Environmental Geologic Studies 

of the Kaiparowits 

Coal-Basin Area, Utah 

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 1601 

Environmental Geologic Studies 

of the Kaiparowits 

Coal-Basin Area, Utah 

By K. A. Sargent 

The Kaiparowits coal basin 

is a major coal resource area. 

Geologic and hydrologic studies 

summarized here should be 

helpful to land-use planners 

and land developers 

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 1601 
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

WilliAM P. ClARK, Secretary 

GEOlOGICAl SURVEY 

Dallas L. Peck, Director 

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON: 1984 

Library of Congress Cataloging In Publication Data 

Sargent, Kenneth A. 

Environmental geologic studies of the Kaiparowits coal-basin area, Utah. 

(Geological Survey bulletin; 1601) 

Bibliography: 30 p. 

Supt. of Docs. No.: I 19.3:1601 

1. Geology-Utah-Kaiparowits Plateau. 2. Hydrology-Utah-Kaiparowits Plateau. 

I. Title. II. Series. 

QE75.B9 no. 1601 557.3s [333.8'221'0979251] 

For sale by the Branch of Distribution 

U.S. Geological Survey 

604 South Pickett Street 

Alexandria, VA 22304 

8~338 [QE170.K34] 
CONTENTS 

Abstract 1 

Introduction 1 

Topography and physiography 3 

General geologic setting and stratigraphy 3 

Unconsolidated deposits 3 

Sedimentary rocks 5 

Igneous rocks 6 

Structure 6 

Economic geology and history of coal development 8 

Maps of the Kaiparowits coal-basin folio 9 

Hydrologic maps 9 

General chemical quality of ground water 9 

General availability of ground water 10 

Principal drainage basins, principal runoff-producing areas, and selected 

streamflow data 10 

General chemical quality of surface water 10 

Coal resource maps 11 

Coal extent and thickness, and amount of overburden on major coal 

zones 11 

Landform map 11 

Landslide map 12 

Bedrock geologic map 13 

Geologic cross sections 13 

Scenic features related to geology 13 

Surficial geologic map 18 

The use of maps in combination 19 

Coal mining areas 19 

Transportation routes 19 

Townsites 19 

Oil exploration 25 

Summary and conclusions 27 

References cited 27 

Contents Ill 
FIGURES 

1. Map of Kaiparowits coal-basin area showing generalized geology 2 

2. Map of Utah showing physiographic divisions and area of this report 3 

3. Map of Kaiparowits coal-basin area showing location of physical and cultural 

features 4 

4. Diagram showing generalized composite stratigraphic section of exposed rocks 

in the Kaiparowits area 5 

5. Map of Kaiparowits coal-basin area showing structural geology features 7 

6. Diagram showing relations of members and informal units in the Straight 

Cliffs Formation-southeast Kaiparowits Plateau coal field 9 

7. Sketch showing formation of hogbacks and strike valleys 11 

8. Sketch of stream valley floored with unconsolidated fill which serves as a 

transportation· route to cross from one bench level to another 12 

9. Oblique aerial photograph of landslide debris 12 

10-17. Photographs showing: 

10. Flash flood on Twentyfive Mile Wash on Hole-in-the-Rock road, September 1977 13 

11. Petrified logs weathering from Petrified Forest Member of the Chinle 

Formation, northwestern part of Circle Cliffs 13 

12. Typical mollusks from Sciponoceras zone, Tropic Shale, south of Escalante 14 

13. Cretaceous sharks teeth from Straight Cliffs Formation, southwest of 

Escalante 15 

14. "Moqui marbles" or ironstone concretions from Big Spencer Flats, between Boulder and Escalante 16 

15. Sand crystals from Morrison Formation, south of Escalante 17 

16. Narrow canyon cut in Navajo Sandstone, Kaibab Gulch 18 

17. Unnamed natural bridge near junction of Alvey Wash and Calf Canyon, 

southwest of Escalante 18 

18-21. Maps showing generalized areas of: 

18. Thickest coal 20 

19. Thickest coal where overburden is less than 1 ,000 ft 21 

20. Thickest coal where overburden is less than 1,000 ft thick, showing 

areas of roughest terrain 22 

21 . Present coal leases and proposed mining sites in relation to thickest 

coal, least amount of overburden and areas of roughest terrain 23 

22. Map of Kaiparowits area showing some existing unimproved roads and the 

proposed townsite at East Clark Bench 24 

23. Map showing all deep drill holes in Kaiparowits Plateau area and showing 

data on Timpoweap-Kaibab interval 26 

24. Map showing exploratory holes in Kaiparowits Plateau area drilled deeper 

than Timpoweap-Kaibab interval 28 

Inch-pound unit 

Feet(ft) 

Miles (mi) 

Ton, short (2000 lb) 

