Tag Archive for: utah

Utah Geological Survey

Exploring Southern Utah: The Vortex

Take a break this afternoon for some Southern Utah daydreams with this fun read on The Vortex in the Red Mountain Wilderness.

suindependent.com

The Vortex
If you go: Drive up SR-18 towards Dammeron Valley. About 3 miles after the Red Mountain Trailhead sign, you need to turn left onto the road for Sand Cove Reservoir. There will be a sign marking the turn. Drive past the upper reservoir, and there will be a parking area facing a large sandstone block. The road is dirt but in good condition, and unless it gets muddy, you do not need four-wheel drive or high clearance.

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Utah Geological Survey

State of emergency declared in Carbon County after weekend floods

We know this weekend was a soggy one for most of us here in Utah. Here’s an article talking about some of the flooding around the state after this last weekend’s heavy rains. We hope everyone is safe and sound as flood water recede.

kutv.com

A state of emergency was declared in Carbon County and Wellington city on Sunday, where as many as two dozen additional homes were damaged by flooding this weekend — along with many others.

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Utah Geological Survey
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Throwback Thursday September 25, 2014: Devil’s Slide

How many are familiar with Devil’s Slide in Weber Canyon, near Morgan, UT? Do you think you’d ever slide down like you were in a playground? For this#tbt, we’re giving you an article that talks of a time when people DID!#throwbackthursday

standard.net

Devil’s Slide is a bizarre, giant-size limestone chute, located on the south side of Interstate 84 in Weber Canyon, near Croydon, and about eight miles east of Morgan.

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Utah Geological Survey
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Study: Nevada withdrawals would hurt Snake Valley springs

A small team of our geologists have been working in Snake Valley to determine future effects the Southern Nevada Water Authority’s proposal to tap Snake Valley aquifers could have on ranchers and fragile desert ecosystems. Check out this Salt Lake Tribune article for more information on the matter.

sltrib.com

For years, Snake Valley ranchers and environmentalists have complained Las Vegas’ designs on rural groundwater would wreck their livelihoods and dry up fragile desert ecosystems in Utah’s West Desert.

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Utah Geological Survey

UGS paleontology team runs into a flash flood at Yellow Cat Wash

This video was taken by Don DeBlieux when the UGS paleontology team left the excavation site and headed home. Jim Kirkland and Scott Madsen were with him.

Don DeBlieux: “This was shot yesterday around 12:30 p.m. as we were trying to leave our Stike’s Dinosaur excavation. Our usual way out was blocked by a large mud hole from the previous day/night rain, so we tried the only other way through Yellow Cat flat. Things were looking nice and dry until we got to Yellow Cat Wash that drains a large area of the Book Cliffs. We figured this would subside and would be a better bet than the mud hole. We had to wait about 3 hours until we felt confident that we could get through safely!”

Utah Geological Survey

POTD September 23, 2014: White Rock Bay, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah

Fall is here! Utah is just stunning in the fall, and the colors compliment our geology so well! Where is your favorite Utah fall destination found?

White Rock Bay, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah
Photographer: Adam McKean; © 2013

Utah Geological Survey

Mars on Earth: How Utah’s Fantastical Moqui Marbles Formed

livescience.com

Hikers rambling through Utah’s candy-striped canyons sometimes come across a strange-looking sight. Where the Navajo Sandstone loses its iconic peach, orange and red stripes, hundreds of round, iron-coated stones often litter the ground.

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Utah Geological Survey
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New dinosaur species with giant nose discovered in Utah

For all the big noses out there, the biggest nose has just arrived. Read more about the recently discovered dinosaur in Utah and its giant nose. Think the nose always knows? Researchers say similar dinosaurs to this newly discovered dino didn’t have a very good sense of smell. Rather, the large attribute may have been a means to attract a mate, or smash plants. Hows that for multi-functional!

upi.com

Look out Jason Schwartzman and Barbara Streisand, there’s a new famous nose on the block — and it belongs to a gentle giant who’s more than 75 million years old — a newly discovered but long extinct species of dinosaur named Rhinorex condrupus.

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Utah Geological Survey

Geology | Fires have scarred forests for millions of years

dispatch.com

Prehistoric life on Earth can seem so strange, with the plants and animals resembling something out of a science-fiction novel about an alien planet.

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Utah Geological Survey

Glad You Asked: September 18, 2014

When I was a child, my family would often go camping in the summers. I would pick up various rocks and ask my dad what they were. “They’re called Leavarite, so you leave em’ right there.” While this is no “Leavarite,” it is something a lightning strike left behind. Most people have never seen it, and those who have may have never realized what it was at the time. This remnant is called a Fulgurite. Fulgurites are natural tubes or crusts of glass formed by the fusion of silica (quartz) sand or rock from a lightning strike. Their shape mimics the path of the lightning bolt as it disperses into the ground.

Read more about fulgurites in our Glad You Asked article HERE!