Big Cottonwood Canyon, Wasatch Range Photographer: Mike Hylland © 2017 The waters of Lake Blanche reflect Sundial Peak, composed of quartzite of the Big Cottonwood Formation. Rocks in this basin, which formed from sediment that accumulated along a continental margin 900 million years ago, preserve striations (parallel scratches and grooves) that record the down-valley flow […]
Needles District, Canyonlands National Park, San Juan County Photographer: J. Lucy Jordan © 2017
View east from Jackson Bottom along the Colorado River, Grand County. Photographer: Brian Butler © 2017
Goblin Valley State Park Photographer: Michael Vanden Berg © 2017 Early morning sun casts shadows on “goblins” formed within the Entrada Sandstone, which consists of sediment deposited 160 million years ago in tidal flats and coastal dunes. Erosion forms the goblins, leaving resistant sandstone boulders perched atop softer siltstone and shale layers that erode more […]
Arches National Park, Grand County Photographer: Gregg Beukelman © 2017 Defying gravity, an estimated 3500-ton sandstone boulder of Jurassic-age Entrada Formation perches atop a pedestal of less resistant sandstone of the Dewey Bridge Member of the Carmel Formation and forms Balanced Rock at Arches National Park. Snow-capped peaks in the background are the La Sal […]
The 2016 UGS Employee of the Year award was presented to Mark Milligan. Mark is a model employee with a strong work ethic and friendly personality that endears him to co-workers and the public he often interacts with. He handles an enormous number of public inquires that require patience, persistence, and a broad understanding of […]
Thor’s Hammer, Bryce Canyon National State Park Photographer: Grant Willis © 2017 Thor’s Hammer, named for the Norse God of Thunder who controlled the air and storms, is probably the best-known hoodoo in Bryce Canyon National Park, and is also the icon for the Utah Geological Survey logo. It formed as the result of differential […]
Little Cottonwood Canyon, Wasatch Range Photographer: Mike Hylland © 2017 Devils Castle exposes tilted layers of limestone and dolomite of the Deseret, Gardison, and Fitchville Formations above Albion Basin at the head of Little Cottonwood Canyon. Discoveries of silver, gold, copper, lead, and zinc in the area led to establishment of the Little Cottonwood mining […]
Antelope Island, Salt Lake and Davis Counties Photographer: Andy Cvar © 2017 Evening skies are reflected in Great Salt Lake south of Antelope Island. Otherworldly scenes of wide mudflats are exposed as lake level nears record low elevation.
Media Contact Utah Geological Survey Tom Chidsey 801-537-3364 tomchidsey@utah.gov New Report Provides Information and Maps to Help Keep Utah “The Place” to Find Oil Salt Lake City (Jan. 18, 2017) — A new study by the Utah Geological Survey (UGS), Major Oil Plays in Utah and Vicinity, contains the critical maps, data and […]
The Utah Geological Survey (UGS) is a division of the Utah Department of Natural Resources. Several specialized programs comprise the UGS: Data Management, Energy & Minerals, Geologic Hazards, Geologic Information & Outreach, Geologic Mapping, Groundwater & Wetlands, and Paleontology.
