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May 17, 2008 




Students at Beacon Heights Elementary study erosion

Students at Beacon Heights Elementary study erosion

Students experimented with erosion by predicting what would happen to "Mr. Not-So-Smart's" house that was built on a river bank.


Project WEST
204 Mines, Univeristy of Utah
Salt Lake City, UT 84112-0112


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Home • Water and the Environment
Water and the Environment

The unifying theme of WEST (water and the environment) emerges because of its simplicity and its significance for human survival and livelihood in the arid west. Every school student, every university student, and every resident in the State of Utah is impacted by the local hydrological cycle:  rain and snow fall on our mountain ranges, run off in streams or percolate into the ground, support the many ecosystems found between 12,000 ft and 3,000 ft elevation, provide for both agriculture and urban consumption, and flow ultimately through wetlands to the unique ecosystem of the Great Salt Lake.  Because Utah is the second driest state in the nation, water has a profound effect on recreation, the economy, and settlement.  Perhaps most important, ongoing population increases along the Wasatch Front, combined with recent years of drought conditions, have depleted water resources to near-crisis levels, and this situation will likely remain critical for the foreseeable future.  By gaining an enhanced understanding of the role of water in Utah habitats, students will simultaneously contemplate their place in nature and increase their awareness of key environmental issues.

Figure 1: Schematic West-to-East diagram of the Wasatch Front in Utah showing the complete hydrologic cycle within sight of Salt Lake City schools. Precipitation varies from 60 inches annually near the crest of the Wasatch Mountains to less than 8 inches annually over the Great Salt Lake and in the west desert. The watershed is bisected by the Wasatch Front urban corridor, with over 1 million people and growing at 3% per year. Letters A through F indicate separate parts of the hydrologic cycle: A atmosphere/weather system, B alpine recharge area, C foothills or benches, D urban corridor, E the wetlands, and F the Great Salt Lake.
Figure 2. Satellite image of Salt Lake Valley showing an entire hydrological watershed from the Wasatch Mountains (B) in the east, across the alluvial benches of the foothills (C), the urban corridor (D), the wetlands (E), to the Great Salt Lake (F). The Salt Lake City school district (outlined) and elementary school locations (open circles) are a central part of the watershed. The red “U” (near C) shows the location of the University of Utah, within the partner school district.