San Rafael Swell, Emery County, Utah
Photographer: Taylor Boden
Boulders of Cretaceous-age Ferron Sandstone, eroded from the top of a distant butte, have come to rest on the Cretaceous-age Mancos
Shale on the west flank of the San Rafael Swell.
Tag Archive for: UGS
Slickrock Trail near Moab, Grand County, Utah
Photographer: Jim Davis
Giant weathering pits or potholes like this one (about 16 feet across at the bottom) in the Jurassic-age Navajo Sandstone typically form along fractures and joints atop fins, knolls, and rounded domes. Potholes are created through a combination of physical, chemical, and biological processes that weather and erode the rock and are home to a remarkable array of ancient aquatic organisms.
ksl.com
Mexican paleontologists say they have uncovered 50 vertebrae believed to be a full dinosaur tail in the northern desert of Coahuila state.
The National Institute of Anthropology and History says the tail is about 15 feet (5 meters) long and resembles that of a hadrosaur or crested duckbill dinosaur.
washingtonpost.com
Once in a great while, I stumble upon extreme weather video unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Today’s example? A large, violent debris flash flood that gutted a creek basin in southern Utah Thursday afternoon (south of Bryce Canyon National Park, about eight miles north of Lake Powell).
Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument, Kane County, Utah
Photographer: Tyler Knudsen
The narrow defile of Round Valley Draw exposes layers of ancient petrified dunes of the Jurassic-age Navajo Sandstone. This is one of numerous slot canyons in Utah’s canyon country formed by the scouring action of infrequent but powerful flood waters.
The prestigious 2013 Crawford Award was presented to UGS geologists Rich Giraud and Greg McDonald in recognition for their combined work on the outstanding geologic publication Landslide Inventory Map of the Twelvemile Canyon, Sanpete County, Utah (UGS Map 247DM). The publication includes a 1:24,000-scale landslide inventory map and geodatabase for Twelvemile Canyon, east of Mayfield, Utah. The map covers 59 square miles on the west side of the Wasatch Plateau. The purpose of the map and database is to show landslide deposits and their characteristics to provide information for managing landslide problems.
The Crawford Award recognizes outstanding achievement, accomplishments, or contributions by a current UGS scientist to the understanding of some aspect of Utah geology or Earth science. The award is named in honor of Arthur L. Crawford, first director of the UGS.
This and other UGS publications are available at DNR Map & Bookstore
Watch 2013 Crawford Award Announcement
Trilobite, House Range, Millard County, Utah
Photographer: Michael Vanden Berg
Cambrian-age shales from western Utah’s House Range contain millions of fossilized trilobites, such as this specimen of Elrathia kingi.
Mount Timpanogos, Wasatch Range, Utah County, Utah
Photographer: Jason Berry
Thousands of years of precipitation, wind, and glacial erosion have sculpted the east face of the Mount Timpanogos massif. The steep cliffs and snow-covered ledges of the Oquirrh Formation exposed on Roberts Horn (10,953 feet) are reminiscent of the Canadian Rockies.
San Rafael Reef, Emery County, Utah
Photographer: Tom Chidsey
The steeply dipping east flank of the San Rafael Swell is part of a large fold that formed in Late Cretaceous to early Tertiary time.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE UTAH GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
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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