Gute peak flow Photos:
St. George, Utah (5)

Bild von Ken Lund
St. George is a city located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Utah, and the county seat of Washington County, Utah. It is the principal city of and is included in the St. George, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is 119 miles (192 km) northeast of Las Vegas, Nevada, and 303 miles (488 km) south of Salt Lake City on Interstate 15.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, St. George had a population of 72,718 in 2007, up from 49,728 in 2000. In 2005, St. George surpassed Layton as the eighth-largest city in Utah. From 1990 to 2000, St. George beat Las Vegas by a mere 0.6% as the fastest-growing metropolitan area in the U.S. This trend has continued, with St. George being declared the second fastest-growing metropolitan area in the U.S. (behind Greeley, Colorado) in September 2005. In 2007, the metropolitan area (defined as Washington County) had an estimated 140,908 residents. The population of St. George and surrounding cities in 2050 is projected to be at more than 700,000 residents.
St. George is the population and commercial center of Utah’s Dixie, a nickname given to the area when Mormon pioneers grew cotton in the warm climate. St. George’s trademark is its geology — red bluffs make up the northern part of the city with two peaks covered in lava rock in the city’s center. The northeastern edges of the Mojave Desert are visible to the south. Zion National Park can be seen to the east, and the Pine Valley Mountains loom over the city to the north and northwest. The climate has more in common with the Desert Southwest than the rest of the state, with scorching hot summers and mild, mostly snowless winters. The city has recently developed into a major retirement destination.
St. George was founded as a cotton mission in 1861 under the direction of Brigham Young, the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons or LDS Church)— part of a greater church effort to become self-sufficient. While the early settlers did manage to grow cotton, it was never produced at competitive market rates; consequently, cotton farming was eventually abandoned.
At the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, Brigham Young organized the settlement of what is now Washington County, Utah.
“Fearing that, the war would take away the cotton supply, he began plans for raising enough in this western country to supply the needs of his people. Enough favorable reports had come to him from this warm country below the rim of the [Great] Basin, that he was convinced cotton could be raised successfully here. At the general church conference in Salt Lake City on October 6th, [1861], about three hundred families were “called" to the Dixie mission to promote the cotton industry. Most of the people knew nothing of this expedition until their names were read from the pulpit; but in nearly every case, they responded with good will, and made ready to leave within the month’s time allotted to them. The families were selected so as to ensure the communities the right number of farmers, masons, blacksmiths, businessmen, educators, carpenters, as needed.”
The settlement was named after George A. Smith, an apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
In April 1877, the LDS Church completed the St. George Utah Temple. It is the Church’s third temple, and, currently, its longest continually-operating temple.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 64.9 square miles (168.0 km²), of which, 64.4 square miles (166.8 km²) of it is land and 0.5 square miles (1.2 km²) of it (0.72%) is water.
St. George lies in the lowest elevation region of the state, Dixie, with most of the city lying below 3,000 feet (900 m). The city is surrounded by mountains and red sandstone buttes, and it lies at the very northeastern edge of the Mojave Desert. The Virgin River flows through the city. The Santa Clara River also flows on the east side of the city before merging with the Virgin River to the south. In early 2005, major flooding occurred within these two rivers. One person was killed and several houses were destroyed by the raging Santa Clara River.
The city borders Arizona, and is located between the towns of Santa Clara and Ivins to the west and Washington to the east. The core of the city, including its downtown, Dixie State College, convention center, and hospital, are located in a small valley overlooking the Virgin River and surrounded by low lava and sandstone bluffs. The city’s southern section, Bloomington, is more typical of the Mojave Desert, with desert scrub and gravel dominating the landscape. The southeast part of the city contains some farming along the Virgin River, but like the west and northwest parts of the city has become increasingly dominated by suburban-style development.
In Southern Utah, soil and rock formations are red in appearance due to the presence of iron oxide.[11] Although portions of the older section of the city (particularly the southern part near the Virgin River) lie on floodplain alluvium, much of St. George is built directly upon Jurassic, Triassic, and Permian period sedimentary bedrock. The following formations—listed in chronological order—can be found within the city limits.
Kaibab Limestone (Permian): Grey fossiliferious limestone, exposed at the center of the Virgin River anticline along Horseman Park Drive and in the low hills to the south of South Bloomington Hills.
Moenkopi Formation (Triassic): Chocolatey-red and white banded mudstone, shale, limestone, and siltstone containing thick layers of gypsum, exposed at Bloomington, South Bloomington Hills, and the south side of Webb Hill.
Shinarump Conglomerate (Triassic): Yellow to brown cliff-forming sandstone and conglomerate containing fossilized oyster shells and petrified wood. Forms the cliff faces north of Bloomington, on Webb Hill, and along the Virgin River south of 1450 South Street. This is actually the lowest member of the Chinle formation.
