John Good
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Living Rock from the Great Salt Lake, Now in our Permanent Exhibits

nhmu.utah.edu

In June of 2016, we added a new, living exhibit in the Great Salt Lake Gallery on the third floor of the museum. At first glance, the three stone-looking bumps in a tank aren’t as impressive as the Cretaceous monsters looming in the background. But their humble appearance masks what might be the most awesome creature on display: these lumpy guys are one of the oldest forms of life on Earth.
Utah Geological Survey

POTD July 26, 2016: Wasatch–Cache National Forest, Summit County, Utah

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POTD July 26, 2016: Wasatch–Cache National Forest, Summit County, Utah

Photographer: Adam Hiscock © 2016

Reids Peak (11,708 feet) and Bald Mountain (11,943 feet) consist of the late Precambrian-age Mount Watson Formation, part of the Uinta Mountain Group which forms the core of the Uinta Mountains. The spectacular scenery and vistas of the Uinta Mountains result from numerous glacial cycles during the Quaternary Period.

Utah Geological Survey

Great Salt Lake levels at 50-year low, industry, wildlife impacted

kutv.com

Low water levels at the Great Salt Lake are having an impact on industry and the environment.

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John Good

Chew on This: Powerful Jaws Fueled a Jurassic Herbivore Boom

smithsonianmag.com

Remember Ducky from The Land Before Time? The adorable little dinosaur was one of the duckbills—known to paleontologists as hadrosaurs—that roamed far and wide during the Cretaceous chapter of the great dinosaur story. Duckbill bones are so numerous in some places that these herbivorous dinos are sometimes called the “cows of the Cretaceous.” But what allowed these plentiful, shovel-mouthed dinosaurs to become so successful?

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Utah Geological Survey
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Dinosaurs Literally Reshaped The Planet

smithsonianmag.com

Dinos didn’t just leave behind footprints and fossil bones—they also changed the landscapes in which they lived.

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John Good

Arm Day at the Gym Apparently Not a Thing for Newly Found, Tiny-Armed Dino

smithsonianmag.com

In paleontology, you’re always most likely to find something on the very last day of the season. That’s what happened in 2007, when a multi-institution team of paleontologists was poking around Patagonia’s Huincul Formation looking for one last find. “It’s the last day, you’d better find something good!” Field Museum paleontologist Pete Makovicky joked to the team. Then Akiko Shinya, his lab preparator, did just that. A few moments after Makovicky’s command, Shinya found the first signs of an unusual dinosaur with an unexpected connection to the celebrated Tyrannosaurus rex.

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Utah Geological Survey

POTD July 12, 2016: Kolob Canyons, Zion National Park, Washington County, Utah

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POTD July 12, 2016: Kolob Canyons, Zion National Park, Washington County, Utah.

Photographer: Paul Inkenbrandt; © 2016

Utah Geological Survey

These Paleo Pets Made Fossil Hunting Less Lonely

smithsonianmag.com

In the solitary hunt for bones, furry companions provide company, act as field assistants and sometimes even make the ultimate sacrifice

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Utah Geological Survey

Think dinosaurs roared like in ‘Jurassic Park’? The truth, new research says, is a bit wimpier

sltrib.com

Picture, if you will, the mighty Tyrannosaurus rex.

The odds are good what you envision has been brought to you in part by “Jurassic Park,” a plastic toy or some other facet of pop culture.

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John Good

148 million years later, the Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry in Utah remains a cold case (with video)

sltrib.com

Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry • About 148 million years have passed since dozens of corpses of meat-eating dinosaurs were deposited here, just north of the San Rafael Swell and about 30 miles southeast of Price.

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