Entries by Utah Geological Survey

POTD March 28, 2014: Factory Butte, Wayne County, Utah

Factory Butte, Wayne County, Utah Photographer: Stevie Emerson; © 2012 The Muley Canyon Sandstone Member of the Cretaceous-age Mancos Shale forms a protective cap at the top of Factory Butte, allowing it to tower 1,500 feet above badlands of the easily erodible Blue Gate Shale Member. These rocks record the existence of an inland sea […]

What can we learn from the giant volcano under Yellowstone National Park?

mnn.com I the massive supervolcano underneath Yellowstone National Park ever erupted, it could spew ash over most of the United States. Of course, the Yellowstone Caldera (as it is formally known) hasn’t erupted in about 70,000 years — and it only seems to erupt around every 700,000 years — so it seems unlikely that it […]

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Which States Are Prone to Landslides — and How Can You Prepare?

nbcnews.com  While a landslide can theoretically occur anywhere there is elevated terrain, some areas of the nation are more prone to the phenomenon than others — like Washington state, where a mudslide destroyed a community and claimed at least 14 lives on Saturday. READ MORE Read further about landslides and Kennecott Copper Mine’s slide last […]

POTD March 25, 2014: Thomas Range, Juab County, Utah

Thomas Range, Juab County, Utah Photographer: Jim Davis; © 2012 Layered volcanic rocks of the Topaz Mountain Rhyolite weather into interesting shapes. The rocks, referred to as stratified tuff, formed as ash fell from the sky and flowed across the ground during the explosive eruption of a volcanic caldera around 7 million years ago.