Utah Geological Survey

Like Our Facebook Page—Win a Calendar!

Many of you may already know the Utah Geological Survey has a Facebook page. Well, did you know that you could win a 2014 Calendar of Utah Geology by liking our page? Now you do! We’re giving away one of our gorgeous 2014 calendars to the 2,000th person to like our Facebook page! We appreciate all our followers and want to say thank you for joining our Facebook group. By liking our page you’ll get the same great pictures, articles, and geology news you get right here on our blog, and you can quickly share them with all your Facebook friends. Plus, you can send us your favorite Utah geology picures, and connect with other fans of Utah geology. If you already like our page, tell your friends to like us, too! If one of your friends happens to be our 2,000th like, maybe they’ll share the calendar with you! After all, what are friends for?

AND if you happen to be a Twitter user, we’re also giving away a calendar to the 800th follower! Twitter is a great way to get geology pictures, info, and news quickly!

So, now it’s time for you to ask your friends, family, neighbors, coworkers, and the occasional friendly stranger to go online and like the UGS Facebook page or follow the UGS on Twitter. Our 2014 calendar is amazing and it could be yours for FREE! Keep an eye on the numbers and good luck!

Like us here: UGS Facebook

Find us on Twitter here: UGS Twitter

Info on the calendar here: 2014 Calendar of Utah Geology

Utah Geological Survey

Scientists simulate movement of largest-known dinosaur

standard.net

Using laser scanning and sophisticated computer modeling, scientists in England and Argentina have simulated the likely lumbering gait of the largest-known dinosaur, according to a new study.

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Utah Geological Survey

DNR building front gets a new addition!

Check out this little clip documenting the installation of the new signage!

Then come in and check out all of the publications available at the
Utah Natural Resources Map & Bookstore
Or take a look online:
mapstore.utah.gov

Utah Geological Survey

Tuesday, October 1, 2013: Field Review of New Geologic Mapping, Sigurd Quadrangle, Utah

Mapped by
Hellmut H. Doelling1 and Paul A. Kuehne 2

1 Utah Geological Survey, retired
2 Utah Geological Survey, Mapping Program
A STATEMAP project supported by the Utah Geological Survey and the U.S. Geological Survey

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

 Trip highlights:

  • examination and discussion of the northern portion of the Marysvale volcanic pile
  • newly mapped Oligocene volcanic intrusions
  • discussion of the contested Sanpete-Sevier Valley anticline and associated structures including the surface structure over the Covenant oil field
  • contorted Middle Jurassic Arapien and Twist Gulch Formations
  • Paleogene sedimentary strata including the Flagstaff, Colton, Green River, Crazy Hollow, Aurora and Dipping Vat Formations
  • Silicified beds of the Crazy Hollow Formation?

The purpose of the review is to give the public and local government officials an opportunity to learn about new geologic research in their district, and to give geologists and others an opportunity to critique the map before it is published.

Information

  • Assemble Tuesday October 1st at 7:30 a.m. 2 miles north of Sigurd in the parking lot of the Cedar Ridge Station near the junction of Utah 24 and Utah 118.  To get there from Salina go 7 miles west on I-70 to exit 48 then head south and follow the sign to Capitol Reef.
  • Anyone is invited – please circulate this notice among your colleagues.
  • There is no charge, but for planning purposes, we ask that you RSVP to the Utah Geological Survey (email: starrsoliz@utah.gov; or call 801-537-3300).
  • A few short but strenuous hikes are planned.
  • A high-clearance 4WD vehicle is required; a limited number of spaces may be available in UGS vehicles within the fieldtrip area (not to or from Salt Lake City)
  • Please bring a sack lunch, water, boots, hat, and field clothes.
  • If severe weather threatens, please call the UGS office on day before to see if canceled.
  • This field review is in conjunction with the review of Cedar City geologic mapping on October 2 (see other notice or contact the Utah Geological Survey for more information).

