Chocolate Drops, Maze District of Canyonlands National Park, Wayne County, Utah Photographer: Tyler Knudsen; © 2015

Fall is upon us and October is just around the corner. If there were a Pumpkin Spice Geology, maybe it would look a little like this photo. What do you think? We’re in the Fall spirit here at the UGS!

9-29-15

Chocolate Drops, Maze District of Canyonlands National Park, Wayne County, Utah
Photographer: Tyler Knudsen; © 2015

If you missed it a couple of weeks ago, here is an article outlining the paleoseismic study some of our UGS geologists helped with on a trench.

nextcity.org

Not far from I-215 in Salt Lake City, near the airport, a deep trench cuts through the earth. Though it looks like a sewer repair project, there’s nothing down here but dirt. And dirt, to the trained eye, can reveal quite a bit about a city’s future.

READ MORE

The Silver Lake Flat Dam is getting a makeover to improve stability in the event of a large earthquake

ksl.com

Nestled high in the mountains above several northern Utah County communities, the Silver Lake Flat Dam could fail in an earthquake, sending gushing waters down the canyon and likely killing a couple thousand people.

READ MORE

Recently discovered dinosaur, Titanosaurus, is set to fill the halls of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City this coming January.

smithsonianmag.com

The American Museum of Natural History in New York City has some large exhibits. There’s the 94-foot, 21,000-pound fiberglass model of a blue whale that curves gracefully over the Hall of Ocean Life. There’s the 63-foot long “Great Canoe” carved around 1878 by Native people from the Northwest Coast. But those exhibits will be dwarfed by what is to come: a 122-foot long skeletal cast of a newly discovered species of Titanosaurus, reports Margaret Rhodes for Wired.

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Students unearth Provo’s Hinckley mounds to find history of past dwellers, and clues that provide answers for future development considerations.

ksl.com

Not far from the bustling center of Provo, students have been working to uncover details about the lives of those who lived in the area more than a thousand years ago.

READ MORE

Exciting news from NASA this Monday morning! Scientists find strong evidence of water on Mars. Read more about it!

nytimes.com

Despite its reputation as a forebodingly dusty, desolate and lifeless place, Mars seems to be a little bit wet even today.

READ MORE

Alpenglow illuminates the glacially sculpted Stansbury Mountains as seen from the shores of Great Salt Lake. Deseret Peak (11,031 feet), the leftmost high summit, is the range’s highest peak and is underlain by Cambrian-age Prospect Mountain Quartzite. Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah. Photographer: Gregg Beukelman; © 2015

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

POTD 9-25-15 Stansbury Mountains Tooele County

Stansbury Mountains, Tooele County, Utah
Photographer: Gregg Beukelman; © 2015

Alpenglow illuminates the glacially sculpted Stansbury Mountains as seen from the shores of Great Salt Lake. Deseret Peak (11,031 feet), the leftmost high summit, is the range’s highest peak and is underlain by Cambrian-age Prospect Mountain Quartzite.

2016 Calendar_Cover_sm

The Utah Geological Survey 2016 Calendar of Utah Geology has arrived. The calendars are on sale for $4.95 each or $4.25 for orders of 10 or more at the Natural Resources Map & Bookstore, 1594 West North Temple in Salt Lake City.

The photos are taken by staff members who are often on assignment in some of the most intriguing areas of the state.

GET IT HERE!

© 2016

SNTS_47-3_Sept2015_Cover Survey Notes

Our latest issue of Survey Notes is out! Check it out on our Survey Notes Gallery HERE.