Tag Archive for: DNR

Utah Geological Survey

"Spot the Rock" July 17, 2014

“Spot the Rock” is back this week with a riddle! What Utah-“rock” is rarer than diamonds, and more valuable than gold?

Check for updates next week to see the answer! Like us on FACEBOOK or follow us on TWITTER to participate!

UPDATE: Answer revealed

Last week’s “Spot the Rock” was definitely one for our rock hounding friends. And everyone guessed right! Red Beryl is found in Utah, is rarer than diamond, and more valuable than gold.

The gemstone has several different names: red beryl, red emerald, or bixbite. Originally, the mineral was named bixbite, but now red beryl is the most accepted designation. Red beryl is estimated to be worth 1,000 times more than gold and is so rare that one red beryl crystal is found for every 150,000 diamonds.

Read more about the mineral HERE

Utah Geological Survey

POTD July 15, 2014: San Rafael Swell, Emery County, Utah

San Rafael Swell, Emery County, Utah
Photographer: Robert Ressetar; © 2013

Triassic-age sedimentary rocks in the San Rafael Swell, Emery County.

 

Utah Geological Survey

POTD July 8, 2014: Snow Canyon State Park, Washington County, Utah

Snow Canyon State Park, Washington County, Utah
Photographer: Daniel King; © 2013

Eroded fragments of a dark ironstone layer contrast sharply against the pale-orange Jurassic-age Navajo Sandstone at Snow Canyon State Park. In places, the iron- and manganese-rich ironstone forms a resistant cap at the top of sandstone columns or pillars called hoodoos.

Utah Geological Survey

POTD July 2, 2014: Wasatch Range, Utah County, Utah

Wasatch Range, Utah County, Utah
Photographer: Stevie Emerson; © 2013

Glacially carved Timpanogos Basin in the Wasatch Range, Utah County.

Utah Geological Survey

POTD June 24, 2014: Wasatch Range, Utah County, Utah

Wasatch Range, Utah County, Utah
Photographer: Stevie Emerson, © 2013

The Wasatch Range was once home to more than 60 glaciers. On the east slope of Mount Timpanogos, Emerald Lake occupies a glacially carved cirque in the Pennsylvanian-age Bear Canyon Member of the Oquirrh Formation.

Utah Geological Survey

POTD June 17, 2014: Spiral Jetty, Great Salt Lake, Box Elder County, Utah

Spiral Jetty, Great Salt Lake, Box Elder County, Utah
Photographer: Mark Milligan; © 2013

Black basalt boulders of the Spiral Jetty in Great Salt Lake, Box Elder County.

Utah Geological Survey

POTD June 3, 2014: Waterpocket Fold, Capitol Reef National Park, Garfield County, Utah

Waterpocket Fold, Capitol Reef National Park, Garfield County, Utah
Photographer: Adam Hiscock; © 2013

 

Utah Geological Survey

"Spot the Rock" May 29, 2014

Can anyone “Spot the Rock” this week? This photo shows one of the many textures present in Utah’s geology. Tell us where you think this is!

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UPDATE: Location Revealed
The Honeycombs, or Honeycomb Hills, is a solitary cluster of hills far out in Utah’s West Desert between the Fish Springs and Deep Creek Ranges. The hills are a product of a violent volcanic eruption some 4.7 million years ago, where forty feet of tuff underlies a 200 million cubic yard dome of topaz-rich rhyolite. The Honeycombs gets its name from the texture of the rock; a recurrent pattern of alcoves, hollows and cubbies, called tafoni, created from a weathering process known as honeycomb, cavernous, or alveolar weathering. This type of weathering is most common to seacoasts and deserts in sandstones and granites on inclined or vertical rock faces. Salt weathering has been implicated in forming tafoni, as well as many other physical, chemical, and biological mechanisms. The weathering of rock into tafoni can occur rapidly, as seen on seawalls built only centuries ago.

 

Utah Geological Survey

POTD June 10, 2014: Mary Ellen Gulch, American Fork Canyon, Utah County, Utah

Mary Ellen Gulch, American Fork Canyon, Utah County, Utah
Photographer: Tyler Knudsen; © 2013

Quartzite of the 900 million-year-old Big Cottonwood Formation holds up the rugged headwall of Mary Ellen Gulch. Well-preserved ripple marks and mud cracks indicate the Big Cottonwood Formation was deposited in the tidal zone of a shallow sea.

Utah Geological Survey

POTD May 28, 2014: Zion National Park, Washington County, Utah

Zion National Park, Washington County, Utah
Photographer: Ken Krahulec; © 2013

Towering cliffs of Jurassic-age sandstone constrict lower Zion Canyon. The prominently cross-bedded Navajo Sandstone, deposited in a vast dune field comparable to that of the modern-day Sahara, forms the cliffs, including the narrow spine of Angels Landing at left.