Entries by Utah Geological Survey

Great Salt Lake Connects to the Pacific Ocean in 1800?

According to an intriguing 1826 map atlas, an unnamed river flowed from Great Salt Lake (also unnamed at the time) all the way to the Pacific Ocean. The atlas, titled Morse’s New Universal Atlas of the World on an Improved Plan of Alphabetical Indexes, Designed for Academies and Higher Schools, was recently donated to the […]

SATURATED SOIL POSES INCREASED POTENTIAL FOR LANDSLIDES

ksl.com Bob Odom is used to seeing a little bit more damage each year as a landslide carries his neighborhood a little bit further downhill. But this year the pace has slightly increased. “It’s little bit more than normal,” Odom said, standing in a street that once was straight but is now bent and broken […]

Utah Has Two Wives, and Other Interesting Geographic Facts

It sounds like a bad joke: What has 29 Bars, 69 Devils, and 13 Heavens? Utah does. Those are part of the names of geographic features found throughout the state. The topic of interesting names was recently tackled by the Utah Geological Survey (UGS) in its “Glad You Asked” section of Survey Notes. “Utah has […]

GeoSights—Devils Kitchen, Juab County, Utah

Geologic Information: The Devil seems to have inspired many geographic place names. According to the U.S. Board on Geographic Names, 34 geographic features bear the name Devils Kitchen, and three of them are found in Utah. The Devils Kitchen that is the subject of this “GeoSights” article is a relatively small (about 700 feet across) […]

Snake Valley and Wasatch Front Ground-Water Data Now Available Online

The Utah Geological Survey (UGS) has made its ground-water monitoring data available to the public through its new Ground-Water Monitoring Data Portal; with just a few simple clicks you can track water level trends in wells, and flow rates from springs in Snake Valley and adjacent areas. Or, if your interest is in landslide potential […]

SNAKE VALLEY GROUND WATER DATA AVAILABLE ONLINE

ksl.com Water watchers worried about wells in Snake Valley — the focus of a controversial plan to pump water from an aquifer that straddles the Utah-Nevada border — can with just a few clicks track water level trends out in Utah’s Great Basin region. The Utah Geological Survey is making its ground-water monitoring data available […]

APRIL SHOWERS BRING UTAH MUDSLIDES

deseretnews.com With moisture-laden soil across the state receiving fresh bursts of precipitation this week, it’s not just floods that loom as a threat for Utahns, but mudslides as well. “It’s not too soon to say there are potential problem areas,” said Rich Giraud, senior geologist with the Utah Geologic Survey’s geologic hazards program. April is […]

CEDAR HILLS CLARIFIES REQUIREMENT FOR BUILDING ON HILLSIDES

heraldextra.com The recent earthquakes and tsunamis in other parts of the world have made some people along the Wasatch Front wonder if they are ready for a natural disaster in their own community. Many have checked their emergency kits, food storages and even building foundations in preparation. In Cedar Hills, there is a different worry […]