Today, Utah is a land of great geologic diversity and scenery. Utah is known for its amazing rock formations, including spires, pinnacles, hoodoos, natural bridges, and arches, as well as buttes and canyons. Many factors have determined the evolution the state has undergone through time. In a sense, it could be said that Utah has had many different faces. Through geologic time, what is now Utah has been covered by oceans and inland seas as well as completely dry land. The elevation of the land surface has changed as well, ranging from sea level to over two miles above sea level. There have been periods where the topography has been relatively flat and also periods of mountain building and valley formation. The geographic position of Utah has changed through time as well. Due to plate tectonics, the state has moved from a position on the equator to its present location. In doing so, Utah has rotated nearly 90 degrees from an east-west orientation to its present north-south position. We don’t know as much about the first 3 billion years of Utah’s geologic history as we know about the 540 million years of the Phanerozoic Eon that followed, but 2.5 billion to 540 million year old rocks are exposed in the Raft River Range, Uinta Mountains, and parts of the Wasatch Range, as well as several other smaller areas of the state. These older rocks give clues to the formation of the continent (including Utah), metamorphism, igneous intrusion, erosion of several miles of sediment, and a variety of environments, including oceans, tidal flats, rivers, streams, lakes, and continental glaciers.
Utah contains one of the most complete fossil records on Earth. This record spans almost 2 billion years! Some of the most common fossils are of early marine life such as mollusks (snails, clams, and ammonites), fish, and trilobites from Paleozoic-age rocks in Utah’s West Desert. Eastern Utah contains younger, Mesozoic and Cenozoicage rocks that were deposited as layers of marine and terrestrial land sediments in Jurassic and Cretaceous age inland seas and terrestrial environments. The preserved fossils from the Mesozoic and Cenozoic include an amazing variety of plants and animals: from insects, freshwater clams, mammals, and dinosaurs in the terrestrial rocks, to mollusks, fish, and marine reptiles in the marine rocks. Utah is famous for its dinosaur fossils and related discoveries, behind only China in regard to the number of dinosaur types found. Utah’s Cenozoic rocks were deposited after the extinction of the non-avian (non-bird) dinosaurs. These rocks document the origins of many modern mammal groups. Utah also contains abundant fossils from the Pleistocene which include extinct bison, camels, giant ground sloths, horses, musk-oxen, mammoths, and mastodons.
Located just east of Capitol Reef National Park and north and west of the Henry Mountains, the Bentonite Hills appear as softly-contoured, banded hills in varying hues of brown, red, purple, gray, and green. Also called the Rainbow Hills, the Bentonite Hills in Utah are a geological wonder and a natural masterpiece! The hills are composed of the Brushy Basin shale member of the Morrison Formation. This layer was formed during Jurassic times when mud, silt, fine sand, and volcanic ash were deposited in swamps and lakes. Bentonite clay (altered volcanic ash) absorbs water and becomes very slick and gummy when wet, making vehicle or foot travel difficult or impossible. Repeated cycles of absorbing water and then drying results in a popcorn-like appearance on the clay's surface. Prepare to spend a lot of time here. The hills change colors at different times of the day
The Bonneville Salt Flats is one of the most unique natural features in Utah, stretching over 30,000 acres. The Bonneville Salt Flats are found west of the Great Salt Lake, in western Utah. They cover a large area and have a very unique environment. It is perfectly flat and has a thick crust of salty soil. It looks like a frozen lake bed covered with snow. The Salt Flats were formed when ancient Lake Bonneville dried up. The lake was huge, filling much of the Great Basin. The Great Salt Lake is a remnant of Lake Bonneville.