Btu 

Gal/min 

IV Contents 

Inch-Pound-Metric System Equivalents 

Multiplied by 

0.3048 

1.609 

.9078 

.5559 

.06308 

To give metric 

system equivalent 

Meters (m) 

Kilometers (km) 

Tons (metric) 

KCal/kg 

Liters/s 
Environmental Geologic Studies of the 

Kaiparowits Coal-Basin Area, Utah 

By K. A. SARGENT 

Abstract 

The Kaiparowits coal-basin area may contain as 

much as 20 billion tons of coal; it is a major coal-resource area and a potentially important energy supply 

area for the southwestern United States. However, the 

economic development of this coal could constitute a 

possible threat to the great natural beauty of the area. 

The impact caused by an attendant increase in population would be great. The U.S. Geological Survey in 1975 

started a series of studies of the Kaiparowits coal-basin 

area. The results of these studies are now being published as a folio consisting of 12 earth-resource maps 

showing hydrology, bedrock and surficial geology, coal 

resources, landslides, landforms, and scenic features related to geology. These maps are designed to help landuse planners and land developers make intelligent decisions on the most desirable use of this rich and beautiful 

land. 

INTRODUCTION 

The Kaiparowits coal-basin area, one of the most 

scenic parts of southern Utah, is underlain by as much 

as 20 billion short tons of coal. Since the late 1960's 

it has been the focus of controversy between coal developers eager to help satisfy the growing energy demands of 

southern Arizona and California, and environmentalists 

anxious to preserve the great beauty of the Canyonlands 

country. An extensive series of studies of geologic, hydrologic, and topographic factors bearing on coal development in this area was begun in 1975 under the U.S. 

Geological Survey's Energy Lands Program. This report 

summarizes the results· of this series of studies, which 

is now ( 1983) nearing completion. The completed studies 

are being published as a folio of 12 maps in the U.S. 

Geological Survey's Miscellaneous Investigations Series, 

numbered 1-1 033-A through 1-1 033-L. These maps provide accurate and objective data designed to aid in the 

making of intelligent regional land-use decisions. Ten 

maps have been published since 1977, and the remaining 

two are in press. 

The study area is a 1 o X 1 o quadrangle centered on 

the Kaiparowits Plateau (fig. 1). It lies between lat 37° 

and 38° N. and long 111 o and 112° W. Bryce Canyon 

National Park is near its west border, Lake Powell is near 

the border on the southeast, the Waterpocket Fold and 

Henry Mountains border on the east, and the Aquarius 

Plateau borders on the north. Altitude ranges from about 

3,700 ft at Lake Powell to 11,000 ft on the Aquarius 

Plateau. The area extends very slightly into Arizona along 

the southern boundary. 

Ninety percent of the land in the coal-basin area 

is controlled by the Federal Government and administered 

through the Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Forest Service, and Park Service. The remainder is either State or privately owned. The area includes parts of Dixie National Forest, Capitol Reef National Park, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, 

Navajo Indian Reservation, Paria Primitive Area, and 

numerous outstanding natural areas. 

Many of the data summarized here are refinements 

of the work of earlier investigators as reported in journals 

and in publications of the State of Utah and the U.S. 

Geological Survey. Perhaps best known are the works of 

H. E. Gregory, who wrote of the geology of the 

Kaiparowits region (Gregory, 1948; Gregory and Moore, 

1931). Much has also been published by the Utah Geological and Mineral Survey (UGMS) on the area; Doelling 

and Graham (1972) published an important paper on the 

coal fields of southern Utah. Major regional geologic 

maps by L. F. Hintze and W. L. Stokes have been printed 

by the Utah State Land Board (Hintze, 1963; Hintze and 

Stokes, 1964). 

Other work includes efforts by the U.S. Geological 

Survey: 1 :250,000-scale mapping of the Escalante 1 ox 2° 

quadrangle by Hackman and Wyant (1973); coal investigation maps at 1 :24,000 scale by Bowers (1973a, b, c; 

1975), Peterson (1973, 1975), Peterson and Barnum 

(1973a, b, c, d), Stephens (1973), Zeller (1973a, b, c, 

d; 1978), and Zeller and Stephens (1973). 

Also useful for this report were parts of the 197 6 

Bureau of Land Management Environmental Impact Statement on the proposed Kaiparowits power project and the 

Department of the Interior's Environmental Statement on 

development of coal resources in southern Utah (1979). 

