Extending previous cgs mapping efforts on the western slope of colorado, this publication describes the geology of this 7. In 2007 the utah geological survey did a study on the landslide susceptibility of the entire state of utah. Formation and origin of desolation gray canyon, utah this view of the main part of desolation canyon shows the full, nearly 5,000ft. Intermediate scale index 1x2 index other maps gis available. The utah geological survey ugs has made the utah quaternary fault and fold database available through a new interactive web application on the ugs website. Tertiary geology of the southern portion of the eureka quadrangle, juab and utah counties, utah by j. A subsequent trip through colorado and utah segments of the colorado plateau provided many photogenic encounters with the book cliffs, which seem to be everywhere in plateau country. In west central colorado, the imposing book cliffs form a remarkably straight 1,0002,000 high, 75 kmlong wall frames 14 trending northwest from grand junction. An introduction to the book cliffs in utah and their importance in geology.
No evidence for significant sea level fall in the cretaceous strata of the book cliffs of eastern utah john a. Beginning near helper, utah, and joined at green river, utah, by a second escarpment, the roan cliffs, the 2,000foot 610metre tall mountain wall, winds a 250mile 400km course along the tavaputs and roan. Mollie hogans quadrangle, geologic map catalog record electronic resource available this cd contains geographic information system gis files, a geologic map at 1. The blackhawk formation at sunnyside, utah, was deposited along the western margin of the western interior cretaceous sea during southeastward withdrawal of the sea. Comprehensive safety discussion kicks off the trip on day 1, followed by daily safety briefings at each field stop. Methods used to create several styles for lithology or geologic time.
The central portion of the basin has an elevation of 5,000 to 5,500 feet. The drive would be lonely but for a constant companion. Also included in pdf are 2 plates an explanation sheet and a 101 page report with the authors detailed descriptions of the geology. Excellent exposures permit detailed observations and facilitate tracing of individual units. The southern rim of the basin is formed by the tavaputs plateau of the book cliffs, and the western rim is formed by the wasatch mountains. Roadside geology of utah is a riveting account of the forces that made the brilliant cliffs, mountains, and canyonlands we see today. Map, available online, geology library of congress. Regional highresolution correlations of the campanian desert member of the blackhawk formation to the lower castlegate sandstone interval, book cliffs, utahcolorado, show no evidence for a single, throughgoing unconformity separating the amalgamated channel sandstones of the castlegate from the underlying blackhawk formation coastalplain deposits. There are currently no active mines within the book cliffs v cia. The roan cliffs found to the north and at higher elevations, are composed of river and flood plain deposits of paleocene 5565 mya and eocene 3455 mya origin. In fact, helka has a whole series of books detailing the geologic history of the west broken down by state.
George the utah geological survey has published two new geologic maps for the st. The book cliffs coal field is part of the southern rim of the uinta basin, which is an immense structural trough in western colorado and eastern utah, around whose margin the outcrop of coalbearing. Upper cretaceous strata exposed in the book cliffs of eastcentral utah are widely used as an archetype for the sequence stratigraphy of marginalmarine and shallowmarine deposits. These four larger systems are also accompanied by many smaller side canyons.
Book cliffs, geological feature of eastcentral utah and western colorado, u. Geologic map of the yellowjacket canyon quadrangle, kane. The geology of the book cliffs was first studied by a. The little book cliffs wilderness study area is characterized by gentlysloping plateaus, various small canyons, and four major canyon systems. Asphalt ridge divides the utah portion of the basin into two unequal parts.
Of1514 geologic map of the mack quadrangle, mesa county. Part of the southern edge of this wsa is dominated by the 2,000foothigh face of the book cliffs. No evidence for an unconformity at the base of the lower castlegate sandstone in the campanian book cliffs, utahcolorado, united states. The book cliffs utah colorado geological feature mountains wilderness hiking natural wonder music duration. The book cliffs coal field is part of the southern rim of the uinta basin, which is an immense structural trough in western colorado. Owner, owneragency, admin, desig, and the two label fields as values from these fields can be used to select subsets for display or analysis see example layers below. An outcropbased dataset has been used in preference to well data though well data have been. Top of the castlegate sandstone, sagers canyon, book cliffs, eastern utah.