The Book Cliffs, also known as The Brown Cliffs and The Book Mountains, are an enormous area that spans two states: Utah and Colorado. Winding for 250 miles across, it is the longest continuous escarpment in the world. It is all marvelous wilderness. Abundant wildlife and rugged beauty have made the Book Cliffs wilderness one of Utah’s most popular backcountry destinations. The Roan Cliffs are remote and inaccessible, and one feature most notably absent in the Book Cliffs are roads. The lack of easy access is what makes this place so attractive. There's still canyons, washes, mesas and peaks that haven't been explored or seen human feet. The Book Cliffs run along the southern edge of the Roan Cliffs and grand valleys and are therefore readily visible from populated areas. The Book Cliffs have preserved excellent strata of the foreland basin of the ancient Western Interior Seaway that stretched north from the Gulf of Mexico to the Yukon in the Cretaceous Period. Components of deltaic and shallow marine reservoirs are very well preserved in the Book Cliffs. This area contains 455,000 acres of diverse ecosystems in a very remote setting. The Roan Cliffs are a series of desert mountains and cliffs in eastern Utah and western Colorado, in the western United States that are distinct from but closely associated with the Book Cliffs. As such the Book Cliffs are much better known than the Roan Cliffs. In addition, the name Book Cliffs is often applied to both landforms. The Roan Cliffs are situated north of (in back of) and above, but run roughly parallel to, the Book Cliffs.
Also known as Red Plateau, Cedar Mountain is located in the northern region of the San Rafael Swell in central Utah. It's one of the highest points in Dixie National Forest at 9,200 feet. Cedar Mountain is a must-see overlook for San Rafael enthusiasts. It's ideal for getting a bird's eye view. The overlook is 7,575 feet tall. The mountain is an uplift of conglomerate and sandstone rock that offers some of the best views in the area.
Adventure waits for sightseers, hikers, and thrill-seekers in Devil's Garden. Here you’ll find arches, spires, and a large concentration of narrow rock walls called fins. Fins form when rainwater erodes parallel fractures caused by the uplift of salt deposits below the surface. Fins eventually erode and give way to the formation of arches like Landscape Arch, the crown jewel of Devils Garden. Devil’s Garden is a maze of sandstone formations formed by, and continuously shaped by, erosion. Nature’s hand has been at work since the Jurassic Period more than 166 million years ago. Presently, Devil’s Garden boasts hoodoos, arches, and other rock protrusions from the sandy, desert landscape.
Factory Butte is the most recognizable feature of a large area of stark, barren land either side of the Fremont River known as the Upper Blue Hills or Badlands, bordered by Capitol Reef to the west, the Henry Mountains to the south, San Rafael Swell to the north and the San Rafael Desert to the east. The topography is characterized by mud flats bearing sparse grass and occasional bushes, rising a little to extensive, undulating grey badlands and sharp ridges completely devoid of any vegetation, surrounding a few flat-topped hills of orange-brown sandstone, of which Factory Butte is a prominent example.
The Great Salt Lake is one of the most asked about tourist destinations in Utah. It's a remnant of the massive ancient Lake Bonneville, the lake is now landlocked and its waters are salty. It is the largest lake between the Great Lakes and the Pacific Ocean, and is the largest saltwater lake in the Western Hemisphere. The Lake and its islands provide outstanding scenery and recreational opportunities in northern Utah. Sunsets over the lake can be breathtaking. Amazing red, orange, lavender and magenta hues slowly dissolve in the evening sky. The lake's turquoise waters attract sailors, its white sand beaches are popular with swimmers and sunbathers, and craggy outcroppings on Antelope Island and some shoreline areas draw hikers and mountain bikers. The Lake is actually the remainder of prehistoric Lake Bonneville, which covered some 20,000 square miles of land in what is now Utah, Nevada and Idaho some 10,000 to 30,000 years ago. The present lake is about 75 miles long and 35 miles wide, with a maximum depth of 33 feet. After a series of wet years, the lake's surface area may be much larger but it will be only a little bit deeper. Water levels in the lake are far from constant. During its recorded low in 1963, some of the lake's 10 major islands became peninsulas. In 1983, when the lake reached its historic high, it flooded houses, farmland and the nearby freeway. Huge pumps were constructed to deposit excess water into Utah's west desert. The pumps were shut down in 1989. Four rivers and numerous streams empty into the Great Salt Lake, carrying dissolved minerals. The lake has no outlet so these minerals are trapped. Continual evaporation concentrates the minerals.