Chinle Formation (Triassic): Purple, white, grey and locally green bentonitic shale weathering to clay. Because of the softness of the strata, structures built on this formation run a higher risk of settling or slippage. The Chinle formation underlies large portions of St. George, including North Bloomington Hills, much of Green Valley, and much of the east part of the city around Riverside Drive and Pine View High School.
Moenave Formation (Jurassic): Red and orange sandstone, siltstone, and mudstone. There is some confusion about distinguishing between the Springdale sandstone member of the Moenave formation and the overlying Navajo sandstone, which is similar in appearance, in the St. George area. It is now generally assumed that the red cliffs to the north of the old part of the city (north of Red Hills Parkway) and at the Dixie Red Hills golf course are part of the Moenave formation. Other exposures include cuts into the east and west Black Hills and the southern part of Dixie Downs.
Kayenta Formation (Jurassic): Red, orange, and purple sandstone, shale, and mudstone. Forms slopes below the massive Navajo sandstone in the northern part of the city including northern Dixie Downs and along Snow Canyon Parkway.
Navajo Sandstone (Jurassic): Grey to brown, red, and (in its upper layers) white massive sandstone. Forms cliff faces above Snow Canyon Parkway and white outcrops at Winchester Hills.
Basaltic lava flows from the Quaternary period form the black ridges to the east and west of the old part of St. George city. The volcanic eruptions producing these flows are thought to date back 1.2 million years.
St. George straddles the line between the Colorado Plateau region to the east with its mesas, and the basin and range to the west with its broad landscapes and cactus forests. Other points of geologic interest include the Virgin River anticline; the rock has eroded away in the center leaving shear walls surrounding the "Purgatory Flats" area to the east of St. George. Another geologic feature is Pine Valley Mountain, composed of one solid piece of granite, it is one of the largest laccoliths in the world.
Along with its increasing population, the economy of St. George and surrounding areas has boomed in recent years.
One of St. George’s most significant corporations is SkyWest Airlines, which has its corporate headquarters in St. George. Wal-Mart has a large distribution center located near St. George. In 2003, Intermountain Health Care opened a new 0 million, 196 bed, 420,000-square-foot (39,000 m2) hospital building.
A large part of the economy of southwestern Utah comes from tourism. St. George is in proximity to Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon National Park, as well as several state parks and recreational areas. It is a little less than an hour drive from the Tony award winning Utah Shakespearean Festival. Golf also plays a large part in the city’s tourism industry. St. George offers one of the highest number of golf courses per capita in the country. Special events such as the St. George Marathon and the Huntsman Senior Games draw thousands to St. George each year. The St. George Marathon is currently the 13th largest marathon in the country.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._George,_Utah
St. George, Utah (2)

Bild von Ken Lund
St. George is a city located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Utah, and the county seat of Washington County, Utah. It is the principal city of and is included in the St. George, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is 119 miles (192 km) northeast of Las Vegas, Nevada, and 303 miles (488 km) south of Salt Lake City on Interstate 15.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, St. George had a population of 72,718 in 2007, up from 49,728 in 2000. In 2005, St. George surpassed Layton as the eighth-largest city in Utah. From 1990 to 2000, St. George beat Las Vegas by a mere 0.6% as the fastest-growing metropolitan area in the U.S. This trend has continued, with St. George being declared the second fastest-growing metropolitan area in the U.S. (behind Greeley, Colorado) in September 2005. In 2007, the metropolitan area (defined as Washington County) had an estimated 140,908 residents. The population of St. George and surrounding cities in 2050 is projected to be at more than 700,000 residents.
St. George is the population and commercial center of Utah’s Dixie, a nickname given to the area when Mormon pioneers grew cotton in the warm climate. St. George’s trademark is its geology — red bluffs make up the northern part of the city with two peaks covered in lava rock in the city’s center. The northeastern edges of the Mojave Desert are visible to the south. Zion National Park can be seen to the east, and the Pine Valley Mountains loom over the city to the north and northwest. The climate has more in common with the Desert Southwest than the rest of the state, with scorching hot summers and mild, mostly snowless winters. The city has recently developed into a major retirement destination.
St. George was founded as a cotton mission in 1861 under the direction of Brigham Young, the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons or LDS Church)— part of a greater church effort to become self-sufficient. While the early settlers did manage to grow cotton, it was never produced at competitive market rates; consequently, cotton farming was eventually abandoned.
At the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, Brigham Young organized the settlement of what is now Washington County, Utah.
“Fearing that, the war would take away the cotton supply, he began plans for raising enough in this western country to supply the needs of his people. Enough favorable reports had come to him from this warm country below the rim of the [Great] Basin, that he was convinced cotton could be raised successfully here. At the general church conference in Salt Lake City on October 6th, [1861], about three hundred families were “called" to the Dixie mission to promote the cotton industry. Most of the people knew nothing of this expedition until their names were read from the pulpit; but in nearly every case, they responded with good will, and made ready to leave within the month’s time allotted to them. The families were selected so as to ensure the communities the right number of farmers, masons, blacksmiths, businessmen, educators, carpenters, as needed.”
