14,500 years ago, Lake Bonneville hit critical overflow at Red Rock Pass.

14,500 years ago, Lake Bonneville hit critical overflow at Red Rock Pass. Catastrophic flood carved Snake River Canyon, dropped the lake 350 feet in geological seconds, and deposited the caliche bedrock we're hammering through for this Utah basement. Ancient catastrophic resets create modern construction challenges.

Caliche forms when groundwater dissolves calcium carbonate, then arid climates evaporate the moisture, cementing everything into concrete-hard layers. What we're excavating are the evaporated shores of a lake that once covered 20,000+ square miles. The Great Basin's post-Bonneville drought locked this stuff in place.

At peak 18,000 years ago, Bonneville spanned territory larger than Lake Michigan, with depths over 1,000 feet. Ice Age melt sculpted the terraces and salt flats still visible throughout Utah. Every caliche layer we break through is direct evidence of that massive inland sea.

Brutal to excavate, but once you get through it, caliche creates bulletproof foundations. Resists water infiltration and erosion better than most engineered materials. The entire basin is a living ledger of environmental changes—as excavators, we audit 18,000 years of climate history while building on top of it.

Business reality: Drop $1k on test holes before you buy land or break ground. Caliche varies wildly—from soft nodules to rock-hard layers several feet thick. Miss this step and you'll burn $50k+ in change orders when standard equipment can't penetrate and you need specialized hammering gear.

Bonneville's flood dwarfs modern engineering feats—releasing more water than the Amazon in hours, reshaping an entire region. Events like this remind us that the ground under our projects isn't static; it's a record of massive shifts. Forward-thinking builders use this knowledge to de-risk developments, cut timelines, and create value that endures through whatever comes next—be it climate swings or market cycles.