Fantasy Canyon is crowded with intricate and peculiar stone figures that are a unique expression of rock weathering and erosion. Covering only a few acres, this miniature canyon can be viewed up-close. The sandstone layer in which the pinnacles, pillars, arches, and knobs of Fantasy Canyon are formed consists of ancient river channel sediments. The underlying and overlying rock layers sandwiching the sandstone layer, and creating scenic badland topography around the canyon. Although the sandstone is more resistant to erosion relative to adjacent rocks, it is in fact extremely fragile. The sandstone is fine grained, porous, soft, poorly cemented, brittle, and crumbly. When touched, grains of sand dislodge from the rock surface.
Monument Valley is a 30,000 acre Navajo Tribal Park located on the border of Arizona and Utah. It's known for its sandstone buttes. The largest butte is 1,000 feet above the valley floor. The formations in Monument Valley have achieved some Hollywood fame as the backdrop of many movies and television shows. This iconic symbol of the American West is internationally recognizable and it is one of the most photographed places on earth.
Mount Timpanogos is a mountain in Utah's Wasatch Range. It's the second-highest mountain in the range, at 11,749 feet. It's also a popular hiking and camping destination. The rock which forms the visible surface of Mount Timpanogos is primarily limestone composed of compacted sediment laid down onto an ancient seafloor over millions of years. The word Timpanogos comes from the native Timpanogos tribe’s words for rock and water, so it should come as no surprise that the mountain has some of the most scenic waterfalls in Utah Valley.
Utah is known for its natural beauty. But take a closer look and you’ll discover that the dusty red sandstone covering much of the state tells a story as well. People lived in this part of the country for thousands of years before European settlement, and you can see signs of these Native American tribes in the petroglyphs and pictographs that they left behind. Famous Native American petroglyph rock art showcases the history of the Fremont, Navajo, Paiute, Goshute, Shoshone, Anasazi, Ute and Archaic people. Large panels of rock art can be found throughout the state. The predecessors of these tribes created two categories of images in the rock. Petroglyphs are made with some type of tool that removed bits of the rock, while pictographs are more like paintings, made with pigments added to the surface of the stone.
The sprawling 60,000-acre Red Cliffs Desert Reserve contains a one-of-a-kind convergence of multiple different desert ecosystems, jaw-dropping scenery, and protected species seldom seen elsewhere. You should check out the City Creek area within the Red Cliffs Reserve. If you are looking for a bigger challenge, be sure to spend a little time in the Red Reef, Red Mountain, or Millcreek areas. The area include multiple sections of the reserve: White Reef, Sandstone Mountain, and the Hurricane Cider Knolls. Each of these zones holds its own flavor of desert textures, vistas, colors, and experiences. As is often true of the red rock desert, there’s a lot going on that you have to slow down to see and feel. Dramatic rock formations are the first thing you tend to notice. The Western and Red Mountain portions of the Reserve are as stunning as desert terrain can be.
This concert pavilion on the shore of the Great Salt Lake has been destroyed by fire, water, and disinterest but keeps coming back. Originally built in 1893 in an anachronistic Indian style complete with domed ceiling and minarets reminiscent of a wooden Taj Mahal, the Saltair entertainment pavilion has been ruined time and again by a number of catastrophes and has been rebuilt each time in order to make the Great Salt Lake seem a little less bleak. In its original conception, the Saltair resort pavilion was a lush wooden construction that stood out over the lake on over 2,000 wood pylons, providing a picturesque break in the black ring of brine flies that otherwise cover the beach up to the water. The site was wildly successful during its day, but the wooden construction proved its downfall when a devastating fire tore through the date spot in 1925. However the Saltair was not down for long and a new pavilion was built on the site just years later. Like its predecessor, the second Saltair succumbed to an arson fire that once again destroyed the site. Yet again the Saltair rose from the dead in 1981, this time attempting to capitalize on the nearby highway traffic that had been passing the lake and its burnt husk for years. This new venue was established as a concert hall, trying to attract hipper young acts to the site. Unfortunately a massively damaging flood nearly destroyed the site once again and competition from larger venues made sure that the expected audience never materialized. This newest Saltair sat empty for over a decade until new investors gave the site one last shot, renovating the space and managing to attract popular modern acts that finally made the site a success for the first time in nearly a century. Today the Saltair is still a popular concert venue which, while lacking in some of the architectural grandeur of its predecessors, it has managed to avoid any annihilating fires.
