After hurricane Carol, they added rip rap erosion control to Misquamicut Beach

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/vintage-shots-from-days-gone-by.428585/page-6308#post-13006195

the Marines using 55 Chevies as rip rap in San Gabriel in 1969 when the river flooded

Might be the Eaton Wash, Rubio Wash, or the Alhambra Wash... or the Rio Hondo

https://authors.library.caltech.edu/25781/3/TR000048.pdf
https://www.mopar-forum.eu/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=9064&start=2740
https://www.insidetheie.com/inland-empire-floods
https://www.palisadeshudson.com/2014/08/drought-stricken-california-ponders-an-arkstorm/
http://ochistorical.blogspot.com/2010/01/flood-of-1969-hb-lifeguards-bungalows.html

1939 rip rap on Willamette River, Salem, Oregon, USA west side of the river in Polk County

I wonder how many good 32 3 window bodies were pulled out of that, or 32 Vickies.

https://ritkanlathatotortenelem.blog.hu/2018/10/14/napi_erdekes_948

The Oregon Journal published this Dec. 20, 1939 photograph, of automobiles being used to stop bank erosion on the Willamette River. Photographer and historian Ben Maxwell worked for the Journal. The photograph’s caption stated that while the government was building revetments (reinforcements made with rock and wood bulkheads) for some Polk County farmers, the owner of the pictured property had built his own with old cars.

https://www.oregonhistoryproject.org/articles/historical-records/rusty-automobiles-willamette-river-west-salem/#.YgM10v7MKUk

1969 Charger used as river bank erosion control... damn, that's sad.

It’s in Alaska, in a vacant old rail road easement on a cliff next to a river.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/996045710517424/permalink/1992265437562108/

river bank erosion control cars that have almost disappeared as the rivers moved

https://www.facebook.com/groups/617321618289389/permalink/1878385592182979/

the flood of the Blacksmith Fork and Logan rivers in 2011, resulted in 1 federal fund to fix the river bank, and they dug out 100 years of junk, and 50 cars

In early 2012 — after the damage was done — the federal government approved $7 million in grant money to complete a major restoration project along the river banks

 After a months-long permitting process, truckloads of tree stumps and large branches, sediment, rocks, gravel and boulders were scooped out of the river and hauled away.

 And then, there were the rusty, vintage car bodies, City Public Works Manager Bill Saunders estimates as many as 50 cars have been pulled from the river in the last month, and 100,000 tons of metal has just been taken to a local recycling facility.

 Some of the cars may have been dumped in the river when they were no longer useful, but others were very clearly placed there with a purpose: to stabilize the banks of the river at some other time when the river banks failed.

the circled areas were all cleared out to set the river into a straighter faster flowing channel

when the floods go past the normal river banks, it's easy to see the natural width of the valley floor that thousands of years of floods created.... and that humans always ignore when building towns, cities, and homes

http://news.hjnews.com/allaccess/river-bank-revival-old-cars-among-debris-unearthed-in-rehab/article_83b9bc2a-cb0e-11e2-b2b7-0019bb2963f4.html

Along the Ohio River

http://www.destressoutdoors.com/water/ohioriver/ohiorivermile528warsaw-519patriot/ohiorivermile528-519.html

a car lined pond near Genoa, NE

https://www.facebook.com/Kevins-Rust-in-Peace-1518931078411009/?fref=nf

here is what it looks like from satellite view on Google Earth.

This was a common way to prevent riverbank erosion from flood waters, and these stacks of crushed junkyard cars are also known as riprap. America has them everywhere, Google Image search "cars on the river bank" and you'll see what a polluted river country we are. The Rio Grande, the Yellowstone River

http://billingsgazette.com/news/local/gallery-cars-on-the-yellowstone/collection_00e8cc4b-952f-5eae-b1d1-3d24d1908fe9.html

this is in North Carolina, John the Carpet Bagger was out looking to find why some random cars were on a river bank, and learned all about the practice that is now around 50 years old. Big rocks must have been more expensive than just clearing out the junkyards of demolition derby dead cars.  http://www.thecarpetbagger.org/2013/04/automotive-riverbank-preservation.html

and on the Bighorn River in Montana

https://www.reddit.com/comments/1gitdo/

about 4 bends of the river north of Ft Smith 

Blake found a forest stream in Iowa on the Meskwaki settlement banked with junkyard cars in the 50s or 60s

The govt tried to prison them on a res in Kansas, but they weren't going with that bullshit, and hid out in Iowa, eventually suing the govt to buy land and make their own settlement.

https://www.facebook.com/blake.buffalo?fref=ufi&rc=p

Putting cars on river banks was common, it was found to be a cheap way to reduce erosion. Trouble is, it pollutes the water running though, and by the cars, as the oils, grease, brake and transmisson oils leaked out into the ground. When the cars are washed by rains or river water the iron, chromium, and lead from solder and batteries gets into the river water.

I'm shocked no scrap metal guys have pulled these out and had them crushed. I'm not for crushing cars in general, but for river bank polluters, I'm strongly for it

http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2015/07/shoring-river-banks-with-wrecked-cars.html  even Life magazine photographed it http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2014/07/before-environment-was-considered.html 

This is just messed up, I can't tell if these are just buried in a stream, or parts tossed in a ditch

Found on https://www.facebook.com/ItRanWhenParked/ 

lining rivers with junkyard cars to stop erosion, very common in the 50's and 60's

Found on https://www.facebook.com/Old-Cars-204098692935609/?fref=photo

Shoring river banks with wrecked cars

found on https://www.facebook.com/garageoldschool

https://www.facebook.com/GHOST-TOWN-AUTO-698585106884276/?fref=photo

Before the environment was considered, junkyard cars were sometimes used to shore up river shores and walls

In Nebraska, this was done in the 60's to stop this area from washing out.
Found on http://www.carsinbarns.com/

very old vehicles that are decades into an infinite state of neglect

above from http://steampunkvehicles.tumblr.com/image/52078012154

above from http://sketchy-vans-and-other-vehicles.tumblr.com/post/52467850451/jakexp-i-count-13-they-must-have-been-there-a

Very unusual thing, a support wall of junkyard cars to brace an airfield boundary from runoff water corrosion

the location is only told as Southern California, and that the airfield was used because the location is so remote. http://www.thegentlemanracer.com/2012/02/lost-california-great-wall-of-cars.html

I've posted a similar riverbank of junkyard cars a couple years ago, I've no idea how to find that post though

Sitting and Rusting thread on the HAMB

Sitting for 35 years.

the size of the tree trunk though this body indicates many decades of not being disturbed

The above is a DeSoto converted into a truck because the owner had a body shop, but not cash for a truck

look through dozens of pages http://66.154.44.164/forum/showthread.php?t=330573&page=20