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Introduction
Utah is one of the States, incorporated into the union in 1846, January and it is located on the western side of the US. 2.5 million people who live in Utah are Utahans; this makes 88%of the population. Utah is one of the most urbanized states in the US with vast areas not inhabited. Utah is an Indian name meaning people who live in the mountains. Utah has a unique characteristic by being the only state with the highest population having a homogeneous religion, 62%are members of the church of Jesus Christ of latter days Saints and this has a great impact on the people’s way of life and their daily activities.
Utah State has a highly developed transportation system, information, and technology has many minerals as well as a destination for tourists. Its national motto is industry and is ranked the sixth fastest developing state among all the US states. Utah has a wonderful landscape characterized by many beautiful geographical features that include snow White Mountains, watered river gorges, and rugged rocky deserts among other features.
The land of Utah
The land of Utah covers an area of 219887 kilometers squared; it borders New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, Wyoming, and Idaho. Three geological features that are very distinct, Colorado Plateau, Great Basin, and the Rocky Mountains, characterize the land of Utah. It has a great natural diversity consisting of deserts and mountain valleys that have admirable pine forest
The landscape of Utah has some distinguishing features which are worth mentioning, these are; Colorado Plateau, Great Basin, Bear River, Green River, Colorado River, Bonneville Salt Flats, Uinta Basin, Wasatch Mountain, and the Great Salt Lake.
King Peak is the highest point in Utah, it is 13,826 feet above sea level, and the lowest point is Deaver Dam wash that is 2350 feet above sea level. The Uinta Mountains are the only mountains in Utah that have peaks that are more than 13000 feet above sea level. Colorado Plateau is the largest of all Utah provinces and it has many state parks, five national parks, and several national monuments. Geographers divide the Colorado Plateau into three areas: the Canyon Land, Uinta Basin, and the High Sub Plateau Provinces. The Rocky Mountains are the smallest province in Utah, lie between Uinta and Wasatch Mountains, and are rich with mineral deposits and reliable sources of water.
Geology of Utah
The geology of Utah is spectacular, diverse, and dynamic. Geologists of different generations have studied the assortment of the geological configuration of Utah hence are able to explain the present physical setting. The plateaus and the mountains are because of the accumulation of rocks that took place two billion years ago; all these features are because of the ongoing water and wind erosion, strong earthquakes, and the changing nature of glaziers. The landscape exposes a variety of igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks combined with a variety of fossils and more than 500 kinds of minerals. Utah has a wide range of industrial resources and fascinating geological structures. The state also faces geological hazards like floods, earthquakes, and landslides that explain the ongoing geological progression.
The United States divides into 20 regions based on their geological configuration, three among these are located within Utah, which are the Colorado Plateau, the Rocky Mountains, Ranges, and the Basin, and this explains the reasons for its resources, scenery, and hazards. These three provinces are very different interims of the physical structure; the plateau, subjugated by erosion, whiles the basin and the ranges are dominated by sedimentation. The three provinces differ in their level of endowments of resources, scenery, and the environmental hazards that occur.
Geological history of Utah
The present geological structure of the state of Utah is because of geological functions that occurred billions of years ago. The functions include the Glaziers of Canada Rockies, the Sand Dunes of Sahara and eruption like that of St Helens, and shallow seabed like Bahamas Island. It is believed that the oldest rocks were formed 2500years ago, these rocks are deeply buried, and they form the core of the Northern American state since they have undergone many metamorphic changes due to heat and pressure. Then there were rocks that were laid 800million years ago and these rocks were laid on top of the foundation, these rocks are found in the ridges of the Utah Mountains and River Raft, Wasatch, and this formed the Wasatch Line that corresponds with the Wasatch Range. This is called the 2nd phase that separates the basin and range province from the eastern province. During this phase, many sediments are deposited along the Wasatch line making it subsidize eastwards an area nowadays occupied the Uinta Mountains
The third phase of Utah’s geological history involved great erosion of some parts of Utah whereas other areas were accumulated with sediments. This led to the formation of the paradox basin and Oquirrh Plateau all the rocks eroded during this time were marine rocks, which include shale, limestone sandstone, and evaporate. The Oquirrh Basin now forms the rocky edges of the Oquirrh Mountains, the Timpanogos Mountains, and Paradox basin sediments are now found in the Colorado basin.
The fourth stage was characterized by the deposition of non-marine sediments and the sea did not cover extensive areas leading to the development of mudflats, shallow water environment, and desert-like features resembling the Sahara Desert developed. Some of the deposits include limestone and shale, it believed that during that period their existed many dinosaurs and plants which perished, and to day the area has uranium deposits due to the rocks deposited and is home to many national parks
The collision between the North American continent lead to the compression of Utah on the western side, this affected the Wasatch Line to a big magnitude since the crusts responded differently. The west side remained rigid, unlike the west which ended up folding and forming mountain ridges by the older rocks covering over the young rocks, and this lead to the area of Utah reducing by many miles. The sedimentary rocks became exposed from the Mangos Seaway because they are easily eroded hence ease transportation from Colorado to Utah the eastern side remained like present Texas with extensive swamps which are major sources of coal.
