Avalanche Paths

I read the "Arctic" theme as a color palette instead of a place. The subject is a Utah hazard: avalanche paths in Little Cottonwood Canyon, one of the most avalanche-prone corridors in the Wasatch.

Real risk, rendered for readability

I built the map as a 3D scene in ArcGIS Pro 3.4. The avalanche path data comes from the Utah Geospatial Resource Center (UGRC). The terrain comes from Esri's hillshade service. The purple and blue zones are the real risk areas that skiers, hikers, and canyon residents deal with each winter.

Beauty and hazard, together

Avalanche terrain is striking mountain geography and a safety concern at the same time. I wanted the map to show both instead of reducing the canyon to a plain hazard overlay.

Created for the “Arctic” theme of the 2024 #30DayMapChallenge, using avalanche path data from the Utah Geospatial Resource Center (UGRC) and Esri terrain hillshade services.