1895 1998
Side by side comparison
Map
Data Sheet
SAN JUAN RIVER NEAR MEXICAN HAT, UTAH
General Description: The view is southeast, down the San Juan River. A
mixed land status occurs here with BLM land near the river and private land in
the extreme right mid-ground. The Navajo Indian Reservation is located on the
far side of the river.
Soils: Upland soils on this site are comprised of Moenkopie or Moenkopie,
warm complex. These soils are red very gravelly to sandy loams ranging in depth
from only 6 to 9 inches over bedrock. Both soils are moderately to rapidly
drained with very low water holding capacities. The riparian zone has not been
classified.
Precipitation: A 50 year average annual precipitation rate of 6.50 inches
has been recorded at Mexican Hat, Utah some two miles southwest of this site.
Legal Description: SW1/4SE1/4 Section 32 T.41S., R.19E.
COMPARISON: When comparing the ca. 1895 scene to the 1998 retake, the
riparian zone has obviously expanded laterally with little apparent change in
bank configurations. This expansion suggests that streambanks and floodplains
are retaining more subsurface water for longer periods of time. Riparian plant
species including Fremont cottonwood, coyote willow, common reed, horsetail and
bulrush have increased in both frequency and total ground cover. Unfortunately,
about 50 percent of the total plant composition in the riparian zone consists of
extic species, including tamarisk, Russian olive, camelthorn and Russian
knapweed.
Upland vegetation has apparently increased as well. Frequencies and density of
both shrubs and herbaceous species such as shadscale, blackbrush, Mormon tea,
fourwing saltbush, snakeweed, Indian ricegrass and curlygrass have increased.
Cheatgrass is also present at this location. This improvement has occurred
despite the harsh micro-climate existing here. At such stable sites,
improvements are slow due to poor soil qualities and low precipitation. Some of
the same shrubs appear in both photographs.
Original:
Date: ca. 1895 (- A)
Photographer: Charles Goodman?
Source: University of Utah, Special Collections, Gregory Crampton
Collection
Photograph Number: University of Utah No. 24
Retake:
Date: July 15, 1998 (- B)
Photographer: Earl Hindley
Source: San Juan County
