Utah Geologic Info App
Welcome to the utahgeology.com interactive app. This application allows users to explore Utahs geologic history, geologic formations, stratigraphic columns, geology road guides and geologic images for the state.
For information on how to use this app, please visit the website or individual section pages at UtahGeology.com
If you find value in my work and want to help shape the future of this project, consider becoming a supporter. Join my Patreon to submit feature requests for the app and help fund the next deep-dive video or field study!
Support through Patreon: patreon.com/utahgeology or book a tour with me!
Utah Geologic Info App
Welcome to the utahgeology.com interactive app. This application allows users to explore Utahs geologic history, geologic formations, stratigraphic columns, geology road guides and geologic images for the state.
For information on how to use this app, please visit the website or individual section pages at UtahGeology.com
Paleogeography & Geologic History of Utah
PaleoGeography is the study of how the earth's landforms and geography change with time. This section is devoted to how the geography of the Colorado Plateau has changed throughout the geologic past — select a geologic period below (or use the search box) to see a reconstruction of the region as it looked then.
These paleogeographic maps currently draw heavily on Ron Blakey's widely-used reconstructions of the Colorado Plateau's changing depositional environments and geography through time. Because Dr. Blakey and his students did much of this work from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, the maps tend to be most detailed and accurate around that area.
Why Paleogeography Matters
An accurate picture of an area's paleogeography is really the capstone goal of stratigraphy. Geology is, in a way, a time machine — reconstructing it accurately draws on nearly every other geologic subdiscipline: paleontology, ichnology, stratigraphy, sedimentology, petrology, geomorphology, and structural geology. All of the data being gathered in this app's Stratigraphic Columns section is ultimately aimed at making these paleo-reconstructions more accurate.
Future Plans
Down the road, we'd like to build original maps focused specifically on the Northern Colorado Plateau, add data points linking each paleomap directly to the stratigraphic columns and data used to build it, and eventually generate paleomaps, isopach maps, and cross sections on the fly from the stratigraphic column database.
Geologic Formations & Units of Utah
This section is home to (and, under ongoing construction, will keep growing with) pictures, thickness maps, cross sections, and overviews for the major geologic formations of the Colorado Plateau. Search for a formation below, or click one on the map, to open its page — each formation page opens with a short summary before going into more detail.
Formation Gallery
Each formation page includes a banner of photos pulled dynamically from the geologic image gallery, with a link to contribute your own photos (with permission) or add comments to existing ones. Over time this gallery should grow to include hundreds of photos per formation, with helpful notes on the different features shown.
Formation Thickness Map
Formation pages are also meant to link to an isopach map showing the average thickness of that layer across the Colorado Plateau, pulled dynamically from the same stratigraphic column database this app already builds columns from — useful for understanding a formation's extent and depositional environment.
Stratigraphic Equivalents
We'd also like to add diagrams showing each formation's stratigraphic equivalents and name correlations as it's traced across the state and the wider Colorado Plateau, including facies changes — and hopefully, over time, help standardize formation names that currently go by more than one name in different areas.
Utah Stratigraphic Columns Database
This section is one of the most extensive parts of this database, containing stratigraphic columns from all over the Colorado Plateau. The columns follow the standard USGS format — period/epoch, group/formation/member names, thickness, and lithology — but because this is an interactive app rather than a printed chart, every part of a column links out to more information. Search for a column below, or click a marker on the map, to open one.
What Each Part of a Column Links To
Geologic Period column — takes you to the corresponding paleogeography page for that period.
Formation column — takes you to that formation's page in the Geologic Formations section, with cross sections, thickness maps, and photos.
Thickness column — links to a statewide thickness map for that unit.
Rock Type symbol — shows close-up photos of the formation, with an emphasis on bedding patterns and other diagnostic detail.
Side notes — where available, link to photos of the unconformity, track, or fossil the note describes.
Column title — opens an album of aerial photos for that area.
Looking for how a specific unit's thickness changes across the state instead of one column at a time? Try the Layer Thickness tool, which queries this same database directly.
Utah Geologic Virtual Roadguides
This section is an online, evolving version of an old, out-of-print geologic field guide by Keith Rigby, reproduced here with permission. Search for a highway below, or click a marker on the map, to open its road guide.
Format
Road logs are organized by route or highway, with notes keyed to mile marker. Over time, the original black-and-white photos are being replaced with color images tied into the user image gallery, and eventually the logs should work in either direction of travel, not just the original one.
Road Guide User Forum & Future Plans
New color photos are gradually being linked into an interactive road forum, where users will be able to post their own pictures and notes on interesting geologic stops along a route. The hope is that teachers and field-trip leaders will eventually contribute their own comments and notes too, so everyone can benefit from the experience of those who guide geologic field trips regularly.
Helpful Links
Utah & adjoining-state mileposts: ArcGIS Online dataset · KMZ download · UDOT interactive mile marker map · UDOT Roadview Explorer
Utah Geologic Image Database
Or search for a highway or geologic unit in the search bar, to find images tagged with the search terms. Our flickr image repository has thousands of georeferenced images, although formation tags are currently limited.
Search Unit Thickness
Use this input to search for unit/formation thicknesses. Enter units seperated by a comma with no spaces. For help see this page