Introduction 
Jlis 

Jlis 

UTAH 37° ---------------------- ARIZONA 10 20 MILES 

10 20 30 KILOMETERS 

Ps 

+ 

Jlis 

Bryce Canyon 

Nationa l 

Cedar o 

City 

UTAH 

Kaiparowits 

Jlis 

Figure 1. Kaiparowits coal-basin area, showing generalized geology. Inset map shows location of Kaiparowits coalbasin area in Utah. Tv, Tertiary volcanic rocks; Ts, Tertiary sedimentary rocks; Ks, Cretaceous sedimentary rocks, 

containing coal; J"Rs, Jurassic and Triassic sedimentary rocks; Ps, Permian sedimentary rocks. 

2 Environmental Studies, Kaiparowits Coal-Basin Area, Utah 
TOPOGRAPHY AND PHYSIOGRAPHY 

The study area is divided between the Canyon 

Lands and High Plateaus of Utah (fig. 2). These sections 

are characterized by terraced plateaus, monoclinal ridges, 

high mesas, and deep canyons. From the northern part 

of the area, the plateaus descend southward by a series 

of large rock terraces or benches that are generally 20-60 

mi long and as much as 10 mi wide (Sargent and Hansen~ 

1980). The cliffs that separate the different terraces range 

in height from a few hundred to as much as 1,500 ft. 

The terraces are dissected by branching canyons, the 

longer canyons cutting across successive terraces. 

The topographic features of the Kaiparowits coalbasin area are developed on sedimentary strata, except 

for the volcanic rocks that partly cover the Aquarius 

Plateau. The rocks of the High Plateaus and Canyon 

Lands are generally flat or only slightly tilted; however, 

along narrow monoclines such as the Waterpocket Fold 

in the northeastern part and the East Kaibab Fold (The 

Cockscomb) in the southwestern part of the area, rocks 

are tilted to as much as 70°. 

The northwestern part of the area is drained by the 

north-flowing East Fork Sevier River (fig. 3); all other 

streams flow southward to the Colorado River. Of the 

south-flowing streams, the Escalante River and some of 

its tributaries are perennial within the plateau area; the 

rest are intermittent except where springs and seeps provide perennial flow in short, widely separated reaches of 

the canyons. 

The altitudes in the region range from about 3, 700 

ft at Lake Powell on the south to 11 ,000 ft on the 

Aquarius Plateau (fig. 3) to the north. Changes in altitude 

are generally abrupt, although gentle rolling topography 

may be present on terraces and plateaus. Above the valley 

floors, the terraces, or benches, rise by steps from south 

to north. Each bench is underlain by an erosion-resistant 

geologic unit. In the Kaiparowits Plateau area, the 

benches are well developed. (Physical features are shown 

on Escalante 1 :250,000--scale USGS topographic quadrangle, 1956-62.) The first bench (unnamed) is just above 

Lake Powell, at about 3,800 ft. Successively higher 

benches occur at 4,200- 4,400 ft (Grand Bench, Sit Down 

Bench), 5,000--5,400 ft (Nipple Bench), 6,000-6,200 ft 

(Fourmile Bench), and 10,200-11,000 ft (Aquarius 

Plateau). 

GENERAL GEOLOGIC SETTING 

AND STRATIGRAPHY 

Most of the exposed section in south-central Utah 

is composed of Mesozoic sedimentary rocks. However, 

in areas of upwarp and deep erosion, such as at the Circle 

Cliffs, rocks as old as Permian are exposed. The highest 

113° r----r---

, 

I 

I 

41oL 

I I BASIN 

I 

I 39°1 

I 

I 

I 

AND 

RANGE 

PROVINCE 

1110 

----, 

I 

I 

I 

I ~WYOMING BASIN 

I PROVINCE 

'-- - --, MIDDLE ROCKY MOUNTAINS I PROVINCE I 

21b 

PROVINCE 

21c 

21d 

Figure 2. Map of Utah showing physiographic divisions 

and area of this report (patterned). Divisions of the Colorado Plateaus province are 21a, High Plateaus of Utah; 

21b, Uinta Basin; 21c, Canyon Lands; 21d, Navajo section; 21e, Grand Canyon section (modified from Fenneman, 1931). 

plateaus are capped with Tertiary and some Quaternary 

volcanic rocks. Figure 4 is a generalized composite 

stratigraphic section that shows most of the units generally 

recognized in south-central Utah. A generally thin cover 

of Quaternary unconsolidated deposits is common 

throughout the area; locally these deposits may be as 

much as several hundred feet thick. These deposits are 

not shown on figure 4. 

Unconsolidated Deposits 

Unconsolidated deposits are largely Quaternary alluvium, colluvium, and gravel. Windblown sand and silt 

are common, especially in the south half of the area. 

Landslide deposits are common on steep slopes, especially 

those underlain by thick shales or poorly consolidated siltstones on the flanks of the Aquarius Plateau or around 

Fiftymile Mountain. 

Geologic Setting and Stratigraphy 3 
111000' 

10 20 MILES 

0 10 20 30 KILOMETERS 

Figure 3. Kaiparowits coal-basin area showing locations of physical and cultural features commonly referred to in text. 

