Another Tuesday winds down. Enjoy this view of Bear Lake in your outdoor daydream for the day….just don’t let the Bear Lake Monster bite!
Bear Lake, Rich County, Utah
Photographer: Nikki Simon; © 2015
While it is one of the oldest lakes in North America, Bear Lake is best known for its blue splendor. The water in Bear Lake is pristine, deep, and calcium-carbonate rich, giving it a blue appearance.
Bear Lake, Rich County, Utah
Photographer: Mark Milligan; © 2013
Mollusk shells along the southwest shore of Bear Lake, Rich County.
Bear Lake, Rich County, Utah
Photographer: Jim Davis; © 2011
Storm waves deposit tiny snail and clam shells on a sand bar at Rendezvous Beach State Park, south shore of Bear Lake, Rich County.
Would you be our Valentine? You geo friends really rock!
Bear River, Rich County, Utah
Photographer: Chris DuRoss; © 2011
This sand boil (eruption of liquefied sand) resulted from ground shaking during the 2010 magnitude 4.5 Randolph earthquake, which is one of the smallest earthquakes recorded to generate liquefaction. Bear River, Rich County.
We send all of our geo friends good tidings on this Christmas Eve!
Bear Lake, Rich County, Utah
Photographer: Jim Davis
Jurassic-age Nugget Sandstone is wave-weathered into smooth, rounded forms on the east shore of Bear Lake, Rich County.
Salt Lake Tribune
It wasn’t The Big One, but Thursday’s earthquake did enough shaking to make northern Utah take notice.
A 4.9 magnitude earthquake hit five miles northeast of Randolph at 5:59 p.m. Thursday, according to the University of Utah Seismograph Stations.
The shaking at the Rich County Sheriff’s Office in Randolph knocked down pictures, but did not generate reports of injuries or damages, said dispatcher Russ Handley.
At the Randolph Sinclair station, there was a loud rumble and some bottles tipped over, said manager Tammy Hoffman.
“It kind of shook people up, but some people who were driving [at the time] didn’t even know it happened,” she said.
A 4.9 is a “light” earthquake, according to Kristine Pankow, associate director of the University of Utah Seismograph Stations. It wouldn’t be enough to knock people over, but people would feel it, she said. However, it was the largest quake since 1992, she said. On average, Utah gets an earthquake of about magnitude 5 every 10 years, but this one waited 18.
“I guess it was just time,” she said.
IN THE MEDIA
KSL.com
Deseret News
StarValleyIndependent.com
EARTHQUAKE RESOURCES
Utah Seismic Safety Commission
Putting Down Roots in Earthquake Country
Utah Geological Survey
University of Utah Seismograph Stations
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.