Since 1972 the “Roadside Geology” series has provided introductory information on the geology of states and small regions of the United States. The books provide a combination of maps, travel logs, photos and commentary for the geology that can be seen along highways or visited at parks and public viewing areas. They are popular with geologists and others who are interested in the Earth.
This open-file report presents materials from the 2012 Southwest Wildfire Hydrology & Hazards Workshop, including the workshop schedule, presentation abstracts, and a list of attendees. The oral presentations and posters are part of this report and are available for viewing.
Abandoned mines and quarries are dangerous places! Every year about 20 to 30 people die in accidents that occur in abandoned mines across the United States. The victims range in age from preschool children to an 85 year-old mining veteran.
“Hydraulic fracturing is rarely used in Arizona and thus is not a threat. There are no shale-gas wells in Arizona and there has been no horizontal drilling and no hydraulic fracturing associated with those types of wells.” Quoted from the Arizona Geological Survey article.
The ArizonaExperience website has an interactive solar energy map. You can use a slider to view the geographic development of solar energy projects over time.
ArizonaExperience.org takes a look back at the San Manuel CopperMine (once the largest underground mining operation in North America) through The Miners’ Story Project. This page has a small collection of videos about the mine and the people who worked there.
“While there are no active volcanoes in Arizona, there are volcanic fields capable of producing new volcanic activity.” Arizona Experience has an interactive map of volcanic fields.
Geologist Dave Brumbaugh and seismic technician Lisa Linville, both of the ArizonaEarthquake Information Center, describe the role of the Arizona Integrated Seismic Network in monitoring earthquake activity in the Grand Canyon State.
An ArizonaExperience article includes a video in which Jeff Scovil, perhaps the most widely-known mineral photographer, offers tips on how to photograph minerals. The secrets seem to be in the lighting.
A shallow deposit of high-grade potash near Holbrook, Arizona is attracting attention the attention of mining companies. The deposits in the Holbrook Basin are the shallowest deposits in the United States and could hold more than two billion tons.
Uranium consumption currently exceeds production by over 70 million pounds per year and the source that currently supplies overconsumption will deplete in the next few years.
Water levels at Lake Mead have risen rapidly from record lows about one year ago. This change may have triggered an increase in seismic activity beneath the lake.
The-Vug.com has an impressive listing of mineral clubs organized by state. You might be surprised at how many clubs are listed and there is probably one that meets within a short drive of your home.
Check out the Arizona Geological Survey’s Document Repository. There you can get immediate access to online reports, maps and other documents. You can browse by collection or find documents using a Google search.
American West Potash is exploring the possibilities of an underground potash mine in Arizona. Going underground instead of opening a pit lowers the environmental impact.
The folks at MyTopo.com are now printing supersized topo maps – large enough make a huge 5′ x 8′ (or 8′ x 5′) map that will look fantastic on the wall of your office, conference room, lobby, cabin or den. These maps are custom-centered on any location that you pick using their online map-making tool. Lots of smaller sizes are also available.
We are affiliates of MyTopo.com and receive a commission on sales.
Raven Maps are beautiful examples of shaded-relief wall maps that display the elevation of a state in vibrant colors. These large maps look great in a classroom, den or office. Use one to mark the locations of your work or company.
H.R. 1904 is a proposal that will authorize an exchange of Federal land for non-Federal land… to facilitate development of a world class domestic copper deposit capable of meeting a significant portion of the annual United States demand.
Over one million acres of land in Arizona was damaged by wildfires in 2011. Now these areas are subject to potential debris flows during heavy rain. A recent article on the Arizona Geological Survey website describes the problem.
During 2010, Arizona’s non-fuel mineral production totaled $6.7 billion – about 10.5% of the USA production. Principal commodities mined were copper, molybdenum, sand and gravel, cement and crushed stone. Arizona also produced $273 million of coal bringing the total mined value to nearly $7 billion.
“USGS and partner science show that there are many causes of dust storms. Two contributing factors are low vegetation cover and disturbance to soil surfaces.” Quoted from the USGS science feature.
Also known as “Meteor Crater”, Barringer Impact Crater, located near Winslow, Arizona is one of Earth’s best preserved impact craters. This virtual tour will take you around the rim and down into the bottom of the crater.
After years of negotiations the National Park Service has secured 26,000 acres of largely untouched private land that scientist are excited to explore.
Over 800 geological reports, maps and other documents are available from the Arizona Geological Survey’s document repository. That includes nearly all of their: open-file reports, digital geologic maps, contributed maps, contributed reports, miscellaneous maps and more. You can search for documents by topic keyword, location keyword, author, collection, publication date and more.
Every geological survey should have an online document repository.
“The Arizona Land Subsidence Interest Group, a cadre of Earth scientists, geotechnicians, and geological engineers, have formulated the first guidelines for the professional geotechnical community in their investigations of land subsidence and earth fissure hazards in south-central Arizona.” Quoted from the Arizona Geological Survey press release.
Exploration for potash in the Holbrook basin of Arizona has confirmed state geological survey reports of an important opportunity. American West Potash could develop a mine that would produce 2,000,000 tons per year.
Arizona Geological Survey has an interactive Google Map illustrating a deposit that could contain between 682 million and 2.27 billion metric tons of potash.
Lake Powell is a reservoir on the Colorado River that was produced by the flooding of Glen Canyon. It is used as a water supply source for many areas in Arizona, California and Nevada. After ten years of drought the lake has risen rapidly in response to unusual amounts of water flow into the lake during June and July
“More of the United States was in exceptional drought in July 2011 than in any other month in the past 12 years, according to the National Climatic Data Center. The worst of the drought is spread across Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and parts of Arizona, Colorado, Nebraska, and Louisiana. But 26 percent of the lower 48 states experienced severe to extreme drought in July. On the other hand, about 33 percent of the contiguous United States experienced exceptionally rainy weather in July. The wet weather occurred largely in the Northern Plains and Western states.” Quoted from the Earth Observatory image release.
Foreign companies are buying into US mining operations and energy projects at a rapid rate. A quote from the Arizona Geology blog…. “Opponents of the Rosemont copper mine south of Tucson, point to the Canadian home of the company’s parent, Augusta Resources, as rationale for halting the mine. Yet, the State of Arizona has trade offices in not only Canada, but Mexico, Europe, and China, in hopes of luring foreign investments in Arizona and purchase of Arizona exports.”
“Nearly 12 percent of the contiguous United States fell into the “exceptional” classification during the month, peaking at 11.96 percent on July 12. That level of exceptional drought had never before been seen in the monitor’s 12-year history, said Brian Fuchs, UNL assistant geoscientist and climatologist at the NDMC.” Quoted from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln news release.
Areas burned by recent fires near Flagstaff, Arizona are now experiencing flash flooding and debris flows. The Arizona Geology Blog reports on the problem and links to news sources.
The Arizona Geological Survey published their first e-book in Kindle format: “A Guide to the Geology of Catalina State Park and the Western Santa Catalina Mountains”. This is the first geological survey publication that we have seen in an e-reader format.
This is a timely development because the New York Times reported that Amazon’s ebook sales now outnumber their paper book sales.
“Permitting mineral exploration or mining in Arizona just got a little clearer, due to the release of the Arizona Mining Permitting Guide, a comprehensive guide to the permitting process. The 187-page Arizona Mining Permitting Guide, a product of the Arizona Department of Mines and Mineral Resources, replaces the Arizona Mining Summit: Guide to Permitting Mining Operations of March 1999.
The guide should prove an essential tool for the mining community, from the largest international corporation, to junior mining companies, to the professional prospector.” Quoted from the Arizona Geological Survey press release.
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