4 Environmental Studies, Kaiparowits Coal-Basin Area, Utah 
QUATERNARY AND TERTIARY(?) 

TERTIARY 

TERTIARY(?) 

TERTIARY(?) AND CRETACEOUS 

CRETACEOUS 

JURASSIC 

JURASSIC AND TRIASSIC(?)~ 

TRIASSIC(?) 

TRIASSIC 

PERMIAN 

Basalt: 200 ft (61 m) thick 

Latitic ash-flow tuff and andesitic basalt: 0-900 ft (0-274 m) thick 

Wasatch Formation: calcareous sandstone, and limestone, 1,000-

1,600 ft (305-488 m) thick 

~-==~==>..:;//Pine Hollow Formation: mudstone and sandstone, 0-450 ft (0-137 m) 

thick 

Canaan Peak Formation: sandstone and conglomerate, 0-1,000 ft 

(0-305 m) thick 

Kaiparowits Formation: silty sandstone with interbedded mudstone, 

2,000-3,000 ft (610-914 m) thick 

Wahweap Formation: sandstone and mudstone, 900-1,500 ft 

(274-457 m) thick 

Straight Cliffs Formation: sandstone with less common mudstone, 

carbonaceous shale, and coal, 1,000-1,700 ft (305-518 m) thick 

Tropic Shale: calcareous shale and minor sandstone, siltstone, and 

limestone, 600-900 ft (183-274 m) thick 

Dakota Sandstone: sandstone, mudstone, shale, conglomerate, 

0-350 ft (0-107 m) thick 

Morrison Formation: sandstone, conglomeratic sandstone, mudstone 

0-800 ft (0-244 m) thick 

Entrada Sandstone: eolian and marine sandstone and siltstone, 

400-1,000 ft (122-305 m) thick 

f':::::::'="""'~~~-------- Carmel Formation: limy siltstone, sandstone, limestone, and minor 

gypsum, 100-900 ft (30-274 m) thick 

Page Sandstone: eolian sandstone, 0-250 ft (0-77 m) thick 

Navajo Sandstone: eolian sandstone, 900-1 ,800ft (274-549 m) thick 

+"'----'--'-~;;.:..;1/Kayenta Formation: sandstone, siltstone and shale, 250-400 ft 

(75-122 m) thick 

Moenave Formation*: sandstone, siltstone, and mudstone, 0-400 ft 

:_-:._;;:~;.,f··?·::--........._ (0-122 m) th1ck 

, ... ;--.--.-·. -........._Wingate Formation*: eol1an sandstone, 0-350 ft (0-107 m) th1ck 

Chinle Formation: intertonguing mudstone, sandstone, and siltstone, 

conglomeratic sandstone near base, 500-1,200 ft (152-366 m) 

thick 

Moenkopi Formation: red beds and thin limestone and evaporite 

tongues, 100-800 ft (30-244 m) thick 

Kaibab Limestone: dolomitic limestone, about 120ft (37m) exposed 

• Moenave and Wingate Formations may in part be lateral equivalents; however, 

Wingate IS locally found below Moenave in southwestern part of area. 

Figure 4. Generalized composite stratigraphic section of exposed rocks in the 

Kaiparowits area. 

Sedimentary Rocks 

Thickness of the aggregate exposed sedimentary 

section exceeds 10,000 ft in the Kaiparowits Plateau area. 

The section consists mostly of nonmarine sandstone, siltstone, and mudstone, and marine shale. Conglomerate, 

limestone, dolomite, gypsum, and coal are common locally. Many of the sandstone units are cross bedded or 

irregularly bedded, moderately friable, and light gray to 

tan, or pink. Many formations or units of equivalent age 

exhibit little lithologic variation across the area, although 

a notable exception exists in the transition of the nonmarine Straight Cliffs Formation under the Kaiparowits 

Plateau on the west to the middle and upper parts of the 

Geologic Setting and Stratigraphy 5 
Mancos Shale, which is marine to near-shore marine to 

the east, in the vicinity of the Henry Mountains. A significant increase occurs in the limestone and gypsum content 

of the Jurassic Carmel Formation from north to south 

across the Circle Cliffs and from east to west across the 

Kaiparowits map area. Complex facies changes and 

stratigraphic correlations occur in Triassic and Jurassic 

units as well as in some lower Tertiary sedimentary rock 

units. 

Igneous Rocks 

Sequences of Quaternary and Tertiary basaltic-toandesitic lava flows and latitic ash-flow tuffs are 500-

1,000 ft thick. These rocks were erupted mainly in the 

high plateaus but locally are present at lower elevations 

as a result of faulting and gravity sliding. 

