Obstacle or Opportunity?

Winter in Cache Valley required perseverance and survival skills. This exhibit was created in conjunction with Utah Humanities, H2O Today, and the Smithsonian Institution.

Credit: Sharon Johnson, Cache Daughters of Utah Pioneers Museum

Glen Canyon Dam

The Glen Canyon Dam is many things to many people: an engineering marvel, an essential source of power and water,  a creator of jobs, a desecration, an outrage.

Credit: Melissa Coy, et. al., Utah Division of State History

“An Enchanted Place”: The First Saltair Pavillion, 1893-1925

Intended as a “wholesome” alternative to the other resorts on the Great Salt Lake, Saltair was billed as the “Coney Island of the West.”

Credit: Melissa Coy, et. al., Utah Division of State History

Lake Bonneville

Like Great Salt Lake, Lake Bonneville is one of many lakes that have occupied the Bonneville basin in recent geologic time.

Explore this StoryMap and learn more.

Credit: Paul Inkenbrandt, P.G., Senior Geologist, Utah Geological Survey

Utah’s Waterways

Utah’s Waterways is a juried exhibition of 2-D artworks providing a localized and artistic visual complement to H2O Today. Physical exhibit was at West Valley Arts, January-April 2021. Zach Frankel, Executive Director of the Utah Rivers Council, discusses water conservation in Utah in three videos: Utah Rivers at a Crossroads, Water Diversions and Paddling.  Credit: West Valley Arts

Saline Stories: An Oral and Visual History of the Great Salt Lake

A comprehensive oral history collection that documents human engagement with Great Salt Lake. The interviews tell the stories of a broad spectrum of user groups and stakeholders including people engaged in scientific research, government/land management, recreation, art, industry, and conservation.

Credit: The American West Center

The Canals of Providence City

This exhibit explores the history of the canals which have carried water to Providence City, Utah, since its founding in 1859. An examination of the canals of Providence City provides a glimpse into the practices which allowed settlers in the western United States to thrive in spite of the relatively arid conditions.  It also reveals the significant developments in water sanitation and distribution that have taken place over the last 150 years.

Credit: Dr. Rebecca Andersen, et. al., Utah State University

Year of Water

Just as water is often referred to as the life’s blood of Utah, so too has it been the life’s work of many at Utah State University (USU). Particularly as it related to the science of irrigation, water became of foremost importance when the territory established USU as the Agricultural College of Utah in 1888.

Credit: Robert Parson, et. al., Utah State University

Face Your Danger

Before inflatable rafts, before the Grand Canyon dories and before Flaming Gorge Dam, was the Cataract Boat. “Face Your Danger”, uncovers a family’s story of old wooden boats and the canyons they once ran.

Credit: Uintah County Regional History Center

Colorado River Compact

In the eleven months between January and November, 1922 multiple meetings were held that would culminate in the Colorado River Compact. Over the course of its legal history, the various compacts, agreements, and legal decisions that have been placed on the Colorado River have come to be known as “the Law of the River.” In this regard, the Colorado River Compact is the backbone that serves to connect everything else together.

Credit: Jim Kichas, et. al., Utah State Archives