Watch these interviews featuring one of our geologists, Tyler Knudsen, talk about the ground fissures and their causes.
fox13now.com
Giant cracks running through an Iron County subdivision are the result of drawing too much water from the ground, according to a new state report.
Report: Cedar Valley Ground Slowly Sinking
kutv.com
A new report from the Utah Geological Survey shows that the ground in Iron County’s Cedar Valley is slowly sinking due to groundwater pumping.
This scenery is no April Fools’—have a great afternoon!
Canyonlands National Park, San Juan County, Utah
Photographer: Don DeBlieux; © 2012
Water from a recent storm fills shallow pools on the Permian-age White Rim Sandstone near the White Rim Trail. The trail traverses a broad bench formed by the resistant sandstone above the confluence of the Green and Colorado Rivers.
deseretnews.com
Over-pumping of groundwater from a deep aquifer in Cedar Valley for the past three decades has caused the ground to sink and crack, inflicting damage on a would-be subdivision and putting future development at risk.
Read further in this article from KCSG Television
Land Subsidence and Earth Fissures in Cedar Valley, Iron County, Utah
kcsg.com
A just-released report from the Utah Geological Survey (UGS) shows the ground has been sinking in some areas around Cedar City for decades. The comprehensive 116-page report presents the results of an investigation of land subsidence and earth fissures in Cedar Valley, Iron County, Utah, primarily due to groundwater pumping. “The sediments in the Cedar Valley that form the groundwater aquifer contain a significant amount of fine-grained silt and clay sediments. Those sediments become compacted when water is removed and the ground begins to sink,” said Tyler Knudsen, UGS project geologist.
The Wedge overlook, Emery County, Utah
Photographer: Ken Krahulec; © 2012
Little Grand Canyon from The Wedge overlook, Emery County.
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 covering much of Utah around 90 million years ago.
House Range, Juab and Millard Counties, Utah
Photographer: Jim Davis; © 2012
Swasey Mountain and the House Range, Juab and Millard Counties.
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.
We can’t say “no” to Monday mornings when they feature both Utah’s red-rock and grand mountains!
Warner Valley, Washington County, Utah
Photographer: Tyler Knudsen; © 2012
Red hues of rippled sands and nearby Sand Mountain (Navajo Sandstone-capped cliff in middle ground) intensify in the lateafternoon sun. The snow-capped Pine Valley Mountains, the eroded remains of a massive Miocene-age igneous intrusion, rise high above the surrounding red-rock desert.
By: Charles G. Oviatt
This 20-page report summarizes observations of sediments and shorelines of the Gilbert episode in the Bonneville basin of northwestern Utah. Lake Bonneville dropped to altitudes similar to those of modern Great Salt Lake by 13,000 years ago, remained low for about 1400 years, then rapidly rose about 50 ft (15 m) during the Gilbert episode (about 11,600 years ago). The Gilbert lake was probably less extensive than shown by previous mapping of the Gilbert shoreline. The lake reached altitudes of 4250-4255 ft (1295-1297 m), and its shoreline, which is not well defined anywhere in the basin, was probably not deformed by residual isostatic rebound associated with removal of the Lake Bonneville water load. Holocene Great Salt Lake has not risen as high as the Gilbert-episode lake.
With Spring here, we can’t wait to get back out to some of our favorite places. Here’s a bright photo for the season!
Butler Wash, San Juan River, San Juan County, Utah
Photographer: Michael Vanden Berg; © 2011
Petroglyph panel on Jurassic-age Navajo Sandstone, Butler Wash, San Juan River, San Juan County.
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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