cbc.ca
Meet Wendiceratops, a new species of dinosaur with spectacular headgear — named after an Alberta woman who may be one of the best dinosaur hunters in the world.
huffingtonpost.com
They’re called “Miracles of Nature,” and it’s not possible to find a higher concentration of them anywhere in the world outside of Utah. Arches National Park contains so many natural red sandstone arches that there isn’t a specific count (over 2000 have been found in the park), and erosive forces over the course of time mean they’re constantly being created (by erosion) and destroyed (through natural collapses) in a geologically dynamic desert landscape.
Utah is full of wonders from the bird’s eye to the ground below. This group of individuals document adventures through southern Utah’s slot canyons. You’ve gotta see it for yourself.
video.nationalgeographic.com
Our team ventures to the far southwest corner of Utah to discover the hidden secrets and natural wonders of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.
Did anyone feel the minor jolt in southern Utah on Saturday? Read further for more details on the minor event.
deseretnews.com
A 4.0-magnitude earthquake shook the earth beneath a few small towns in southern Utah Saturday.
nationalgeographic.com
From fantastical to frightening, the animals of the Cambrian Period—beginning about 540 million years ago—tantalize the imagination. And they just keep getting weirder.
On June 4th the Utah Geological Survey embarked on the 2015 Administrative Professionals Geologic Field Trip. This year our group started off early at Bonneville Seabase in Tooele Valley, the Intermountain West’s spot to SCUBA and snorkel year-round amongst tropical marine fish. Our excellent tour guide, Ron, postponed the daily morning fish feeding until we arrived (thanks Ron!). Seabase is three bays fed by natural warm springs with a chemistry that approximates seawater. Water temperatures are in the 70s and 80s and water depths up to 62 feet. Although no one in our group went diving or snorkeling, we delighted in watching the colorful fish and putting our feet in the water and having mollies nibble our toes.
Next we headed south to the Stockton Bar, a world class geomorphic feature first interpreted by legendary geologist Grove Karl “GK” Gilbert in USGS Monograph 1, 1890. Geologist Mark Milligan explained that this feature signifies one of the largest and best-preserved shoreline remnants of Ice Age Lake Bonneville. Waves and currents transported sand and gravel to create a bar connecting South Mountain to the Oquirrh Mountains about 18,000 years ago when Lake Bonneville reached its highest level.
Continuing south our final stop was the former mining town of Ophir, nestled in a beautifully craggy and forested canyon. We were greeted by the Ophir mayor, Walt Shubert, and his wife Betty. Reynold “Ren” Willie, decorated retired geoscience teacher, Utah historian, Ophir native, and son of the superintendent of the Lark, Ophir, Gold Hill, and Hidden Treasure Mines, gave us a marvelous and memorable tour of the town. Ophir has preserved many of the old buildings and mining paraphernalia from the time it was a boomtown. From the 1860s to 1900, Ophir produced millions of dollars in silver, lead, and zinc; at one time reaching a population of 6,000 people. Ophir was a perfect place to conclude our informative day in the field.
Mining relicts in scenic Ophir Canyon.
Mark explains the origin and significance of the Stockton Bar (flat feature in background).
Observing the tropical marine fish at Bonneville Seabase.
Soaking our feet and getting a “Mollie Pedicure” at Bonneville Seabase.
The UGS poses in front of ore carts at historic Ophir.
Ren Willie presenting the history of Ophir.
#Geology Fashion Forecast: Why #dinosaurs are still in this season. Did these ancient creatures invent the meaning of #YOLO? Even as fossils, they continue to stand in the spotlight.
deseretnews.com
A trio of young boys recently walked around a corner in the Natural History Museum of Utah and stopped cold. In front of them stood the large skeleton of a robustly built Utahceratops, complete with three dangerous horns and a shield plate.
smithsonianmag.com
As any Jurassic World fan could tell you, the soft tissues of ancient animals are supposed to be some of the first things to vanish in the fossilization process. While bones and teeth can be preserved for hundreds of millions of years, protein molecules decay in a mere 4 million years, leaving behind only traces of those building blocks of life.
fox13now.com
FOX 13 News has featured several videos of flash floods and other weather phenomenon from David Rankin over the years, but he says his latest video represents the pay off from two years of planning and waiting. The footage was shot Saturday north of Lake Powell, near Big Water, Utah.
Dig into this with your morning jolt!
good4utah.com
They’ve been buried for tens of millions of years and now dozens of dinosaurs are being unearthed on BLM land in Utah.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE UTAH GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
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.
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Salt Lake City, Utah 84114
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