Tag Archive for: geology

Utah Geological Survey

BRYCE CANYON PLANS GEOLOGY FESTIVAL FOR JULY 30-31

Desnews.com

Bryce Canyon National Park will celebrate its geology July 30-31 with a “Geology Festival.”

The Geology Festival will offer daily ranger-guided walks and talks in the canyon and on the rim, children’s activities on geology, guided bus tours through the park and illustrated programs. Click here for a list of these activities.

Known for its colorful and oddly shaped rock spires called hoodoos, the area was establish

ed as a national park in 1928. Each year more than a million visitors from all over the world come to the park to marvel at its beautiful scenery and delicate formations.

To learn more about the park’s geology and the event, go to http://www.nps.gov/brca/


Utah Geological Survey
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UTAH HOME PERFORMANCE PAYS FOR ENERGY-EFFICIENT RETROFITS

Paying for home improvements that increase energy efficiency just got easier for Utah residents. A new program, Utah Home Performance with ENERGY STAR, will pay cash rebates to Utah homeowners to help offset the cost of retrofits that save energy and money.

Jason Berry, Utah State Energy Program Manager oversees Utah Home Performance.  He anticipates high demand for the program which covers up to 50% or 80% of the energy-efficient home improvements.

“We expect to perform almost 2,800 comprehensive, Home Performance assessments across the state,” Berry said.

“Having a Home Performance assessment is a great opportunity for Utah residents to find out how they can make their homes more comfortable and healthier for their families. These assessments let homeowners know what improvements will provide the greatest savings.”

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RELATED LINKS
Utah Home Performance
Utah State Energy Program

Utah Geological Survey
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UTAH RENEWABLE ENERGY REBATE

There is still time to reserve a renewable energy rebate for residential or commercial solar thermal, residential photovoltaic or small commercial wind energy system.

The Utah Renewable Energy Rebate Program, managed by the Utah State Energy Program (USEP), can cover up to 25 percent of the cost of a professionally installed system, and may be used with other state, federal and utility incentives. “This incentive is an excellent opportunity for consumers interested in investing in renewable energy. Prices for installed systems are very reasonable by historic standards, further benefiting consumers,” said Chris Tallackson, USEP Incentives Coordinator.

Rebate reservations are processed on a first come, first served basis until funds are exhausted, so consumers should contact a Utah licensed professional installation contractor to begin the rebate reservation process.

Since launching on April 19, more than 275 applications have been approved for projects that will stimulate investment of $11 million within Utah. The projects will generate more than 1.8 million kilowatt hours of electricity. A typical household consumes 850 kilowatt hours per month.

For additional information and a rebate reservation form, visit the Renewable Energy Rebate Program or email renewablerebate@utah.gov.

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RELATED LINKS

Renewable Energy Rebate Program
Utah State Energy Program

IN THE MEDIA

deseretnews.com

Utah Geological Survey

WIND DEVELOPERS TEST NORTHEASTERN UTAH

ksl.com

A Utah startup says it will add sonar and laser devices along with mechanical wind meters to assess the potential for a wind farm along the Wyoming border.

Together, the devices will tell the company where on leased lands to put spinning turbines of different sizes to match wind conditions that can vary with the terrain.

It’s a nuanced approach for wind farms, said Dick Cutler, managing member of Flaming Gorge Wind LLC, a subsidiary of Salt Lake City-based RAAM Power Inc. “We’re almost becoming a wind research facility,” he said Monday.

A contractor was calibrating the sonar measuring devices Monday in Utah’s remote Daggett County, which hugs the Wyoming border.

The company says it has snapped up rights to around 50 square miles, promising royalties to ranchers for use of their lands to install wind turbines.

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The Billings Gazette

Utah Geological Survey

GeoSights—Cascade Falls, Kane County, Utah

Nestled in the northwestern corner of Kane County is a geologically unique feature that receives relatively few visitors. Although most people in Utah have seen caves and waterfalls, it is peculiar for a waterfall to emerge from a cave system. Cascade Falls does just that, as an underground river emerges from a deep cave system and cascades down a steep cliff face.

The cave system is the product of sinkholes within the water-soluble rocks of the Claron Formation of the Markagunt Plateau. This incredible cascading waterfall first formed when an ancient lava flow dammed the drainage in a narrow valley, creating Navajo Lake.

