Tag Archive for: geology

Utah Geological Survey

POTD September 4, 2013: Goblin Valley State Park, Emery County, Utah

Goblin Valley State Park, Emery County, Utah
Photographer: Keith Beisner

Certain rock types weather into curious shapes and patterns by combinations of internal factors such as fractures and sediment grain size and external factors such as frost action and salt crystallization. Sandstone, granite, volcanic rocks, and limestone are all excellent mediums for creating bizarre rockscapes that can include smooth, rounded, and undulating forms (hoodoos or “goblins”), pinnacles, tafoni (holes and small alcoves), and honeycomb structures.

Where horizontal bedding, alternating hard and soft rock layers, and vertical fractures combine, the Entrada Sandstone weathers into rounded, columnar “goblins”.

Utah Geological Survey

Survey Notes volume 45 number 3

Current Issue Contents:

  • Damaging Debris Flows Prompt Landslide Inventory Mapping for the 2012 Seely Fire, Carbon and Emery Counties, Utah
  • Rock Fall: An Increasing Hazard in Urbanizing Southwestern Utah
  • New Geologic Data Resources for Utah
  • Energy News
  • Teacher’s Corner
  • Glad You Asked: Where is the Coolest Spot in Utah?
  • GeoSights: The Goosenecks of the San Juan River, San Juan County, Utah
  • Survey News
  • New Publications

    GET IT HERE
    PAST ISSUES

Utah Geological Survey

POTD September 3, 2013: Fantasy Canyon, Uinta Basin, Uintah County, Utah

Fantasy Canyon, Uinta Basin, Uintah County, Utah
Photographer: Jim Davis

A sandstone layer within the Eocene-aged Uinta Formation forms a surreal landscape at Fantasy Canyon. Sandwiched between more easily erodible layers of claystone and mudstone, the exposed sandstone has weathered into an intricate rock garden containing over twenty named sculptures, including “Alien Head” in the foreground.

Utah Geological Survey

POTD August 30, 2013: near Cowboy Pass, Confusion Range, Millard County, Utah

Cowboy Pass in the Confusion Range, Millard County, Utah
Photographer: Matt Affolter

Snow highlights rock layers in the Ely Limestone near Cowboy Pass in the Confusion Range, Millard County.

Many of the dry desert peaks of western Utah tell a story of shallow tropical seas. As much as 500 million years of deep burial, uplift, and erosion have changed layers of organic mud to cliffs and ledges of layered limestone. Closer inspection reveals abundant fossils, evidence of ancient sea life.

Utah Geological Survey

Special POTD submission, August 29, 2013: Fremont Indian State Park, Sevier County, Utah.

Despite the lingering heat, another summer in Utah is coming to a close. The canyons will soon be ablaze with fall colors and the valleys won’t be far behind. In this spirit we have selected another photo from Gerard Dauphinais to give us a little taste of fall. This photo was taken near Fremont Indian State Park, located in west Sevier County. The park is famous for containing many instances of Fremont Indian rock art.

The Sevier Formation contains most of the major rock outcrops seen in the park. A notable feature of the Sevier Formation is the 19-million-year-old Joe Lott Tuff. This tuff (a welded is a welded volcanic-ash) was produced by an explosive volcanic eruption. The massive eruption created the Mount Belknap caldera located about 10 miles south of Clear Creek Canyon. The surface of the originally white, pink, and gray tuff has weathered to darker colors and serves as a “blackboard” for Fremont Indian rock art.

In this picture we see some of the sedimentary rocks that overly the Joe Lott tuff. The rest of the Sevier River Formation consists of sandstones, siltstones, conglomerates,  and additional volcanic ashes, and lava flows that were deposited about 5 to 14 million years ago, when the present topography of the Basin and Range area began forming. The Sevier River Formation was uplifted and tilted around 5 million years ago.

Thanks again for the great photo Gerard! Click through for the full resolution image and click here for more information on Fremont Indian State Park. Remember, you can always submit your photos to us at ugssmedia@gmail.com, on Facebook, or on Twitter.

Utah Geological Survey

POTD August 29, 2013: Notch Peak, House Range, Millard County, Utah

Notch Peak, House Range, Millard County, Utah
Photographer: Michael Vanden Berg

Abundant trilobite fossils, including  Elrathia kingi shown here, can be found  within the Wheeler Shale east of Notch Peak in the House Range.

Many of the dry desert peaks of western Utah tell a story of shallow tropical seas. As much as 500 million years of deep burial, uplift, and erosion have changed layers of organic mud to cliffs and ledges of layered limestone. Closer inspection reveals abundant fossils, evidence of ancient sea life.

Utah Geological Survey
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New Publications M-261DM and OFR-605

Geologic map of the Johnson Lakes quadrangle, Kane County, Utah, and Coconino County, Arizona,

By: Janice M. Hayden

The Johnson Lakes quadrangle includes parts of the Chocolate (Shinarump) and Vermilion Cliff steps of the Grand Staircase in the southwest part of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Reddish-brown Lower Jurassic strata of the Vermilion Cliffs dominate the map area. Overall, strata dip gently to the northwest. They are cut by the Paunsaugunt fault at the east edge of the map area, and by several minor, mostly down-to-the-west normal faults. A variety of surficial deposits locally conceal bedrock, including broad alluvial and eolian surfaces deeply incised by modern arroyos. “Picture stone” from the Shinarump Conglomerate Member of the Chinle Formation is quarried locally.

This CD contains geographic information system (GIS) files in ESRI file geodatabase and shapefile formats. Also included are two plates-the geologic map at 1:24,000 and the explanation sheet-both in PDF format. The latest version of Adobe Reader is required to view the PDF files. Specialized GIS software is required to use the GIS files.


M-261DM……………………………….$24.95

BUY IT HERE
Hydrogeochemistry, geothermometry, and structural setting of Thermal Springs in northern Utah and southeastern Idaho,

By:Brennan Young, Katherine, Shervais, Moises Ponce-Zepeda, Sari Rosove, James Evans

This CD contains a 29-page report conducted by undergraduate researchers at Utah State University during 2010 and 2011 under the direction of Dr. James P. Evans. It includes data collected from hot springs in northern Utah and southeastern Idaho, including location, temperature, acidity, salinity, cation concentrations, and maximum reservoir temperature estimates acquired through the application of several cation geothermometers.


OFR-605…………………………………..$14.95

BUY IT HERE

 



Utah Geological Survey

POTD August 28, 2013: Notch Peak National Natural Landmark, House Range, Millard County, Utah

Notch Peak National Natural Landmark, House Range, Millard County, Utah
Photographer: Matt Affolter

Cambrian- to Ordovician-aged carbonate rocks (limestone and dolomite) make up Notch Peak, where a 2,200-foot cliff (possibly the tallest carbonate cliff in North America) leads to a deep canyon on the west side of the peak. Pink, Jurassic-aged granite is exposed at the foot of the mountain, and scattered deposits of white, clayey marl deposited in Lake Bonneville during the late Pleistocene are present on the valley floor.

Utah Geological Survey
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POTD August 27, 2013: Dinosaur Tracks near Moab, Grand County, Utah

Near Moab, Grand County, Utah
Photographer: Carole McCalla

During Jurassic time, a sauropod walked across mud, sinking deeply into it. The footprints can be seen preserved in the rock near Moab in Grand County. BLM interpretive site.

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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