The settlement was named after George A. Smith, an apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
In April 1877, the LDS Church completed the St. George Utah Temple. It is the Church’s third temple, and, currently, its longest continually-operating temple.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 64.9 square miles (168.0 km²), of which, 64.4 square miles (166.8 km²) of it is land and 0.5 square miles (1.2 km²) of it (0.72%) is water.
St. George lies in the lowest elevation region of the state, Dixie, with most of the city lying below 3,000 feet (900 m). The city is surrounded by mountains and red sandstone buttes, and it lies at the very northeastern edge of the Mojave Desert. The Virgin River flows through the city. The Santa Clara River also flows on the east side of the city before merging with the Virgin River to the south. In early 2005, major flooding occurred within these two rivers. One person was killed and several houses were destroyed by the raging Santa Clara River.
The city borders Arizona, and is located between the towns of Santa Clara and Ivins to the west and Washington to the east. The core of the city, including its downtown, Dixie State College, convention center, and hospital, are located in a small valley overlooking the Virgin River and surrounded by low lava and sandstone bluffs. The city’s southern section, Bloomington, is more typical of the Mojave Desert, with desert scrub and gravel dominating the landscape. The southeast part of the city contains some farming along the Virgin River, but like the west and northwest parts of the city has become increasingly dominated by suburban-style development.
In Southern Utah, soil and rock formations are red in appearance due to the presence of iron oxide.[11] Although portions of the older section of the city (particularly the southern part near the Virgin River) lie on floodplain alluvium, much of St. George is built directly upon Jurassic, Triassic, and Permian period sedimentary bedrock. The following formations—listed in chronological order—can be found within the city limits.
Kaibab Limestone (Permian): Grey fossiliferious limestone, exposed at the center of the Virgin River anticline along Horseman Park Drive and in the low hills to the south of South Bloomington Hills.
Moenkopi Formation (Triassic): Chocolatey-red and white banded mudstone, shale, limestone, and siltstone containing thick layers of gypsum, exposed at Bloomington, South Bloomington Hills, and the south side of Webb Hill.
Shinarump Conglomerate (Triassic): Yellow to brown cliff-forming sandstone and conglomerate containing fossilized oyster shells and petrified wood. Forms the cliff faces north of Bloomington, on Webb Hill, and along the Virgin River south of 1450 South Street. This is actually the lowest member of the Chinle formation.
Chinle Formation (Triassic): Purple, white, grey and locally green bentonitic shale weathering to clay. Because of the softness of the strata, structures built on this formation run a higher risk of settling or slippage. The Chinle formation underlies large portions of St. George, including North Bloomington Hills, much of Green Valley, and much of the east part of the city around Riverside Drive and Pine View High School.
Moenave Formation (Jurassic): Red and orange sandstone, siltstone, and mudstone. There is some confusion about distinguishing between the Springdale sandstone member of the Moenave formation and the overlying Navajo sandstone, which is similar in appearance, in the St. George area. It is now generally assumed that the red cliffs to the north of the old part of the city (north of Red Hills Parkway) and at the Dixie Red Hills golf course are part of the Moenave formation. Other exposures include cuts into the east and west Black Hills and the southern part of Dixie Downs.
Kayenta Formation (Jurassic): Red, orange, and purple sandstone, shale, and mudstone. Forms slopes below the massive Navajo sandstone in the northern part of the city including northern Dixie Downs and along Snow Canyon Parkway.
Navajo Sandstone (Jurassic): Grey to brown, red, and (in its upper layers) white massive sandstone. Forms cliff faces above Snow Canyon Parkway and white outcrops at Winchester Hills.
Basaltic lava flows from the Quaternary period form the black ridges to the east and west of the old part of St. George city. The volcanic eruptions producing these flows are thought to date back 1.2 million years.
St. George straddles the line between the Colorado Plateau region to the east with its mesas, and the basin and range to the west with its broad landscapes and cactus forests. Other points of geologic interest include the Virgin River anticline; the rock has eroded away in the center leaving shear walls surrounding the "Purgatory Flats" area to the east of St. George. Another geologic feature is Pine Valley Mountain, composed of one solid piece of granite, it is one of the largest laccoliths in the world.
Along with its increasing population, the economy of St. George and surrounding areas has boomed in recent years.
One of St. George’s most significant corporations is SkyWest Airlines, which has its corporate headquarters in St. George. Wal-Mart has a large distribution center located near St. George. In 2003, Intermountain Health Care opened a new 0 million, 196 bed, 420,000-square-foot (39,000 m2) hospital building.
A large part of the economy of southwestern Utah comes from tourism. St. George is in proximity to Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon National Park, as well as several state parks and recreational areas. It is a little less than an hour drive from the Tony award winning Utah Shakespearean Festival. Golf also plays a large part in the city’s tourism industry. St. George offers one of the highest number of golf courses per capita in the country. Special events such as the St. George Marathon and the Huntsman Senior Games draw thousands to St. George each year. The St. George Marathon is currently the 13th largest marathon in the country.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._George,_Utah