils derived from them are capable of significant expansion and contraction
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when wetted and dried, causing structural damage to buildings; cracked driveways; damage to curbs, gutters, and sidewalks; and heaving of roads and canals.
TRUE NORTH

George, Santa Clara, Ivins, and Washington, portions of which are underlain at shallow depth (typically <20 feet) by bedrock with high or
ORT

Basemap consists of National Agricultural Imagery Program State Highway Because expansive soil and rock rarely if ever cause rapid, catastrophic property damage or are a threat to life safety, for purposes of this study, expansive soil
moderate susceptibility for volumetric change. The influence of this shallow, often clay-rich source rock on overlying soils is apparent in the

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natural color aerial photography.
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UTAH geotechnical data collected from below a depth of 60 inches. and rock are considered adverse construction conditions and not geologic hazards.
Major local surface street
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Universal Transverse Mercator Projection, zone 12. R 14 W R 13 W
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North American Datum 1983. Other road For additional information about expansive soil and rock in the St. George – Hurricane metropolitan area, refer to the Problem-Soil-and-Rock text document in
Soils classified by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) as having moderate susceptibility for volumetric change (LL from 20 to
Map Location this report.
Approximate mean ESM 50, and PI from nonplastic [NP] to 30). These values overlap at their upper ends with soils in the high susceptibility category. Chen (1988)
declination, 2007 recognized that while PI is an indicator of expansive potential, other factors also exert an influence, and therefore reported a range of PI values
when categorizing soil’s capacity to shrink or swell.
USING THIS MAP
Soils classified by the NRCS as having low susceptibility for volumetric change (LL from 0-30, and PI from NP-15). These values overlap at
ESL The Expansive-Soil-and-Rock-Susceptibility Map shows the location of known or suspected expansive soil and rock in the St. George – Hurricane metropolitan
their upper ends with soils in the moderate susceptibility category. However, the low category includes soils with highly variable potential for
volumetric change that do not fit easily into the moderate or high categories. area. The map is intended for general planning purposes to indicate where expansive soil and rock conditions may exist and special studies may be required.
The UGS recommends performing a site-specific geotechnical foundation/geologic-hazards study for all development at all locations in the study area. Site-
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specific studies can resolve uncertainties inherent in generalized mapping and help ensure safety by identifying the need for special foundation designs or
mitigation techniques. The presence and severity of expansive soil and rock along with other adverse construction conditions and geologic hazards should be
ROCK addressed in these investigations. If expansive soil or rock is present at a site, appropriate design recommendations should be provided.
Scale 1:24,000 Bedrock units with high shrink/swell susceptibility include claystone horizons in the Virgin Limestone Member of the Moenkopi Formation; the
113 22' 30" W
1 0.5 0 1 2 ERH Petrified Forest Member of the Chinle Formation, known locally as the “Blue Clay;” the lower red beds of the Dinosaur Canyon Member and the
Miles T 40 S T 40 S
Whitmore Point Member of the Moenave Formation; the Iron Springs Formation, which contains abundant clay-rich strata in its lower part; and
T 41 S T 41 S
a thin interval (maximum thickness 90 feet) of montmorillonitic clay that lies between the Carmel Formation and the overlying Iron Springs
1 0.5 0 1 2
Kilometers Formation. Landslides mapped within these rock units were also included in the high-susceptibility category. These bedrock units contain an MAP LIMITATIONS
abundance of expansive clay minerals and are commonly associated with expansive rock problems in the study area. The Expansive-Soil-and-Rock-Susceptibility Map is based on limited geologic and geotechnical data; site-specific studies are required to produce more detailed
geotechnical information. The map also depends on the quality of those data, which varies throughout the study area. The mapped boundaries between
Bedrock units with moderate shrink/swell susceptibility include the Shnabkaib and lower, middle, and upper red members of the Moenkopi
susceptibility categories are approximate and subject to change with additional information. The hazard from expansive soil and rock may be different than

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ERM Formation; the Co-op Creek and Crystal Creek Members of the Carmel Formation; and the Temple Cap Formation. These rock units are chiefly
shown at any particular site because of geological variations within a map unit, gradational and approximate map-unit boundaries, and the small map scale.
fine grained and contain alternating strata of shale, claystone, mudstone, siltstone, sandstone, and limestone. Not all or necessarily the 01 06 05 04 03 02 01
113 37' 30" W This map is not intended for use at scales other than the published scale, and is designed for use in general planning to indicate the need for site-specific
R 16 W R 15 W majority of these strata contain expansive clay minerals, but past experience in the study area has shown that a sufficiently high percentage of
37 15' N 06 studies. 37 15' N
06 05 04 03 02 01 strata do contain expansive clays that foundation problems are often associated with these rock units. Where mapped as undivided, we
assigned a moderate susceptibility to the Moenkopi Formation, Carmel Formation, and grouped Triassic, Triassic/Jurassic, and
Diamond Valley Jurassic/Cretaceous rocks. Landslides mapped within moderate-susceptibility units are also included in this category.

Bedrock units with low shrink/swell susceptibility include the Timpoweap Member of the Moenkopi Formation and the the Kayenta Formation.
MITIGATION
ERL Although we consider these units to have a low susceptibility relative to the bedrock units identified above, they contain some fine-grained, clay- Although potentially costly when not recognized and properly accommodated in project design and construction, problems associated with expansive soil and
rich strata that may cause shrink/swell problems locally. rock rarely are life threatening. As with most adverse construction conditions, early recognition and avoidance is the most effective way to mitigate potential
problems. However, expansive soil and rock are widespread in the St. George – Hurricane metropolitan area and avoidance is generally not a viable or cost-
effective mitigation option.
CONCEALED
_ percent swell) in the shallow subsurface (<20
Area of highly expansive soil or rock (>5 _ feet), but with little or no evidence of such material at the In Utah, soil test requirements are specified in the soil and foundations provisions of International Building Code (IBC) (International Code Council, 2006a)
CHESR ground surface. Based on past engineering experience, such highly expansive soil or rock can cause differential displacements at the ground Chapter 18 (p. 343) and the foundations provisions of the International Residential Code (IRC) (International Code Council, 2006b) Chapter 4 (p. 42), which are
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adopted statewide. IBC Section 1802.2.2 (p. 343) and IRC Section R401.4 (p. 67) contain requirements for soil investigations10in areas where expansive soil 11
surface even when overlain by as much as 20 feet of nonexpansive material, and these areas are considered to have a high potential for 09 10 12

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may be present. Where the presence of expansive soil 08or rock is confirmed, possible mitigation
09 techniques include soil or rock removal and replacement with 11
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expansive soil and rock problems. 09
noncohesive, compacted backfill; use of special foundation designs such as drilled pier and beam foundations or stiffened slab-on-grade construction; moisture

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12 07 08 09 10 barriers; foundation soil prewetting; chemical stabilization of expansive clays (Nelson and Miller, 1992); and careful site landscape and drainage design to keep
moisture away from buildings and expansive soils (Keller and Blodgett, 2006).

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