STRUCTURE 

The bedrock exposures of south-central Utah are exceptionally good; they allow geologists to interpret the 

major and most of the minor structural features. The 

Kaiparowits coal-basin area has not only the large-scale 

deformational features such as the monoclines of the 

Waterpocket Fold and The Cockscomb (East Kaibab 

monocline), the anticlines of the Circle Cliffs and Kaibab 

(west of The Cockscomb) up warps, and the large 

downwarps of the Henry basin and Kaiparowits Plateau, 

but also more numerous, smaller scale versions of these 

deformational features (fig. 5). Mapped on a geologic 

datum, the portrayed deformational features give the impression of a large area of crenulated strata broken only 

rarely by faults of small displacement. 

To the east, the Waterpocket Fold (fig. 5), a 

monocline, extends northwest-southeast for about 90 mi 

as a 1- to 2- mi-wide band of tilted rocks that dip from 

3° to 49° northeast. Immediately east of this large monocline is the Henry basin; immediately west of the monocline is the Circle Cliffs upwarp, a large and elongated 

anticline about 65 mi long (Davidson, 1967, p. 59). 

Amplitude of folding is at least 8,000 ft, measured from 

the crest of the Circle Cliffs anticline to the deepest part 

of the Henry basin. Ages of the exposed strata involved 

in the folding range from Permian to Late Cretaceous. 

Faults in this area of the Waterpocket Fold are usually 

small, normal faults. 

Between the Circle Cliffs upwarp and the basin 

under the Kaiparowits Plateau are a series of smaller anticlines and synclines. Largest of the fold features are the 

Harris Wash syncline, the Escalante anticline, and the Escalante monocline. Although relatively short in length, the 

6 Environmental Studies, Kaiparowits Coal-Basin Area, Utah 

Escalante anticline and monocline together are an impressive feature with an amplitude of about 4,500 ft of folding. Most of the exposed strata involved in the folding 

are of Triassic and Jurassic age (Navajo Sandstone and 

the overlying Carmel Formation). 

Farther west are a series of crenulations within the 

Kaiparowits basin. Perhaps the most striking fold features 

are the Upper Valley anticline and the adjacent Dutton 

monocline (both of which extend for 25 mi on a northwest-southeast trend). Other large folds are the Table 

Cliff, Wahweap, Last Chance Creek, and Alvey Wash 

synclines (fig. 5). The age of the surface strata involved 

in folding of these features is Late Cretaceous, but Eocene 

to Miocene age rocks overlie the Cretaceous in marked 

angular unconformity and they too are slightly 

downwarped in the vicinity of the Table Cliff syncline. 

Farther south, the Rees Canyon anticline, Last Chance 

Creek syncline, Smoky Mountain anticline, Glen Canyon 

syncline, and the north end of the Echo monocline involve 

rocks as old as the Triassic(?) and Jurassic Navajo Sandstone. Several small normal faults occur in the southernmost part of the Kaiparowits basin. North of the 

Kaiparowits Plateau several normal faults have been 

mapped in the area where the Kaiparowits structural basin 

extends beneath Table Cliff Plateau and the Escalante 

Mountains (fig. 3). There faults transect the flatlying volcanic rocks of Miocene age as well as the folded Mesozoic strata. 

Between the Kaiparowits basin and Kaibab upwarp 

is the East Kaibab monocline (The Cockscomb). This 

large monoclinal fold has structural relief of about 5,500 

ft in a horizontal distance of less than 4 mi. Exposed 

rocks folded in the monocline range in age from Late 

Cretaceous (Kaiparowits Formation) to Permian (Kaibab 

Limestone). The fold plunges northeast. Numerous small 

normal faults occur along the East Kaibab monocline and 

some occur on the Kaibab upwarp. The up warp is bounded on the west by the Paunsaugunt fault zone, which has 

a maximum throw of at least 2,000 ft. Strata involved 

in the faulting range in age from the Triassic(?) and Jurassic Navajo Sandstone to the Paleocene and Eocene 

Wasatch Formation, and farther north, volcanic rocks of 

Miocene age, as seen on the geologic map of the 

Kaiparowits Plateau (Sargent and Hansen, 1982). 

This deformation can be dated by the map relations 

of the strata (Bowers, 1973c) as Late Cretaceous to early 

Paleocene-about 70,000,000 years old. The earliest deformation began after deposition of the Upper Cretaceous 

Kaiparowits Formation and ended before deposition of the 

Paleocene and Eocene Wasatch Formation. Soon after the 

end of the folding, the deformed strata were beveled to 

a relatively smooth surface that was probably not very 

much above the base level of erosion. 

Early Tertiary erosion in the Kaiparowits area ended 

with gradual development of a large basin in which mixed 
): ', \ ~ ~ \ I -t-,i, ~ ' EA::'~~L;CRK ? \ 

~\ ~ 

rrJti!l' L ___________ ~~-------------·----

A'- / 

/ /.' 