1893•Opening Day Sixteen miles from Utah’s capital city, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints built the Saltair Resort. It opened on Memorial Day 1893, and was dedicated on June 8th 1893. The architect behind the resort, Richard K.A. Kletting, also built the Utah State Capitol. 1906•The Church Sells The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sells the Saltair Resort to a group of private businessmen. Experts who have tracked the Saltair and its history say the sale came from the church seeking to pay off debts, and competing visions of what Saltair should be. 1925•The First Fire The Saltair Resort Known as the "Coney Island of the West" burned down on April 22nd 1925, with the flames starting in the main pavilion and spreading to other buildings. Chris Merritt, the state historic preservation officer, said the first building had little to no fireproofing. 1926•Rebuilding and Reopening The Saltair Resort was so popular it was rebuilt, and reopened a year after the fire. It remained open until the 1950s with more attractions: Bowling alleys, a rollercoaster, merry-go-round and a Ferris wheel. 1957•Roller Coaster Collapses On August 30th 1957 the "Giant Racer" roller coaster, once famed as the world’s tallest coaster, collapsed during a windstorm that hit speeds of 75 mph. 1958•Closed For Business The resort saw steady declines in business, after the Great Depression and World War II, and a decrease in the Great Salt Lake’s water level. As society’s recreational tastes changed, the resort closed in 1958. 1962•A Cult Film Is Shot The eerie abandoned building caught the eye of Herk Harvey, a filmmaker driving through the state. He paid $50 to rent the Saltair pavilion, and shot scenes for a horror movie, "Carnival of Souls." The movie was not a success immediately, but Saltair’s chilling atmosphere helped make it a cult classic. 1970•The Second Fire In November 1970, the abandoned building once again burned to the ground. Police said the fire was deliberately set. 1981•Another Reopening A new pavilion was built in 1981, and opened in July 1982. But the Saltair that people once loved was never the same. 1993-Present• A Concert Venue The Great Salt Lake Land Company purchased the resort in 1992 and restored the structure, while also building a new area for a concert stage, used today by all types of musicians. The third version of the Saltair opened on June 8th 1993, the 100th anniversary of the original Saltair’s opening.
Eons ago, tremendous geologic upheavals formed a giant dome of rock - a "swell" in the earth's surface. The harsh elements beat against this dome and eroded it into a wild, broken array of multi-colored sandstone. Wind and water carved this jumble of rock into incredible formations as buttes, canyons, pinnacles and mesas emerged, making the Swell one of the most ruggedly beautiful pockets of terrain in the world. That was how this area came to be known as San Rafael Swell. For years the San Rafael Swell has been considered one of the undiscovered natural wonders of the American West. The San Rafael Swell also provides sights that cannot be found anywhere else, such as Goblin Valley and the San Rafael Reef.
The Wave is the premier photographic destination in the US Southwest. The formation is situated on the slopes of the Coyote Buttes in the Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness of the Colorado Plateau at the state line of Utah & Arizona. It took millions of years for nature to create this magical place, anchored by a swirling maze of rock formations known as Vermillion Cliffs. The star of the show is The Wave, an otherworldly destination of whimsical sandstone formations. It’s believed to date back to the Jurassic period during which time prevailing winds pushed the sandy desert dunes across the sandstone, etching it, while water runoff deposited chemicals such as manganese and iron. The resulting bands of colour are referred to as the Liesegang rings. Swirled bands of color run through the sandstone, ranging from red, pink, orange, yellow, white and green.
Yant Flats is also known as Candy Cliffs. It's a large expanse of reddish-orange sandstone protruding from the mountains of Red Cliffs. The area features multi-colored sandstone cliffs and candy-like rock swirls. The Yant Flat Trail is located in Dixie National Forest. Swirling, patterned sandstone in a great variety of colors, eroded into cliffs, buttes and ravines; across the southern slopes of the Pine Valley Mountains. The wavy bands occur in shades of orange, red, yellow and pink, and white, which when combined with varied rock forms and textures make for a very photogenic landscape.
