WSU Professor, Students and Alumnus Produce Geological Map of Ogden AreaOGDEN, Utah – Collaboration between a Weber State University professor and the Utah Geological Survey has culminated in the release of a new geologic map of the Ogden area.
The Utah Geological Survey (UGS) has released the Geologic map of the Ogden 7.5-minute quadrangle, Weber and Davis Counties, Utah (scale 1:24,000), which covers parts of Utah's Wasatch Range and Wasatch Front basin. WSU Geosciences professor and department chair Adolph Yonkee worked on the project with Mike Lowe at UGS, a Weber State graduate. During the course of the project, which took more than 10 years to complete, several WSU geosciences students assisted in the research and compilation of the map.
Yonkee said it was natural to work with Lowe on the project, since both have done extensive work along the Wasatch Range, especially in the Ogden area. The map project is just one of several joint research endeavors between WSU, UGS and other government agencies aimed at providing useful information for the public, said Yonkee.
The map shows geologic deposits that record a long and rich history; from some of the oldest rocks exposed in Utah, to young gravels deposited on the Weber delta (the largest delta formed in Lake Bonneville during the last Ice Age). A wide variety of geologic structures have been imprinted on these deposits, recording the growth and erosion of various mountain ranges over geologic time, from remnants of the Sevier mountains that formed 100 million years ago to the still-growing Wasatch Range.
A report addressing geologic history, economic resources and geologic hazards of the area is also included with the map. Major economic resources include significant amounts of gravel and sand that are currently being excavated near the Weber River, and aquifers beneath the Weber delta that are important sources of ground water in the area. Declining water levels in some wells indicate that ground-water mining is an important concern. The active Wasatch fault zone runs through the quadrangle, and is capable of generating damaging earthquakes. Landslides of various ages, including recently active slides and a large slide triggered by liquefaction during a pre-historic earthquake, are also described in the report and shown on the map, along with sites that have experienced damaging floods and debris flows.
"We have a tremendous natural lab at our back door, and this map will help us better utilize this unique asset," Yonkee said. Several geosciences courses this semester are utilizing the map as part of class projects and/or field trip assignments, he said.
The Geologic map of the Ogden 7.5-minute quadrangle, Weber and Davis Counties, Utah (M-200) is available at the Natural Resources Map & Bookstore, 1594 West North Temple, Salt Lake City, (801-537-3320 or 1-888-UTAHMAP; http://mapstore.utah.gov) at a cost of $12.