Big Cottonwood Canyon, Wasatch Range
Photographer: Mike Hylland © 2017
The waters of Lake Blanche reflect Sundial Peak, composed of quartzite of the Big Cottonwood Formation. Rocks in this basin, which formed from sediment that accumulated along a continental margin 900 million years ago, preserve striations (parallel scratches and grooves) that record the down-valley flow of Ice Age glaciers.
Needles District, Canyonlands National Park, San Juan County
Photographer: J. Lucy Jordan © 2017
View east from Jackson Bottom along the Colorado River, Grand County.
Photographer: Brian Butler © 2017
Goblin Valley State Park
Photographer: Michael Vanden Berg © 2017
Early morning sun casts shadows on “goblins” formed within the Entrada Sandstone, which consists of sediment deposited 160 million years ago in tidal flats and coastal dunes. Erosion forms the goblins, leaving resistant sandstone boulders perched atop softer siltstone and shale layers that erode more quickly.
Thor’s Hammer, Bryce Canyon National State Park
Photographer: Grant Willis © 2017
Thor’s Hammer, named for the Norse God of Thunder who controlled the air and storms, is probably the best-known hoodoo in Bryce Canyon National Park, and is also the icon for the Utah Geological Survey logo. It formed as the result of differential weathering of sandstone and siltstone layers in the Claron Formation, with the softer layers weathering and eroding faster than the harder layers. The retreating escarpment that forms Bryce Canyon owes its existence to the Paunsaugunt fault, which elevated Powell Point in the distance, and which also “sank” the Sinking Ship in middle distance.
Little Cottonwood Canyon, Wasatch Range
Photographer: Mike Hylland © 2017
Devils Castle exposes tilted layers of limestone and dolomite of the Deseret, Gardison, and Fitchville Formations above Albion Basin at the head of Little Cottonwood Canyon. Discoveries of silver, gold, copper, lead, and zinc in the area led to establishment of the Little Cottonwood mining district and the town of Alta in the late 1800’s.
Antelope Island, Salt Lake and Davis Counties
Photographer: Andy Cvar © 2017
Evening skies are reflected in Great Salt Lake south of Antelope Island. Otherworldly scenes of wide mudflats are exposed as lake level nears record low elevation.
Silver Lake, Wasatch Range
Photographer: Kent Brown © 2017
At 11,749 feet, Mount Timpanogos is the second-highest peak in the Wasatch Range, and is formed of 300 million-year-old limestone and sandstone of the Oquirrh Formation.
Bell Hill Mine, Juab County
Photographer: Mark Milligan © 2017
Vibrant purple fluorite, composed of calcium and fluoride, exposed at the Bell Hill mine in the Spor Mountain mining district. Fluorite is chiefly used as flux for steel manufacturing and in making hydrofluoric acid.
View northeast of Antelope Island, Davis County.
Photographer: Adam Hiscock © 2017
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.