A rockfall on Interstate 70 between Glenwood Springs and Dotsero, Colorado left large boulders scattered over the highway and severely damaged the pavement. The largest rock weighed an estimated 66 tons. No injuries were reported.
Project Rulison was an experiment done in 1969 to determine if an underground atomic blast would stimulate natural gas production. Today there are concerns because Nobel Energy Production plans to drill gas wells near the test site south of Rifle, Colorado.
The books in the Roadside Geology series will help you learn about the geology of your favorite state. These books are great to take on a trip but they work even better if you use them in advance to plan your trip wisely.
A large piece of rime ice fell onto a Colorado home, breaking through the roof, through the kitchen ceiling and scattering debris throughout the kitchen. Rime ice is ice that builds up on the outside of a plane’s cold fuselage as it flies through moist air. Rime ice often drops from planes during flight but it rarely travels all the way to the ground in a mass large enough to cause damage.
This .pdf from the National History Museum of Los Angeles County announces the unveiling of Fruitadens haagarorum. Found in the Morrison Formation of Colorado, it is the smallest dinosaur discovered in North America to date. Weighing slightly less than a kilogram (2 pounds), the creature was quick and nimble, and possibly had an omnivorous diet.
The Wyoming Geological Survey has a .pdf booklet titled: “Searching for Placer Diamonds” that you can download and read for free.
It was written by W. Dan Hausel and contains information about recognizing diamonds, prospecting for diamonds, references and a map of the Colorado-Wyoming Kimberlite Province.
Lots of people are extremely interested in uranium exploration and mining projects in Arizona and Colorado. Lee Alison links to a number of news articles here, and here, and here from his Arizona Geology Blog.
In some parts of the United States, drillers who would like to use carbon dioxide for enhancing oil recovery projects are having a hard time getting enough of the gas.
Warmer, drier climate is causing water supplies in the Colorado River basin to deplete at a very rapid rate. The warming climate is a greater threat than population growth and could cause depletion of reservoir storage by mid-century.
The United States Government is looking for a place to store thousands of tons of mercury. There are suitable locations in Washington, Colorado, Idaho, Missouri, South Carolina, Nevada, and Texas – but not surprisingly, most people don’t want a toxic substance in their area.
A multitude of small animal footprints have been discovered on a sandstone wall at Dinosaur National Monument. The tracks were probably left by a rodent-sized mammal during the early Jurassic period.
USGS has released Open File Report 2009-1140: “Evaluation of Hazardous Faults in the Intermountain West Region”. “This region contains thousands of faults that have moved in Cenozoic time, hundreds of which have evidence of Quaternary movement, and thus are considered to be potential seismic sources.”
USGS has published a new 1:100,000 scale “Geologic Map of the Estes Park 30’ x 60’ Quadrangle, North-Central Colorado” as USGS Scientific Investigations Map 3039.
The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission is holding hearings to discuss natural gas drilling near Project Rulison, the location of a 1969 underground nuclear explosion.
The U.S. Global Change Research Program released a report that explains how climate change might impact Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, California and New Mexico. Wildfires, increased flooding, stressed water supplies, and high temperatures are a few of the featured problems.
Learn about the geology of your favorite state as seen along the highway. This series of books by Mountain Press are filled with maps, photos, park locations and detailed descriptions. Get one before your next trip.
This is another short article that features Vince Matthews, State Geologist of Colorado, and his presentations that focus on the world demand for resources and energy.
The-Vug.com has a comprehensive listing of mineral and lapidary clubs from across the United States. It could be the most complete and up-to-date listing on the web. Included are hundreds of clubs and organizations located in all 50 states.
The-Vug.com has a list of mineral shows being held across the United States in late May and June. Included are shows in Virginia, Nebraska, Montana, Ohio, California, Colorado, Alabama, Idaho, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Connecticut, Oregon, Indiana and other states.
Some of the most interesting dinosaur fossils on the continent have been found at The Lower Cretaceous quarry at Dinosaur National Monument. Dynamite was used to clear away a resistant rock layer so that paleontologists could have access to the fossils beneath.
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Hobart King
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