By Dan Bammes
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kuer/local-kuer-850860.mp3
Salt Lake City, UT –
Landslides are as common in Utah as the mountains they come from -- part of the natural erosion that produces the canyons and foothills. Most people don't think much about them until they block a river, as the Thistle slide did in 1983, or destroy homes built on hillsides. The slide in Logan that buried a home and killed three people earlier this month has once again raised the question of building in areas that have this potential for disaster.
For years, the Utah Geological Survey has been studying landslides in communites across the state and publishing maps showing where many of those hazards are located. KUER's Dan Bammes spoke with Francis Ashland, a senior geologist with the agency.