Questions?
Contact Paul Kuehne at the Utah Geological Survey, 1594 W. North Temple, Salt Lake City, UT 84114-6100; Telephone (801) 537-3300, Fax (801) 537-3400, email paulkuehne@utah.gov.

Utah Geological Survey

Mudslide damages Alpine home; more flooding possible

heraldextra.com

Torrential rains caused a major mudslide in Alpine just before midnight on Thursday, putting 18 inches of mud into the basement of one home. Kaitlyn Dix was home alone around 11:30 p.m. on Thursday when tragedy was compounded by hardship. She had just gotten a call from her mother, Dixie Dix, saying that her grandmother had died. Within five minutes, the mudslide swept through the yard, breaking through a bathroom window and inundating the basement. Firefighters arrived on the doorstep just as her sister, Nicole, arrived home from a concert, and the women were told they had “30 seconds” to evacuate. They spent the night at a neighbor’s home.

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Utah Geological Survey

POTD August 19, 2013: Gooseneck State Park, San Juan County, Utah

Gooseneck State Park, San Juan County, Utah

Photographer: Mike Hylland

 

The bent mariposa is found in coarse, sandy soils at elevations of 2,700 to 6,500 feet in the arid lands of the southern part of the state. Utah’s impressive topography directly influences temperature and precipitation and consequently shapes Utah’s flora and fauna. The state’s substantial elevation differential—over two vertical miles between the highest and lowest points—contributes to a variety of habitats and a great diversity of species. Mountains force air to flow up in a process called “orographic lifting,” which causes air to cool and humidify, and enhances precipitation.

Utah Geological Survey

Special POTD submission! August 16, 2013: Lake Powell, Alstrom Overlook.

This photo was submitted to us by  Gerard Dauphinais. From the Alstrom Overlook you can see Gunsight Butte and Padre bay of Lake Powell. Alstrom Overlook can be accessed from Big Water via Warm Creek road to Smokey Mountain road.  Lake Powell is a man-made reservoir on the Colorado Rive in Glen Canyon. Glen Canyon itself was carved out of the Colorado Plateau by differential erosion over an estimated 5 million years. The canyon exposes layers of rock from over 300 million years ago to relatively recent volcanic activity. Thanks for the fantastic photo Gerard!

Remember, you can always submit your photos to us at ugssmedia@gmail.com, on Facebook, or Twitter! 

Utah Geological Survey

Dinosaur National Monument Jones Hole Trail reopens after rock slide

deseretnews.com

The Jones Hole Trail at Dinosaur National Monument reopened last week after being closed due to a massive rock slide in June. Superintendent Mary Risser said a portion of Jones Hole Creek will remain closed from the National Park Service/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service fish hatchery boundary to downstream of the rock slide zone. Anglers will be able to access the creek either on USFWS property or starting downstream of the slide area to the confluence with the Green River.

 

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Utah Geological Survey

Bioherms in the Great Salt Lake

Great Salt Lake is a modern hypersaline lake and a remnant of freshwater Pleistocene Lake Bonneville.  It serves as a modern analogue to the Uinta Basin’s lacustrine Green River Formation and lacustrine microbial formations worldwide, including several recent very large oil discoveries in the deepwater offshore Brazil (pre-salt Santos Basin and others).  Actively forming microbial stromatolites, pustular thrombolites, and tufa deposits are found within the lake and along its shores.  Beaches and nearby dunes consist of abundant associated hypersaline ooids, coated grains, peloids, and rip-up clasts.

Recently, a few geologists from the UGS traveled to Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake to investigate the modern microbial carbonates (i.e., bioherms) first hand.  The most convenient place to see the bioherms is in Bridger Bay on the northwest side of the island.  The bioherms live in roughly 1 to 3 feet of water, of course this will depend on overall lake level elevation.  Now is a good time to see these unique structures as the lake level is quite low.

Geologists from around the world have traveled to Utah to see these modern bioherms and relate their depositional environment back to ancient examples that now serve as excellent oil reservoirs.