/.'- F 

)' ()' 

)--

1-;l 

0 10 20 30 KILOMETERS 

Figure 5. Kaiparowits coal-basin area showing structural geology features referred to in text (modified from Hackman 

and Wyant, 1973). 

Structure 7 
fluvial and lacustrine strata of the Wasatch Formation 

were deposited (Bowers, 1972). After deposition of the 

Wasatch and related strata, uplift resumed throughout the 

entire area and the strata were probably beveled again 

to a relatively smooth northward-sloping surface. In Eocene(?), Oligocene, and early Miocene time, ash-flow 

tuffs and lava flows were deposited in the Aquarius 

Plateau area and on the plateaus farther north and west. 

By early middle Miocene, the entire area was subjected 

to normal faulting and· the Paunsaugunt fault zone may 

have shown flexuring and some displacement. Most of 

the displacement along the Paunsaugunt fault zone was 

probably later. By mid-Miocene time, the entire Colorado 

Plateau started to rise relative to base level, and the cycle 

of canyon erosion that is still active began. Despite the 

magnitude of canyon erosion, large areas of Upper Cretaceous coal-bearing rocks have been preserved within synclinal and basinal structures. In a regional view the coalbearing rocks are preserved within the Kaiparowits Plateau 

basin and its northern extension under the Aquarius 

Plateau. 

ECONOMIC GEOLOGY AND HISTORY OF 

COAL DEVELOPMENT 

Coal is the single most valuable mineral resource 

in south-central Utah. The Kaiparowits coal basin has 

been studied by workers for many years and is known 

to contain large reserves in the Cretaceous section. Other 

resources in the area include oil, which has been produced 

in commercial quantity since 1964 from Permian and Triassic rocks in the Upper Valley field (fig. 3) west of Escalante. Elsewhere only shows of oil or gas have been 

reported. The rocks of the study area are only slightly 

mineralized. Some sandstones and shales contain small 

deposits of uranium, minor gold, titanium, selenium, arsenic, antimony, thorium and rare earths, and manganese, 

and small amounts of low-grade copper. Aggregate, 

"clinker" (rock baked by burning coal), silica, and 

semiprecious gem materials are locally abundant. Sandstone for building is abundant, and some clay deposits 

are known. Gypsum is widely distributed and may locally 

be of commercial grade. Limestones suitable for industrial 

use and chemical applications are present but not common. The mineral deposits mentioned above are summarized in more detail in Sargent and Hansen (1976). 

Soon after the settlement of Escalante in 1876, the 

records show coal being mined south of town in the Alvey 

Wash area. The Christensen and Schow mines (fig. 3) 

were reported active at least as early as 1893. Within 

5 mi of Escalante, about eight coal mines were supplying 

coal to local residents in the 1920's (Gregory and Moore, 

1931). The Spencer coal mine was opened in 1913 in 

the southern Kaiparowits Plateau area on South Branch 

8 Environmental Studies, Kaiparowits Coal-Basin Area, Utah 

Creek (fig. 3). Coal from that mine was transported by 

wagon and pack horse, and finally by barge down the 

Colorado River to the site of an abortive gold mining 

operation near the mouth of the Paria River (Averitt and 

Cashion, 1965). North of Henrieville, the Pollock, 

Shakespeare, and Davies mines (fig. 3) supplied local 

needs to settlements west of the plateau as late as 1964. 

Coal on the Kaiparowits Plateau occurs in the 

Dakota Sandstone and the Straight Cliffs Formation. In 

the Dakota Sandstone (Hansen, 1978a) are thin coal 

seams. One such thin seam crops out 5 mi south of Escalante at the base of the Straight Cliffs. According to 

H. D. Zeller (written commun., 1978), wooden rails used 

for coal transport at a mine that worked this seam could 

be seen as late as 1965. Major coal zones in the 

Kaiparowits Plateau are chiefly in the John Henry Member of the Straight Cliffs Formation (fig. 6). These zones 

extend under much of the plateau at depths prohibitive 

to strip mining (Hansen, 1978a), so that most of the coal 

could be extracted only by underground mining unless 

suitable coal gasification or liquefication processes are developed in the area. 

The quality of coal in the John Henry Member varies from subbituminous C to high-volatile bituminous A. 

The average sulfur content is relatively low (0.87 percent); the range is 0.26 to 3.40 percent. The heat value 

averages 11,999 Btu/lb; the range is 8,499 to 14,236 Btu/ 

lb (Doelling and Graham, 1972, p. 93). 

