Happy Memorial Day!
Great Salt Lake viewed from Antelope Island, Davis County, Utah
Photographer: Chris DuRoss; © 2013
Great Salt Lake occupies a large basin formed by horizontal stretching of the Earth’s crust across the region. This stretching produces movement on faults, resulting in uplift of mountain ranges adjacent to the
basins and occasional magnitude 6.5–7.5 earthquakes.
Here’s a photo to help you get back into the swing of things. We hope everyone had a great weekend!
Wendover, Box Elder County, Utah
Photographer: Gregg Beukelman; © 2013
Jurassic-age quartz monzonite at Crater Island near Wendover, Box Elder County.
Red Canyon, San Juan County, Utah
Photographer: Don DeBlieux; © 2013
Wingate Sandstone cliffs at Red Canyon, east of Lake Powell, San Juan County.
The “Tower of Silence” along Wahweap Creek, Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument, Kane County, Utah
Photographer: Gregg Beukelman; © 2013
Boulders of Cretaceous-age Dakota Sandstone act as protective caps and inhibit erosion of the soft Jurassic-age Entrada Sandstone beneath, allowing hoodoo spires to form. Water cascading over the Entrada Sandstone during rainstorms has carved an intricate network of rills.
Long Canyon viewed from Pucker Pass, Grand County, Utah
Photographer: Gregg Beukelman; © 2013
At Long Canyon, stream erosion has carved a deep gorge into the east limb of the Cane Creek anticline. The canyon exposes dark-brown Triassic-age shale and sandstone of the Moenkopi and Chinle Formations capped by vertical cliffs of Triassic and Jurassic-age sandstone of the Wingate and Kayenta Formations.
We hope you’ve all had a great weekend! Here’s another stunning photo of Utah geology to start the week out.
Pahvant Butte, Millard County, Utah
Photographer: Mark Gwynn; © 2012
Little Wild Horse Canyon, Emery County, Utah
Photographer: Gregg Beukelman; © 2012
Navajo Sandstone in Little Wild Horse Canyon, Emery County.
Happy Thursday, everybody! This beautiful photo was taken somewhere in Utah. Can anybody “Spot the Rock” and tell us where it is?
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UPDATE: Location Revealed
Last week’s “Spot the Rock” is of Water Canyon, just north of Hildale, Utah, in Washington County. This image shows the contact between the Navajo Sandstone and the Kayenta formation. Slot canyons in the southwest corner of the state often begin to dramatically widen as the river or stream cuts through the softer units of the Kayenta Formation, undercutting the harder Navajo walls.
Zion National Park, Washington County, Utah
Photographer: Mike Hylland; © 2012
Arch Alcove, Zion National Park, Washington County.
San Rafael Swell, Emery County, Utah
Photographer: Stephanie Earls; © 2012
Draw rock art panel, San Rafael Swell, Emery County.
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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Salt Lake City, Utah 84116
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Salt Lake City, Utah 84114
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