Water from this lake found its way through the water-soluble marl (freshwater limestone) of the Claron Formation, eventually forming a cave system that extends a little over a mile from below the southeastern end of Navajo Lake to the Pink Cliffs escarpment at Cascade Falls.

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Utah Geological Survey

GRANTS HELP LIGHT UP SMALLER TOWNS

thespectrum.com

If there is such a thing as good pressure, then that’s what Hurricane Power Director Dave Imlay is currently experiencing.

In May, the Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems gave the city a $121,950 cut of a $1.2 million federal stimulus grant to upgrade Utah streetlights with energy-saving, LED lamps and fixtures.

That means lighting the city would involve less light pollution, less energy and, of course, cost less money. But it also means Hurricane and 13 other Utah municipalities — including Santa Clara and Enterprise — need to get the new lights up as soon as possible.

“We’re under a lot of pressure to get the money spent,” Imlay said. “These LED lights are very expensive. We want to get as many as we can.”

When it comes to pressure, it could be a lot worse than having to spend grant  money on improvements.

Though street lighting is usually a loss for municipalities, Imlay said the addition of the LED lamps would save anywhere from 30-70 percent of energy, depending on voltage.

“We’ll be able to lower those losses,” he said. “We’ll have more revenue and be able to defer any rate increases.”

With the new lights in place, Imlay said the city could expect to save nearly $15,000 a year in reduced power costs.

Instead of replacing all lights with LED replacements of a uniform size and brightness, Imlay said the city has been working to customize different types with different areas.

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Utah Geological Survey

GEOLOGISTS EXAMINE SALT LAKE CITY PORTION OF WASATCH FAULT

KSL.com

Scientists are getting the first good look they’ve ever had at the Salt Lake City portion of the Wasatch Fault. What they’ve seen so far confirms a major earthquake is a constant threat.

In fact, geologists dug two big trenches in a vacant lot right next door to the University of Utah’s president’s mansion.

For the last two and a half weeks, they’ve had an unprecedented opportunity to look at the guts of the Wasatch Fault in this area. They’ve dug similar trenches elsewhere, but until now, the closest was in the Sandy-Draper area.

As expected, there’s evidence of at least six major earthquakes averaging about once every 1,300 years. The last one hit roughly 1,300 years ago.

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IN THE MEDIA

deseretnews.com

View the Wasatch Fault Video

Utah Geological Survey

COLORADO PLATEAU YIELDS ANOTHER NEW DINO SPECIES

Salt Lake Tribune

A team of scientists that includes Utah state paleontologist James Kirkland have identified a new dinosaur from a partial skull and other fossil bone fragments recovered in a 91-million-year-old formation in western New Mexico.

Jeyawati rugoculus appears to be a link between the iguanodon lineage and hadrosaurs, a highly evolved group of duck-billed dinosaurs that was abundant in North American during the closing chapters of the dinosaurs’ reign, according to findings published this month in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.

Lead author Andrew McDonald, a doctoral student of paleontology at the University of Pennsylvania, believes this plant-eating creature roamed the western shore of what was once an inland seaway that cut North America in half during mid-Cretaceous era. McDonald authored the paper with Kirkland and Doug Wolfe as part of his senior thesis at the University of Nebraska.

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Utah Geological Survey

Glad You Asked—What are those lines on the mountain? From bread lines to erosion-control lines

by Mark Milligan

Recent photo of erosion-control terraces constructed by the CCC in the 1930s, above the Bonneville shoreline in North Salt Lake, Davis County.

Sometimes I get a public inquiry that leads to a “Glad You Asked” article, and sometimes I see something interesting in the field and wish I would get a question about it. This time it was a case of the latter.

A gentleman called and asked, “What are the lines up on the side of the mountain?” Along the Wasatch Front we have fault lines, shorelines, lines from rock layers (bedding planes), lines formed by volcanic dikes, and lines formed by other natural phenomena.

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Utah Geological Survey

SURVEY NOTES volume 42, number2

This Issue Contains:

  • Modeling Ground-Water Flow in Cedar Valley
  • Bringing Earth’s Ancient Past to Life
  • Ground-Water Monitoring Network
  • Energy News: Saline Water Disposal in the Uinta Basin, Utah
  • Glad You Asked: How many islands are in Great Salt Lake?
  • GeoSights: Fremont Indian State Park, Sevier County, Utah
  • Survey News
  • New Publications

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