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MS-47 Collapsible Soil Susceptibility Map of the Colorado River Corridor in the Vicinity of Rifle, Garfield County, Colorado

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Identifies locations that may be susceptible to collapsible soils along the Colorado River Corridor, centered at the town of Rifle, which comprises a broad, semi-arid valley from the towns of New Castle to Parachute (formerly Grand Valley). Collapsible soils are dry, low-density, high-porosity soils that can spontaneously compact when they become wet. Also known as hydrocompaction, this phenomenon manifests itself as ground settlement and has been responsible for damage and distress for structures in the towns of New Castle, Silt, Rifle, and Parachute within the Corridor. Digital ZIP download. MS-47D

From the report:

The Colorado River Corridor, centered at the town of Rifle (herein referred to as the Corridor), comprises a broad, semi-arid valley from the towns of New Castle to Parachute (formerly Grand Valley). The valley is constrained by the Roan Cliffs and Grand Hogback to the north, and highlands of Battlement Mesa to the South. The valley floor, terraces, and walls of the valley, as well as its tributaries and the surrounding low hills, are variably mantled with Holocene to mid-Pleistocene deposits derived from alluvial/debris flow, sheet wash, tributary flood-plain, and windblown (eolian) depositional environments. Climatic, geologic, geomorphic, and pedogenic conditions of the valley are generally amenable to the formation of unconsolidated surficial deposits (soils) that may cause settlement problems for structures. These surficial deposits, in many areas of the Corridor, as well as similar terrain in other parts of Colorado and surrounding states, have been shown to pose potentially significant hazards from soil collapse. Collapsible soils are dry, low-density, high-porosity soils that can spontaneously compact when they become wet. Also known as hydrocompaction, this phenomenon manifests itself as ground settlement and has been responsible for damage and distress for structures in the towns of New Castle, Silt, Rifle, and Parachute within the Corridor.