Through field and laboratory studies of the 1984 debris flow at Layton, Utah, a model was developed to understand the relationship between a debris flow and the channel in which it moves. Application of this model allows a preliminary analysis of the debris flow potential of a canyon. The crucial characteristics of the channel include relatively impermeable metamorphic bedrock, low plasticity colluvium, and channel slope and canyon morphology at a given point. The crucial characteristics of the debris include shear strength parameters, total volume of debris, and height of debris at a given point. The characteristics may be related to predict the dominant processes (erosion, transport, or deposition) acting in different areas of the canyon, allowing a quantitative prediction of the amount of debris expected to reach the canyon mouth.

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First page of 1988 Student Professional Paper: Graduate Division: The Kinematics of Debris Flow Transport down a Canyon
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