Piute Canyon is a tributary of the San Juan River, crossing the Arizona-Utah border as it drains to the north. The Wetherill Trail descends into Piute Canyon from the east and exits the canyon on its west side for the water at its bottom. There are several trails that cross Piute Canyon, and it is fortunate that Hanks took a photograph at the place where they descended into Piute Canyon. We used “virtual repeat photography,” which involves the computer manipulation of digital topographic data, to locate this photograph (Hanks et al, 2010, Plate 3.5). The increase in pinyon and juniper in the foreground precluded an exact match to the 1927 photograph. Note also the great expanse of Russian olive on the floodplain of Piute Wash between the arroyo banks.
Repeat Photography Site for The James J. Hanks Photographs, 1927-1928.
