High Uintas Wilderness Area, Summit County
Photographer: Adam Hiscock © 2016
The late Precambrian-age Red Castle and Dead Horse Pass Formations, carved by Quaternary glaciers, form the cirque above Henrys Fork basin in the Uinta Mountains. A popular backpacking destination, Henrys Fork basin lies beneath the highest point in Utah, Kings Peak (13,528 feet; on the skyline in middle of photo).
By: Esther M. Kingsbury-Stewart, Paul K. Link, Carol M. Dehler, and Shannon L. Osterhout
The Kings Peak 7.5-minute quadrangle straddles the crest of the Uinta Mountains in the High Uinta Wilderness Area and contains Kings Peak, Utah’s highest point. The peaks and cliffs are comprised of the newly formalized formations of the Neoproterozoic (late Precambrian) Uinta Mountain Group, which is about 770 to 742 million years old. The basins, basin margins, and cirques are filled with glacial deposits of Smith Fork age-32,000 to 14,000 years ago (Pinedale equivalent). The quadrangle also straddles the anticline crest of the Uinta arch. A series of igneous dikes are exposed in the quadrangle. These dikes cut formations of the Uinta Mountain Group are about 450 to 490 million years old.
Two new geologic maps near Vernal, Utah have been released. The Utah Geological Survey (UGS) recently published two 1:24,000-scale geologic maps covering a part of the south flank of the Uinta Mountains near Vernal. These maps provide data useful to consultants/land-use managers to address geologic hazard and resource issues; they will also be of interest to educators and others simply interested in learning about the fascinating geology of the Vernal area.
“The Dry Fork and Steinaker quadrangles contain some of the most scenic and geologically diverse landscapes in the southern Uintas,” said Doug Sprinkel, UGS geologist. “These quadrangles reflect that diversity and provide basic geologic information for the popular Steinaker Reservoir, the Red Cloud Loop Drive, and the spectacular Flaming Gorge-Uintas National Scenic Byway.”
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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