Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah
Photographer: Paul Inkenbrandt; © 2012
Storm clouds clear over Bridger Bay and Antelope Island, the largest island in Great Salt Lake. Much of the island, including Stringham Peak (left background; elevation 6,345 feet), is made up of Precambrian-age rocks that are some of the oldest rocks in Utah (600 million to 2.5 billion years old).
Wasatch Range, Weber County, Utah
Photographer: Ken Krahulec; © 2012
Snow Basin on the east side of the Wasatch Range, Weber County.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Dixie National Forest, Iron County, Utah
Photographer: Robert F. Biek; © 2012
Hancock Peak (elevation 10,598 feet) is one of many cinder cones that dot the Markagunt Plateau east of Cedar City. Engelmann spruce trees, many of which were killed by spruce bark beetles, and colorful quaking aspen blanket the cinder cone and associated lava flow, which are estimated to be about 600,000 years old.
sunews.net
Residents living within high rock-fall-hazard zones in Rockville, Utah, face the possible consequences of a large rock fall similar to the fatal event that occurred last December.
The Windows Section, Arches National Park, Grand County, Utah
Photographer: Adam McKean; © 2012
The Windows Section, Arches National Park, Grand County.
Happy Earth Day, everyone!
Sandstone Mountain, Red Cliffs Desert Reserve, Washington County, Utah
Photographer: Tyler Knudsen; © 2012
Shifting sands partially bury an unusually large (about 1 foot in diameter) spherical hematite concretion that has eroded from the nearby Jurassic-age Navajo Sandstone. The concretion’s dark concentric bands formed when iron-oxide minerals precipitated out of groundwater that flowed through the sandstone.
White Hills, Sevier County, Utah
Photographer: Rich Emerson; © 2012
Jurassic-age Arapien Shale in the White Hills, Sevier County.
Who can “Spot the Rock” this week?
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UPDATE: Location Revealed
Last week’s “Spot the Rock” was another toughie, but we did have one correct guess. Gandy Warm Springs is located half a mile from the Nevada border at the southern base of Spring Mountain (Gandy Mountain) at the western edge of Snake Valley, Utah. Multiple springs come from the sides of the mountain and cascade into a constructed pool made of Cambrian limestone cobbles and boulders. The main spring at Gandy emerges from a cave (Beware Cave) below the soaking pool, discharging an enormous quantity of geothermal water (~81˚F), at nearly 9000 gallons per minute, which flows east as Warm Creek (Gandy Creek).
Dixie National Forest, Garfield County, Utah
Photographer: Robert F. Biek; © 2012
Colorful volcanic sandstone and mudstone of the Brian Head Formation record initiation of volcanic activity in southwest Utah about 36 million years ago. Here, Eocene-age Brian Head deposits form rugged badlands at the south end of the Sevier Plateau.
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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