Ready to take a step back in time? Tons of dinosaur fossils have been found in Utah, and plenty of them are on display in museums in the Utah Valley area. Ranging from smaller collections to one of the world’s largest collections of complete dinosaur skeletons. Utah's geology and climate provided the perfect conditions to preserve the remains of these magnificent creatures. Utah is famous for its dinosaur fossils and related discoveries, behind only China in regard to the number of dinosaur types found. Utah's Cenozoic rocks were deposited after the extinction of the dinosaurs. Utah has many places to see dinosaurs, including museums, parks, and other sites. With fossil records of more dinosaur species than any other state and the most complete record of prehistoric life of any geographic area on the planet. Utah offers one of the world's largest collections of mounted dinosaur skeletons interspersed among actual discovery sites. More than 12,000 bones, belonging to at least 74 individual dinosaurs have been excavated here, with many of them on display throughout various museums in Utah.
Dinosaur National Monument - Vernal - Dinosaurs once roamed here. Their fantastic remains are still visibly embedded in the rocks. Learn what fossils discovered here tell us about this landscape millions of years ago. Explore Dinosaur’s compelling cultural history from rock art created by Indigenous peoples to log cabins built by homesteaders in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Discover the Green and Yampa rivers which provide a laboratory for scientific study and wilderness journey. Visitors can see over 1,500 dinosaur fossils exposed on the cliff face inside the Quarry Exhibit Hall. Dinosaur National Monument is located in Vernal, Utah and this area is know as the Dinosaur Capitol of the World. There is a lot to see and do in this small national monument including seeing fossils and hiking. This post focuses on the Utah access points, but there is also a Colorado side to this national monument. This is the greatest dinosaur destination in Utah, and maybe in the world. There is a huge wall of fossils, several hikes, and a museum at this site that spans the Utah Colorado border.
Stewart Museum Of Paleontology - Ogden - The Stewart Museum of Paleontology is designed to take you on a journey through time, starting from the earliest forms of life on Earth and ending with the present day. You will see incredible displays of dinosaur skeletons, reconstructed habitats of prehistoric animals, and interactive exhibits that allow you to experience what life was like millions of years ago.
Utahraptor State Park - Moab - In the 2021 legislative session, the Utah State Legislature created Utahraptor State Park. The area is currently undeveloped with only primitive recreation options. We ask visitors to remain patient during the construction process.
Museum of Ancient Life - Lehi - Travel back in time and explore what life was like over 65 million years ago in the Mountain America Museum of Ancient Life! With 60 complete dinosaur skeletons, this museum has one of the world’s largest displays of mounted dinosaurs right here in Lehi, Utah. More than 50 hands-on exhibits, like the Erosion Table and the Quarry Dig, make it easy to interact with prehistory. You can even watch our paleontologists and volunteers unearth a 150 million year old Barosaurus. Whether you come by day or night, the Museum of Ancient Life is a lively adventure you’ll never forget. With so much to explore and interact with, it’s one of the best dinosaur museums in Utah.
Utah Fieldhouse of Natural History - Vernal - Discover the prehistoric world, dig for fossils, and explore the dinosaur garden. Within an 80-mile radius of Vernal, evidence of the entire Earth’s history is visible. Utah Field House reveals this geologic story with hands-on exhibits and activities.
Poison Spider Dinosaur Trackway- Moab - Footprints from approximately ten different meat-eating dinosaurs can easily be viewed at the Poison Spider Dinosaur Tracksite. The tracks are found on two rock slabs which fell from overlying sandstone atop the cliffs. Between dune fields were scattered flat areas of wet sand, shallow ponds, and small streams. Dinosaurs crossed these flats and left their footprints, which were sometimes then covered by the shifting dunes and preserved intact. Millions of years later, after the sands had turned to stone, blocks containing the tracks have fallen from the cliffs above and split along the bedding planes, exposing the tracks to the sun once again.
Natural History Museum - Salt Lake - A sequence of snapshots in time spanning hundreds of millions of years depicts a range of Utah’s ancient environments and their changing life forms. Utah’s past worlds are brought to life in displays that capture plant and animal diversity, sights, sounds and smells long lost ecosystems. In this gallery there are dozens of skeletal reconstructions on display, including a Gryposaurus (duck-billed) dinosaur made of original fossil material, and the world’s largest display of horned dinosaur skulls.