I offer proprietary companyspecific book cliffs geological field trips. One of the most spectacular regions is the canyonlandsarea of eastcentral utah which is home to two national parks and one of the longest continuous. The area covered in detail stretches from the book cliffs to the deep canyons of the san juan river area. Main canyon, coal canyon, cottonwood canyon and spring canyon. The book cliffs are one of the most recognizable landforms in western colorado and eastern utah. Chapter sgeology and coal resources of the blackhawk. Instead of focusing on the entire state of utah, it was decided to perform this study on the data available for grand county, utah. Geological evolution of the colorado plateau of eastern. Eight graduate students travelled to price, green river and moab, utah, for a sequence stratigraphy in the field course offered by dr. For about 200 miles this escarpment extends from where the colorado river descends south through debeque to price canyon near price, utah. Utah geological survey keeping utah informed with geologic data. Regional highresolution correlations of the campanian desert member of the blackhawk formation to the lower castlegate sandstone interval, book cliffs, utah colorado, show no evidence for a single, throughgoing unconformity separating the amalgamated channel sandstones of the castlegate from the underlying blackhawk formation coastalplain deposits. Leader arrives a few days early for pretrip safety reconnaissance of all field stops and roadstracks.
In this lab, you will put together your knowledge of nearshore facies and sequence stratigraphy to correlate sections and interpret facies changes in the cretaceous stratigraphy of the book cliffs. Here in the deepest part of the canyon, the roan cliffs early tertiary deposits flank both sides and rise to over 9,000 feet above sea level. In exercise 2, students work either with polarized microscopic photographs linked online to specific units in their measured section or directly. Their stratal architectures are classically interpreted in terms of accommodation controls that were external to the sediment routing system allogenic, and that forced the.
The book cliffs v cumulative impact area cia is located in carbon county, utah, south of the town of sunnyside plate 1. Geological survey usgs has conducted a number of geology based assessments of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the uintapiceance basin usgs province 5020 of western colorado and eastern utah. Course focused on the book cliffs and salt anticline regions of utah. Chenoweth, geological consultant, grand junction, colorado publication. Winding for 250 miles across utah and colorado, it is the longest continuous escarpment in the world. The depositional period is in the cretaceous, but time periods vary widely depending on your location. They are so named because the cliffs of cretaceous sandstone that cap many of the southfacing buttes appear similar to a shelf of books. North temple, po box 146100 salt lake city, utah 841146100 ph. Cretaceous sunnyside member, blackhawk formation, book cliffs utah, u. Sequence stratigraphy in the book cliffs, utah goal. Stratigraphic variations within the sego sandstone, book. Arizona, colorado, new mexico, and utah edited by m. Summary introduction late cretaceous depositional setting stop 1.
The maps will be useful to government officials, land and resource. Everything, audio recordings, booksprinted material, films, videos. Sand was the dominant type of landderived sediment deposited in the sunnyside district during the regressive phases. A good appreciation of the nature of reservoir and nonreservoir rocks in the subsurface is of fundamental importance to sound ep decision making. Book and roan cliffs between price and green river, utah, as an example of. Geologic map of the lower escalante river area, glen. A multidecadelong highresolution outcrop study has revealed that the campanian desert member blackhawk formation to lower castlegate sandstone interval in the book cliffs of utah and colorado western usa does not fit the conventional sequence stratigraphic model. Jun 01, 2018 course focused on the book cliffs and salt anticline regions of utah. Preliminary integrated geologic map databases for the united states western states. These 5 to 7 day trips are available on a firstcome, firstserved basis. Localscale jun 30, 2019 localscale 2km, sedimentary architecture and depositional process variability of a mudstonedominated shelf succession, book cliffs, utah rhys hamlyn, kevin boulesteix, kevin taylor, stephen flint, rhodri jerret. They follow instructions to construct a measured section. Stratigraphy and sedimentation of the book cliffs, utah. California, nevada, arizona, washington, oregon, idaho, and utah.
Cost per participant includes five nights single occupancy accommodation, suv field transportrentalinsurancegas, continental breakfast, sack lunches, field snackswater, core viewingexercise. Robert fillmores clear, easytoread text documents spectacular features of the eastern colorado plateau, one of the most interesting and scenic geologic regions in the world. Eide 2, adrian hartley 1 1 school of geosciences, university of aberdeen, aberdeen, united kingdom. The book cliffs in utah are an iconic geological outcrop. Implications for sequence stratigraphic models simon a. Geological survey usgs has conducted a number of geologybased assessments of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the uintapiceance basin usgs province 5020 of western colorado and eastern utah. The book, roadside geology of utah by helka chronicis exemplary at explaining the geologic history. Between price, utah and grand junction, colorado, highway 6 and interstate 70 cross 170 miles of barren and windswept terrain. Book cliffs field trips geology southern utah university. Roads, boundaries, addressing, parcels, aerials, elevation, etc. Synthetic seismic modelling of a largescale geological. Spieker and reeside 1925 named the emery sandstone for a series of prominent, beige and buff sandstones encased by gray siltstones of the blue gate shale at the foot of the wasatch plateau near the town of emery, utah fig. The inspiration for is the beauty and unsurpassed geologic exposures of utah and the colorado plateau. These data are used to define the earth filter for a synthetic seismic section.