The uplifting of the Uinta mountains and the down warping of the Uinta Basin lead to the creation of a more rocky scenery which is a center for tourist attraction today, these scenes include the water pocket fold, green river lake beds, and monument up the warp. These areas are today rich in oil. The 7th phase was marked by volcanic explosions that occurred around 40 million years ago. The caldera eruptions occurred in different areas of Utah and this smoothed the rocky terrain of Utah. Some of the molten hot lava sunk into underground to form the intrusive rocks, which have come to be exposed due to erosions
During the 8th phase, Utah was elevated to its current position by North America because of regional uplift. This led to increased river gradients, which resulted in a higher rate of erosion, several rivers carry many types of sediment from the Colorado plateau and deposit it in the California gulf, and these have even disrupted the drainage system in the eastern side of Utah. Volcanic eruptions are common in the southwestern side of Utah; glaziers like those that Lake Bonneville was formed by cool climate have almost dried up and have left Utah with only one great lake, the Great Salt Lake.
Geological resource
The geological history of Utah has been endowed with a number of resources some of which are easily accessible due to the uplifting and erosion that took place. The western side of the home for many minerals and it hosts the largest copper mine in the world in the Bingham Canyon and a high proportion of the world beryllium produced near Topaz Mountains, the eastern side of Utah is endowed with high-energy resources like coal, uranium, natural gas, oil, and tar. Phosphates and other important salts are produced in Utah’s saline lake while the deposition of sand and limestone due to erosion supports the local building industry.
Geological related hazards
Besides Utah’s huge endowment with numerous resources, the geological processes were also accompanied by an equal proportion of hazards in Utah’s region. The geological processes pose a threat to the infrastructure and people of Utah. The most hazardous processes are earthquakes, avalanches, mudflows, floods, and landslides. From 1982 to 1987, floods caused a great loss of property and at least three lives were lost along Wasatch Front and Central Utah and this was also catalyzed by amplifying in sea level and underground water level increase. Earthquakes that mostly come about in the western side of Utah are most destructive but not very recurrent and this is supported by geological verification because earthquake occurs along the Wasatch Line and this explains the location of Utah Lake and the Great Salt Lake.
Scientific research does not predict when the next earthquakes are likely to occur but there are estimations that they occur once every 300-400 years with a maximum of 7 to 7.5 on the Richter scale. The most common geologically narrated risks are the floods and landslide that are favored by the fact that 45% of Utah is hilly with steep valleys and this lead to great economic losses. The geological formation of Utah is conducive for landslides, frequent snow melts, and cloud bursts because of flooding but proper planning by use of the available information can result to reduce the impact of these floods and landslides.
Plantlife in Utah’
The landscape of Utah supports a variety of plants from the mountains to the deserts due to the different climatic conditions experienced in different regions. Above the timberline, plants life is very limited because of the dryness and changes in climatic conditions. The plants that grow at this altitude have a short life span since the soils are shallow, these plants are dwarfed flowers of different species. The areas above the timberline include mount Nebo, King peak, and Mount Timpanogos. Some of the plants found above the timberline include the forget- me- not, the moss, and the alpine avens.
The upper mountain region lies between 8000and 9000 feet above sea level and there are several plants that inhabit this region among them are; limber pine Douglas fir, lodgepole pine, white fir, and the white fir. Beautiful flowers of different colors and shapes are also available
The lower mountain zone has similar vegetation to the mountain zone and lies between 6200 to 9500 feet. Other trees include aspen grove, mountain ash, dogwood, alder, antelope brush, scrub oak, meadowrue, Jacob ladder, and mahogany among many others. Down the mountains lies the foothill vegetation between 5000- 6500 feet above the sea level that consists of trees like box elder, hackberry, buffalo berry, sumac, poison ivy, rose, common juniper among others.
The desert vegetation lies in the eastern side of the great basin of Western Utah, it’s 4000 to 5000 meters above the sea level, and shrubs such as the sagebrush, which is the most conspicuous, and others include the rabbitbrush. These plants have a life span of fewer than 15 years because of the little precipitation that usually occurs during the winters of less than 15 mm annually. The salty soils, in the salt desert t, are usually inhabited by greasewood, pickleweed, and salt grass.
Conclusion
The economic development of Utah is favored by its geological formation and the state offers many fascinating and recreational facilities to visitors and the inhabitant of Utah, this made it very interesting to live and visit Utah. However, since the geological function is sometimes destructive, they need to be approached with care before the utility is derived from them, besides that, proper planning needs to be done during the utilization of these resources with special consideration of the future generations.
The plant life in Utah needs to be protected since it supports the lives of both human beings and animals. The plants are Mountains are also used in various industries such as textiles and chemical firms.
References
- Alexander G Thomas, (1995) Utah, the Right Place, Gibbs Smith History General History publishers, US
- Alfred Bates, Hubert H. Bancroft, 1889, the history of Utah, the history company publishers. US
- Lee William Stokes, (1986) Geology of Utah, Mineral Survey Utah and Geological publishers, US
- Nye William Preston (1971) Nectar and Pollen Plants of Utah, Utah State University Press, US
- The geology of Utah.
- The history of Utah. Web.
- The history of Utah.
- The land of Utah.
- The plant life inn Utah.
- Utah Geological Society, (1970), Guidebook to the Geology of Utah, Utah Geological Society, US
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