Mill Canyon Dinosaur Interpretive Trail - Moab - The Mill Canyon Dinosaur Trail is a bold experiment; there are no guards or fences here. You, the visitor, are the protector of this valuable resource. It is illegal to remove, deface, or destroy improvements, rocks, and fossils. The dry climate and eroded landscape of today is very different from the environment that existed when dinosaurs roamed southern Utah. Climates were mild and moist during the Jurassic period 150 million years ago. The fossil remains of plants and numerous dinosaurs are typically found in the Morrison Formation. The Morrison Formation is a complex series of clays, shales, and sandstones that settled in swamps, bogs, shallow lakes, and the broad and often slow moving streams that wandered over a low-lying featureless landscape. Cycads, ginkgoes, and conifers formed forests, shading an undergrowth comprised largely of ferns. Horsetails and succulent plants grew abundantly in swamps and bogs. The Morrison Formation contains the fossil remains of plants and numerous kinds of dinosaurs including: Allosaurus, Camptosaurus, Stegosaurus, and Camarasaurus.
Bull Canyon Overlook Interpretive Site - Moab - Bull Canyon is a dinosaur track site and scenic overlook of beautiful Bull Canyon and Fisher Mesa. There is a short gravel trail to therapod dinosaur tracks that are dated to the Jurassic period about 200 million years ago when the area was a shallow sea.
Jurassic National Monument - Price - Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry-Jurassic National Monument contains the densest concentration of Jurassic-aged dinosaur bones ever found. Over 12,000 bones (belonging to at least 74 individual dinosaurs) have been excavated at the quarry. Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry has helped paleontologists learn a great deal about the Jurassic period, yet the site presents at least as many mysteries as it helps to solve. Curiously, more than 75% of the bones come from carnivores, primarily Allosaurus fragilis. With more than 46 individual specimens of Allosaurus, scientists have been able to deduce much about how Allosaurus aged and compare individuals to better understand intraspecies diversity. Yet the sheer density of bones proposes many questions. How did the carcasses of so many animals end up in one place, and why are most of them meat-eaters? While many good hypotheses have been presented, they all still have major flaws, the mystery has yet to be solved.
Dinosaur Museum - Blanding - At The Dinosaur Museum, the complete history of the world of the dinosaurs is presented. Skeletons, fossilized skin, eggs, footprints, state-of-the-art graphics, and beautifully realistic sculptures present the dinosaurs from the Four Corners region and throughout the globe. In the museum you will see exhibits which show dinosaurs from the different countries and how they were distributed throughout the globe. You will also view the latest in dinosaur skin research, which shows startling new aspects to some familiar dinosaurs. Enjoy the displays of dinosaur eggs from around the world, and the baby Protoceratops and Maiasaura sculptures.
Red Fleet State Park - Vernal - Hike to 200-million-year-old dinosaur tracks, boat and fish on Red Fleet Reservoir, and camp or picnic in a campground overlooking a sandstone and desert landscape. In the heart of Dinosaurland, Red Fleet is a destination in itself and a great location for discovery of the area.
BYU Museum of Paleontology - Provo - The BYU Museum of Paleontology was built in 1976 to prepare, display, and house the rock and dinosaur fossils collected by Doctor James A Jensen and his crews. Over decades of field work, Doctorr Jensen and crews gathered fossils from locations in Utah, Colorado, Montana, and Wyoming. For years, the vast collections of the unprepared field jackets were stored under the BYU football stadium. Now, with the new 5,000 square-foot addition, and years of laboratory preparation, nearly all of the fossils are kept at the museum in the collections room. As part of the BYU educational system, the Museum of Paleontology provides labs and hands-on learning to university students. The museum is also a popular attraction for school groups throughout Utah. Each month school groups visit the ESM to take tours and learn more about ancient plants and dinosaurs. Approximately 25,000 visitors a year come here to see dinosaur fossils prepared, to touch real fossils, and to learn about paleontology.
Copper Ridge Dinosaur Trackway - Moab - The Copper Ridge Dinosaur Tracks offers a short, family-friendly outing when heading to or from Moab on UT-191 from I-70. The tracks are essentially a roadside attraction, though visiting does require a tiny bit of walking. What is the attraction? A well-preserved set of dinosaur tracks and the first brontosaurus trackway reported from Utah. The tracks will delight children and those young at heart. This is one of the roadside attractions I recommend to those with kids. The trailhead offers a good spot for picnic lunch while pondering the dinosaurs that used to roam the area.
