The Cockscomb, Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument, Kane County, Utah
Photographer: Stevie Emerson; © 2012
The Cockscomb formed along the steeply tilted sedimentary layers of a geologic feature known as the East Kaibab monocline. Faulting and erosion have shaped the tilted Jurassic and Cretaceous-age rocks into the spectacular “rooster’s comb” features seen today along Cottonwood Canyon Road.
White Cliffs, Kane County, Utah
Photographer: Tyler Knudsen; © 2011
Small, dome-shaped load structures on a block of Jurassic-age Carmel Formation, White Cliffs, western Kane County.
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Kane County, Utah
Photographer: Tyler Knudsen
Eroded through the Navajo Sandstone, Coyote Natural Bridge is in Coyote Gulch, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Kane County
From everyone at the Utah Geological Survey, we hope you have a Merry Christmas that rocks!
Paria Canyon–Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness Area, Kane County, Utah
Photographer: Tyler Knudsen
Morning sunlight illuminates water-sculpted walls of the Buckskin Gulch slot canyon. Cut deeply into Jurassic-age Navajo Sandstone, the Buckskin’s slot ranges from 5 to 25 feet wide and 100 to 500 feet high for 12 miles, making it the longest slot canyon in the world.
Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument, Kane County, Utah
Photographer: Tyler Knudsen
Powerful and turbulent flash floods carved this convoluted slot canyon into the Jurassic-age Navajo Sandstone along Willis Creek. Differential weathering of alternating weak and more resistant sandstone layers formed the horizontal grooves etched into the canyon’s walls.
Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, Kane County, Utah.
Photographer: Michael Vanden Berg
Large star dune in Coral Pink Sand Dunes State
Park, Kane County, Utah.
Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, Kane County, Utah.
Photographer: Michael Vanden Berg
Beetle on rippled dune face, Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, Kane County, Utah.
Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument, Kane County, Utah.
Photographer: Tyler Knudsen
Iron oxide-stained sandstone at “Yellow Rock,” Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument, Kane County, Utah.
Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument, Kane County, Utah
Photographer: Tyler Knudsen
Dinosaur skin is preserved at many Utah dinosaur sites. Fossilized dinosaur skin impressions, Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument, Kane County, Utah.
Today’s photo comes from our Facebook user Dustin Garrett along with a question he asked some months ago. “Kodachrome Basin Lightning Strike – Is that indeed, what the lines are?” The lightning-shaped mineral veins are, sadly, not the result of actual lightning. They are most likely gypsum veins, which would have formed in the surrounding rock long before erosion exposed them. While fascinating in their own right, real lightning might have been a little cooler. Thanks for the question Dustin!
As an interesting side note, Kodachrome Flat was named so by the National Geographic Society in 1948 after the new brand of Kodak film which was used to photograph the area. A few years after the area became a state park in 1962 the name was changed to Kodachrome Basin with permission from Kodak.
Remember, you can submit photos and ask questions anytime on our blog, Facebook, or on Twitter. It is the job of the UGS to disseminate accurate geologic knowledge to you our followers!
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.