In 1965, a consortium of utility companies proposed 

a plan to build a 5,000 megawatt coal-burning power 

plant, at a cost of $500 million. In the mid 1970's after 

much controversy over environmental issues, a new plan 

was proposed for a 3,000 megawatt generating plant, 

mine, and community to house miners, electrical plant 

workers, and attendant service personnel. The total cost 

of this plan was to have been about $3.5 billion. The 

impacts as cited in the 1967 Environmental Impact Statement (U.S. Bureau of Land Management, 1976) for this 

plan include degradation of air quality, land subsidence 

above the coal mine, marked increase in population, reduced grazing, degradation of recreational experience at 

Lake Powell and surrounding parks and scenic areas, and 

mercury release into Lake Powell from plant emissions. 

Environmental challenges continued, and in April 1976, 

two of the three major partners in the Kaiparowits Power 

Project, San Diego Gas and Electric Co. and Southern 

California Edison Co. , announced that they were dropping 

construction plans because of government action and 

pending lawsuits. Despite delays, an agenda for development at Kaiparowits still exists. Presently active in exploration and the outlining of reserves are the El Paso Company and Mono Power Company et al. (Resources Company, wholly owned subsidiary of Arizona Public Service 

Company, New Albion Resources Company, wholly 

owned subsidiary of San Diego Gas and Electric Com-
SOUTHWEST Wahweap Formation NORTHEAST 

Drip Tank Member 

Upper barren zone 

ro c:: e 0 ro :;; 

~ ro Q) E John Q) 0 u LL. Henry 

a. ; Member ro 

Q) (3 ~ 

~ +-' 

ro ~ 

~ Ql) 

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Figure 6. Relations of members and informal units in the Straight Cliffs Formation-southeast Kaiparowits Plateau 

coal field. Approximately 30 mi from left to right. (From Peterson, 1969, p. J8.) 

pany, and Mono Power Company, wholly owned subsidiary of Southern California Edison Company). 

Plans of the two development entities, which are 

ambitious, envisage shipment of coal to distant users by 

truck, conveyors, rail, and (or) slurry line. El Paso Coal 

Company proposes production from two underground 

mines; one to produce 200 million tons of coal over a 

38-year mine life, the other to produce 4.5 million tons 

over a 10-year mine life. Mono Power Company et al. 

proposes to mine 12 million tons of coal per year from 

five underground mines with a mine life of 35 years. Environmental statements covering regional and site specific 

analyses have been prepared by the U.S. Department of 

the Interior ( 1979). 

MAPS OF THE KAIPAROWITS 

COAL-BASIN FOLIO 

The U.S. Geological Survey has prepared 12 maps 

of the land resources of the Kaiparowits coal-basin area 

designed to furnish an information base for environmental 

decisions on development of the coal resources of the 

area. These maps (I-1033-A through I-1033-L) are either 

published or in press. The following section summarizes 

the content of each map. Data cited are in the primary 

units of measurement used by the map authors. 

Hydrologic Maps 

Four hydrologic maps recently published on the 

Kaiparowits coal-basin area give an overview and up-todate summary of known water resources for the area. 

General Chemical Quality of Ground Water 

Data for this map (Price, 1977a) were obtained by 

the chemical analyses of water samples from about 40 

springs, 20 coal-exploration drill holes, and 7 water wells. 

Ground water in most of the Kaiparowits area is fresh 

to slightly saline (classification in Hem, 1970, p. 219). 

The most potable water is located at the headwaters of 

the Escalante River, along reaches of Hackberry Canyon 

and Cottonwood Creek, and in the vicinity of Lake Powell 

(fig. 3). In these areas Price (1977a) noted that springs 

sampled commonly contain less than 500 mg/L of dissolved solids and have the Navajo Sandstone, the Wasatch 

Formation, or Tertiary volcanic rocks as their sources. 

The most saline areas, where water has 1,000 to 10,000 

mg/L dissolved solids, are along the southern margin of 

the Kaiparowits Plateau, in the Henrieville-Round Valley 

area, and in the northeast part of the map area. In each 

of these areas, the Tropic Shale is the source of the high 

dissolved solids. The quality of ground water in the area 

on the plateau underlain by coal is fresh (100 to 1,000 

Maps of the Kaiparowits Coal-Basin Folio 9 
mg/L) northward from Canaan Peak and fresh to slightly 

saline (500 to 3,000 mg/L) southward from Collet Canyon. Locally, water of higher and lower salinity occurs 

on the plateau. 

General Availability of Ground Water 

Data for this map (Price, 1977b) were obtained 

from records of water wells, springs, coal and petroleumexploration holes, previously unpublished reports, and 

field work by Don Price. Ground water occurs at varying 

depths in all the sedimentary and volcanic rocks of the 

Kaiparowits coal-basin area. Locally, ground water occurs 

in stream valley alluvium; terrace gravels and dune sands 

are largely unsaturated. Price ( 1977b) reported that in the 

vicinity of the town of Escalante and in Johns Valley (fig. 