Sand bodies prograded seaward in response to changing sediment supply from a. Within utah, resides what is commonly referred to as the mecca of sequence stratigraphy, the book cliffs. Maps for the region book cliffs wildlife management unit. Digging into the pocket of a nodule in the book cliffs area, working hard trying not to damage any crystals. The book cliffs are a series of desert mountains and cliffs in western colorado and eastern utah, in the western united states. The upper cretaceous of the book cliffs in central utah and western colorado exhibits intricate lateral and vertical intertonguing of marine and nonmarine facies. Stratigraphic variations within the sego sandstone, book cliffs, central utah article pdf available january 2007 with 165 reads how we measure reads. No evidence for significant sea level fall in the cretaceous. The utah geological survey ugs is a division of the utah department of natural resources. A mapping of allostratigraphic surfaces through the digital outcrop model provided a framework in which to analyze facies variations. The little book cliffs of this landscape drawing are nothing more than the far eastern end of the book cliffs landform that stretches from the eastern edge of the grand valley near palisade to the san rafael swell 140 miles to the west in utah. No evidence for an unconformity at the base of the lower castlegate sandstone in the campanian book cliffs, utah colorado, united states.
Following deposition and lithification, these sedimentary rocks were slowly uplifted to form the magnificent scenery in the western interior of canada and the united states. Geological survey professional paper 1625b, assessment, chapter k of geologic assessment of coal in the colorado plateau. The digital outcrop model of the lower sego sandstone documents complex bedding geometry and facies distribution within two sharpbased sandstone layers. Synthetic seismic sections have been generated from a 125 km long, depositional dip orientated crosssection compiled from outcrop data from the book cliffs of eastern utah, usa. Beginning near helper, utah, and joined at green river, utah, by a second escarpment, the roan cliffs, the 2,000foot 610metre tall mountain wall, winds a 250mile 400km course along the tavaputs and roan plateaus, ending near grand junction, colorado. The authors smooth prose brings the rocks of utah and their long history into sharp and enjoyable focus. With favourable weather and easily accessible outcrops, utah serves up an exciting geological journey.
The division refers to the existing horse canyon mines mining and reclamation plan. This section contains detailed road guides for the state much like the popular roadside geology books. Map, utah, geology, washington county library of congress. Utah geological survey miscellaneous publication 063dm gis digital cartography by. The nearly vertical book cliffs are carved into cretaceous 14565 mya sandstones and shales of marine origin. This map is a plot of geographic information system gis files created to visually. Map, utah, geology, library of congress online catalog.
This database contains information on faults and faultrelated folds considered to be potential. These offer a wonderland of stratigraphic sequences to the travelling geologist. The book cliffs region is often cited as an analog for subsurface exploration, particularly in foreland basins, and sequence stratigraphy has become one of the leading methods for correlating and mapping depositional packages, leading to significant discoveries of petroleum in fields that had been abandoned, as well as new discoveries. While roan cliffs are remote and inaccessible, the book cliffs run along the edge of the castle, gunnison, and grand valleys and are therefore readily visible from populated areas i. Formation and origin of desolation gray canyon, utah. The desert and castlegate sandstones, 2001 pages iiii, 181. This county was chosen due to the majority of the book cliffs being present in this county, but grand county is also home to two national parks arches and canyonlands, part of the mantila sal national forest, part. Interim geologic map of the sugar house quadrangle, salt lake county, utah, by adam p. Book cliffs geological feature, utah, united states. Map includes book cliffs, several wilderness study areas west to desolation canyon, and a large section of state land bordering the east side of the uintah and ouray indian reservation. Utah geological survey releases new interactive fault map. Terrestrial lidar and hyperspectral data fusion products for geological outcrop analysis. Graduate students attend sequence stratigraphy field course.
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