Prehistoric Museum-College of Eastern Utah - Price - Experience Life Three Billion Years in the Making. The Prehistoric Museum creates understanding and appreciation of natural and cultural processes that formed the geologic, fossil and prehistoric human records found in eastern Utah. We do this through educational and interpretive programs based upon our academic research, preservation programs, authentic exhibits, and the creative efforts of our staff and community.
St George Discovery Site-Johnson Farm - St George - At the St George Dinosaur Discovery Site at Johnson Farm, you’ll enter a 200 million-year-old ecosystem that was once home to dinosaurs, fishes, plants, and more. Besides the actual fossils, you won’t want to miss the five life-sized models of prehistoric animals and the working fossil preparation lab.
Parowan Dinosaur Tracks - Parowan - One great stop is the Parowan Dinosaur Tracks Site. There are three hadrosaur tracks located west of the freeway near the Parowan Gap. The dinosaur tracks (natural casts) occur in the Iron Springs Formation and are usually in the fallen blocks of light yellow-brown sandstone. Some tracks do occur in place, but most are in the large fallen boulders, so check them first. Originally, these footprints were made in non-resistant mudstones which have since eroded away to expose the sandstone cast. Most of the tracks at Parowan Gap were made by Hadrosaurs, which was one of the most abundant dinosaurs in North America. The tracks contain three toes and resemble giant bird feet. Hadrosaurs, nicknamed "duck-billed" dinosaurs, spent their day grazing much like a modern day cow. They weighted two tons and were 10 to 40 feet long.
U-Dig Fossils Trilobite Quarry - Delta - Fossicking in national parks and other protected areas is forbidden. The privately-owned U-Dig Fossils Trilobite Quarry in Delta is a good alternative. On average, visitors find between 10 and 20 trilobites simply by splitting the shoal. The quarry is open from March–October.
Dino Cliffs Trail - St George - This is a great, short hiking trail for families of all ages! The first part of the trail is a little bit sandy, but doesn’t last too long. It changes to a solid trail that leads right down to the dinosaur tracks. As you bottom out on the trail you will see a slate rock surface in part of the stream bed to the left of the trail. In the hardened sedimentary rock you can find 17 well preserved dino tracks presumed to be from Grallator, Kayentapus, and Eubrontes dinosaurs, which paleontologists suggest were bipedal, meat-eating theropods during the Jurassic Period.
Kanab Dinosaur Tracks Trail - Kanab - There are some really nice dinosaur tracks just north of Kanab. A short, but steep hike is required to visit the Kanab Dinosaur Tracks, but they are worth it. We counted over a dozen tracks along the ridge, and most were easy to distinguish and fairly obvious. This hike only runs a little under a mile, but the trail climbs almost straight up the ridge to the top of the butte. Not only that, the trail isn’t always obvious, but the general direction is easy to find.
Hanksville-Burpee Dinosaur Quarry - Hanksville - The Hanksville-Burpee Dinosaur Quarry is a dinosaur bonebed located on federal land, administered by the Bureau of Land Management northwest of the town of Hanksville, in south-central Utah, and is one of the largest dinosaur quarries in the United States. The quarry is massive in extent, with a bone-bearing layer extending for a minimum of 1km to the northeast. As of the summer of 2017, the deposit preserves the remains of a minimum of 15 different dinosaurs, including a high diversity of taxa. Most prevalent among the fossils are those of the longneck sauropod dinosaurs, primarily Diplodocus. Three other species of sauropod are known from the quarry and include Apatosaurus, Barosarus, and Camarasaurus. The theropod dinosaur, Allosaurus, has been found, as well as the small ornithopod Dryosaurus and the armored dinosaur, Mymoorapelta. Some material may be referable to Stegosaurus; however, further examination is needed to be certain.
Big Water Visitor Center - Big Water - The Big Water Visitor Center is one of four visitor centers in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, each with a different theme. However, the Big Water Visitor Center is more like a real-world time machine as it focuses on the early geologic and paleontological discoveries in this region. Since 2005, fourteen new dinosaur species from the Monument, and one from Utah State Land north of Big Water, have been named. This makes the Monument one of the most productive places to find new dinosaur species in North America! These "World Class" fossils largely represent animals and ecosystems unknown prior to 2000, something that surprised even the most jaded of researchers.
