Utah Geological Survey

"Spot the Rock" May 15, 2014


Happy Thursday, everybody! This beautiful photo was taken somewhere in Utah. Can anybody “Spot the Rock” and tell us where it is?

Like us on FACEBOOK or follow us on TWITTER to participate!

UPDATE: Location Revealed

Last week’s “Spot the Rock” is of Water Canyon, just north of Hildale, Utah, in Washington County. This image shows the contact between the Navajo Sandstone and the Kayenta formation. Slot canyons in the southwest corner of the state often begin to dramatically widen as the river or stream cuts through the softer units of the Kayenta Formation, undercutting the harder Navajo walls.

 

Utah Geological Survey

An unrivaled view of Mount St. Helens

A great read about Tara Bowen’s unique experience in the Mount St. Helens 1980 eruption. Check it out!

oregonlive.com

On the bright morning of May 18, 1980, 11-year-old Tara Bowen got out of bed just before 9 a.m. with one thing on her mind: the rebroadcast of Casey Kasem’s “American Top 40” radio countdown.

READ MORE

Utah Geological Survey

POTD May 14, 2014: Zion National Park, Washington County, Utah

Zion National Park, Washington County, Utah
Photographer: Mike Hylland; © 2012

Arch Alcove, Zion National Park, Washington County.

Utah Geological Survey

Where place is teacher

This really expands the boundaries of the classroom and takes learning to a whole new level. Wow!

durangoherald.com

The Four Corners School of Outdoor Education has one mighty big campus – the entire 130,000-square-mile Colorado Plateau.

READ MORE

Utah Geological Survey

Evaluating Surface Faulting Chronologies of Graben-Bounding Faults in Salt Lake Valley, Utah- New Paleoseismic Data from the Salt Lake City Segment of the Wasatch Fault Zone and the West Valley Fault Zone

By: Christopher B. DuRoss and Michael D. Hylland

The Salt Lake City segment (SLCS) of the Wasatch fault zone and the West Valley fault zone (WVFZ) are Holocene-active faults that have evidence of large-magnitude (M ~6-7) surface-faulting earthquakes. Paleoseismic research trenches at the Penrose Drive site on the SLCS and Baileys Lake site on the WVFZ provided data that shed light on the faulting behavior and interaction of these graben-forming fault systems. Numerical age control (22 radiocarbon samples 23 optically stimulated luminescence samples) and OxCal modeling of six or seven surface-faulting earthquakes on the SLCS and four earthquakes on the WVFZ helped refine the earthquake chronologies for these faults and allowed a comparison of the chronologies to evaluate fault interaction. The chronologies, as well as vertical displacements, support a model of coseismic fault movement.

GET IT HERE

Utah Geological Survey

Dinosaurs you didn't know existed

How many of you know about these dinos?

cnews.canoe.ca

Everyone can point out a T-Rex, or even call out a Velociraptor thanks to Hollywood movies like Jurassic Park.

READ MORE

Utah Geological Survey

Administrative Professionals’ Day field trip 2014: Diamond Fork Hot Springs

Recently 14 UGS staff embarked on our annual Administrative Professionals’ Day field trip. This year we went to Diamond Fork Hot Springs (a.k.a. Fifth Water) north of Spanish Fork Canyon in the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest. Diamond Fork Hot Springs is located at the end of a 2.5 mile one-way hike, 700-foot elevation gain, up a scenic, forested canyon. The weather was perfect and the water pleasant and invigorating. Diamond Fork has long been hailed as the most picturesque in Utah. The hot springs emerge streamside in multiple locations below and above a couple of waterfalls. Several pools have been nicely constructed with cement and rocks (North Horn Formation). The spring water issuing from the ground is a little too hot for bathing; one seep was measured at 123˚F, so the pools just downstream from the seeps mix with the much colder stream water to produce the ideal soaking temperature, with pools ranging between 98 to 109˚F. Some of the seeps can be identified by the thermophilic (heat loving) organisms such as bacteria and archaea that color the stream cobbles a vibrant orange-red.

Click HERE for directions to Diamond Fork Hot Springs

Utah Geological Survey

POTD May 13, 2014: San Rafael Swell, Emery County, Utah

San Rafael Swell, Emery County, Utah
Photographer: Stephanie Earls; © 2012

Draw rock art panel, San Rafael Swell, Emery County.

Utah Geological Survey

Reasons to hike Devil's Garden

ksl.com

There is no doubt that Delicate Arch is the most iconic image for Utah. Because of the dominance of that giant red inverted sandstone horseshoe, some visitors to Arches National Park miss the Devil’s Garden trail — a section of the park that offers much more scenic hiking and a plethora of unique arches.

READ MORE

 

There is no doubt that Delicate Arch is the most iconic image for Utah. Because of the dominance of that giant red inverted sandstone horseshoe, some visitors to Arches National Park miss the Devil’s Garden trail — a section of the park that offers much more scenic hiking and a plethora of unique arches.
Read more at http://www.ksl.com/?nid=1288&sid=29857502#wExa3PDsi5FeD6Pe.99
Utah Geological Survey

Dinosaur Claw Shapes Evolved for Dietary Adaptation, Study Finds

hngn.com

A new study has found that dinosaur claw shapes evolved to adapt to the species’ changing dietary needs.

READ MORE