A new interactive map of Snake Valley with all of the well data, has recently been added to the Utah Geological Survey (UGS) Web site.  The West Desert Ground-Water Monitoring Network is almost complete and updates are available on a newly developed Google Earth™ interactive map.  The network will monitor ground water for more than 50 years in Snake Valley, western Millard County and adjacent areas.  The $3.5 million network is a response to planned ground-water development in east-central Nevada.  The Utah Geological Survey will upload data onto its Web site.

Objectives included: assessing the potential impacts of pumping on ground water and spring flow in Utah; evaluating flow patterns in the aquifer from Snake Valley to Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge; determining baseline water-level and chemical trends in local and regional ground-water flow systems; and, measuring the capacity of the aquifers to transmit and store ground water.

READ MORE

RELATED LINKS

The Utah Geological Survey’s newest geologic maps could prove useful in efforts to address geologic hazard and resource issues in Utah County. The maps cover parts of central and southern Utah Valley and surrounding areas.

The maps, each of which covers an area of about 55 square miles, include the Goshen Valley North (Map 230), Lincoln Point (Map 232), Provo (Map 233), Soldiers Pass (Map 235), and West Mountain (Map 234) 7.5’ quadrangles. Collectively, the maps include West Mountain, the southern part of the Lake Mountains, and parts of Goshen and Utah Valleys, as well as parts of the communities of Provo, Springville, Spanish Fork, and Payson.

READ MORE

GET THEM HERE

The Utah State Energy Program (USEP) has issued a Request for Grant Applications for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Outreach, Education, and Marketing Campaigns. A total of $500,000 is available for this grant.

It is anticipated that the funds will be issued through two-to-six separate grants. Applicants are encouraged to seek partnerships with utilities, local governments or other resources to help leverage marketing and education.

The purpose of the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Outreach, Education, and Marketing Campaigns is to increase the adoption of energy efficient and renewable energy technologies, and to increase participation in USEP programs.

READ MORE

The Utah State Energy Program (Utah SEP) has issued a Request for Grant Applications for an Energy Efficiency Education and Consultation for Industry program. Interested applicants should outline their plan for developing and providing a program to deliver the training and tools necessary for Utah’s industry sector to implement energy-saving practices.

READ MORE

The Utah Geological Survey (UGS) needs your help in locating fissures in the Cedar Valley area of Iron County. The Central Iron Water Conservancy District has asked the UGS to study earth fissures in the Enoch area and adjoining parts of Cedar Valley in Iron County.

“Our hope is that by putting out the information on fissures and what they are, people might recognize them and direct us to where they are,” said Mike Lowe, UGS Ground-Water and Paleontology Program Manager.

READ MORE

Does Utah have the biggest natural arch in the world? Yes. Sort of. Depends on your definition of “biggest”.

Mapping geologists with the Utah Geological Survey recently published an article in the May 2009 edition of Survey Notes that attempts to answer that question. “In nearly three decades of working in Utah’s geology, I have been asked many times, ‘What is the largest/longest/biggest arch in the world?’” says Grant Willis, article author and UGS mapping geologist. “For years I told people it was Landscape Arch in Arches National Park.”

READ MORE

Related Links

Natural Arch and Bridge Society Web site

Survey Notes- May 2009 article

Salt Lake Tribune article

Deseret News article

KSL.com article

Geologists are digging into the Washington fault about three miles south of the Utah-Arizona border in Arizona. “The fault is three miles east of St. George and runs through the nearby city of Washington,” said Bill Lund, UGS senior geologist. “There is evidence of surface rupturing earthquakes. Our goal is to figure out how often the fault has moved and how large the earthquakes have been. That will help us understand the potential for future earthquake activity.”

READ MORE

The Utah Geological Survey was selected for a 2009 WSSPC Award in Excellence in Research for their Wasatch and Sevier Faults Paleoseismic Research. The Awards will be given at the joint WSSPC-Earthquake Engineering Research Institute annual conference at the Hilton Salt Lake City Center in Salt Lake City, Utah at a banquet Friday February 13, 2009. The WSSPC Awards in Excellence program was started in 1996 to recognize achievement in different areas of earthquake mitigation, preparedness and response.

READ MORE

Living in Utah means living with earthquakes. Do you know where earthquakes are likely to occur in Utah and what kind of damage they can cause? If a large earthquake occurred right now, what would you do? Do you have a disaster plan and supplies? Have you taken simple steps, such as strapping down your water heater, to reduce your earthquake risk at home?

These questions and others are now addressed in a new publication released by the Utah Seismic Safety Commission (USSC) called Putting Down Roots in Earthquake Country – Your Handbook for Earthquakes in Utah. The “Roots” handbook is a comprehensive resource that provides a variety of information on earthquakes in Utah in an easy-to-read format.

READ MORE

Related Links
USSC website

According to a new study just released by the Utah Geological Survey (UGS), Utah’s potential economic oil-shale resource equals approximately 77 billion barrels of shale oil. While the estimate is considerably smaller than numbers frequently quoted, it is still deserving of attention. “A domestic resource of this size is very significant; a conventional field with just 1 billion barrels is considered a ‘giant’,” says Michael Vanden Berg, UGS Project Geologist.

READ MORE