George S Eccles Dinosaur Park - Ogden - Along the Ogden River Parkway and just north of Salt Lake City is the George S Eccles Dinosaur Park. With more than 100 exhibits and realistic, full-sized dinosaur replicas, the 8.5 acre park appeals to dinosaur loving types of all ages in an entertaining, interactive setting. The sculptures encompass an array of prehistoric creatures, from crawlers to flying reptiles. The sized-to-scale replicas are based on actual fossils and skeletons, and several come to life thanks to robotics, intricate details and a state-of-the-art sound system. A few older sculptures dot the park as well, a curious reminder of our deeper understanding of these former inhabitants of our home.
• Bells Canyon Falls...1 (Sandy Utah) • Emerald Falls...2 (Zion National Park) • Adams Canyon Waterfall...3 (Layton Utah) • Kanarraville Falls...4 (Kanarraville Utah) • Donut Falls...5 (Cottonwood Canyon) • Archangel Falls...6 (Zion National Park) • Bridal Veil Falls...7 (Provo Canyon) • Cascade Falls...8 (Dixie National Forest) • Little Deer Creek Falls...9 (Unita National Forest) • Fifth Water Hot Springs Waterfall...10 (Diamond Fork Canyon) • Provo River Waterfall...11 (Provo Canyon) • Stewart Falls...12 (Mount Timpanogos) • Timpanogos Falls...13 (Mount Timpanogos) • Scout Falls...14 (Mount Timpanogos) • Upper Calf Creek Falls...15 (Boulder Utah) • Lower Calf Creek Falls...16 (Boulder Utah) • Battle Creek Falls...17 Pleasant Grove Utah) • Horsetail Falls...18 (Alpine Utah) • Fremont River Falls...19 (Teasdale Utah) • Hidden Falls...20 (Zion National Park) • Little Dolores River Waterfall...21 (Moab Utah) • Lower Timpanogos Falls...22 (Mount Timpanogos) • Mossy Cave Falls...23 (Tropic Utah) • North Creek Waterfall...24 (Zion National Park) • Ferguson Canyon Falls...25 (Cottonwood Heights) • Waterfall Canyon...26 (Ogden Utah) • Gunlock Falls...27 (Gunlock Utah) • Salt Creek Falls...28 (Nephi Utah)
Explore Utah was created and is maintained by Explore Utah Online ©2020-2025 (All Rights Reserved) This website was created for the enjoyment of Utah. If you believe copyrighted work is available on this website in a way that constitutes a copyright infringement please contact me for removal. All rights to the images and other materials used belong to their respective owners. I do not claim ownership over any third-party content used. Photos on this website are used for educational purposes only and used with permission and courtesy of: Scott Taylor - Albert Wirtz - Angela Banfield - Catherine Colella - Chase Bartholomew - Danielle Yung - Elliott Hammer - Francisco Ovies - George Gibbs - Greg Kebbekus - Hilary Bralove - Jacob Moogberg - Jim Paton - Jim and Nina Pollock - John Dahlstet - Jay Luber - Jessica Holdaway - John Hammond - John Dahlstet - Logan Selinski - Logan Selinski - Michelle Leale - Mae Thamer - Mark Thompson - Mia & Steve Mestdagh - Michelle Leale - Randy Baumhover - Sven Hähle - Shawn Anthony - Thomas Eckhardt - Thomas Jundt - University Of Utah - Bureau of Land Management - Utah Education Network - Utah History Encyclopedia - Utah League of Cities and Towns - Utah Geological Survey - Ski Utah - Free To Use Photo Websites: Unsplash - Pexels - Freepik - Pixabay - iStock - ShutterStock - Burst - Flickr - PickPik - Rawpixel - HistoryPictureArchive This website contain links to third party websites. The linked sites are not under the control of this website and is not responsible for the contents of any linked website. These links are provided as a convenience only and shall not be construed as an endorsement of, sponsorship of, or affiliated with the linked website ... Send your comments or questions to webmaster@georgestewart.online