3), individual wells tapping alluvium could yield as much 

as 500 gal/min of water, but in most places alluvium is 

discontinuous and too thin to yield more than 50 gal/min 

on a sustained basis. Volcanic rocks yield water to numerous springs on the Aquarius Plateau. Price believed that 

wells in the volcanic rocks could yield as much as 50 

gal/min and possibly more if wells were ideally located. 

Most of the ground water available for development 

in the Kaiparowits area is contained in the thick section 

of sedimentary rocks underlying the Kaiparowits Plateau. 

This section of rock averages more than 6,000 ft thick 

throughout the area, and locally exceeds 12,000 ft thick 

(Lidke and Sargent, 1983). Despite a substantial content 

of water, many of the beds have low permeability and 

would transmit water slowly to wells and springs, except 

where rocks are fractured or faulted. A notable exception 

is the Navajo Sandstone, which is a good aquifer and 

an ideal source of ground water where it is near the surface. Although most of the sedimentary rocks would yield 

only from 5 to 50 gal/min to individual wells, the Navajo 

Sandstone would generally yield more than 50 gal/min, 

and might yield more than 1 ,000 gal/min. 

The depth to ground water shown on the availability 

of ground water map (Price, 1977b) is to the top of the 

main zone of saturation (the regional water table). Perched 

ground-water tables may occur at varying levels above 

the main zone of saturation, but wells into perched water 

tables can be expected to produce only limited amounts 

of water and should not be considered to have sustained 

capacity. Springs are numerous in the headwaters of the 

Escalante River, especially around the Aquarius Plateau, 

whereas they are sparse in the Circle Cliffs area. Yields 

from springs typically range from less than 1 to about 

20 gal/min, but several discharge more than 100 gal/min. 

Principal Drainage Basins, Principal Runoff-Producing 

Areas, and Selected Streamflow Data 

The Kaiparowits coal-basin area is divided into 

three drainage basins: (1) about 85 percent of the area 

10 Environmental Studies, Kaiparowits Coal-Basin Area, Utah 

drains into Lake Powell via Escalante River and 

Wahweap, Warm, and Last Chance Creeks; (2) 11 percent 

of the area drains to the Paria River, which drains to 

the Colorado River below Lake Powell; and (3) the remaining 4 percent drains into the East Fork Sevier River, 

which drains northward to the Sevier River and the Great 

Basin (Price, 1978). In the map area, only the Escalante 

River is a perennial stream, and except for small stream 

segments and some minor drainages, all other streams are 

intermittent. The Paria River and the East Fork Sevier 

River are intermittent in the map area, but are perennial 

in upstream and downstream reaches off the map area. 

Rainfall normally ranges from 6 in. per year along the 

shore of Lake Powell to about 30 in. in the headwaters 

of the Escalante River. Runoff in those areas ranges from 

less than 0.5 in. near Lake Powell to about 10 in. in 

the upper Escalante River area. Runoff occurs mostly in 

April, May, and June, which is the rainy season as well 

as the time of melting of winter snows. Floods from summer thunderstorms and cloudbursts may generate more 

than 3,000 ft3

/s in drainage areas of less than 100 mi2 • 

The largest recorded flood in the area was measured near 

Adairville on the Paria River in August 1963, when 

15,400 ft3 of water per second was discharged. 

General Chemical Quality of Surface Water 

The interpretation of the chemical quality of surface 

water in the Kaiparowits coal-basin area (Price, 1979) is 

based on chemical analyses of about 130 water samples 

collected during low runoff periods from 1972 to 1975, 

on information on the chemical quality of ground water, 

and on local geology. Runoff in the area generally ranges 

from fresh (less than 1,000 mg/L dissolved solids) to 

moderately saline (3,000 to 10,000 mg/L dissolved solids )--the maximum concentration of dissolved solids recommended by the U.S. Public Health Service (1962, p. 

7) for drinking water is 500 mg/L. However, where 

fresher water is unavailable, water with more than 1,000 

mg/L is used. Runoff is freshest in the headwaters of the 

Escalante River, and has a dissolved-solids concentration 

of generally less than 250 mg/L even during low-flow 

periods. Runoff is most saline along the lower reaches 

of Wahweap, Warm, and Last Chance Creeks, and contains dissolved-solids concentration of generally more than 

3,000 mg/L. High salinity of the runoff in the Kaiparowits 

coal-basin area is caused by a concentration of salts 

leached from the soil during irrigation (especially common 

in return flows to the Pari a and Escalante Rivers), seepage 

of saline ground water to streams (especially in or 

downstream from outcrops of the Mancos and Tropic 

Shales), and evapotranspiration (direct evaporation and 

transpiration by vegetation) along water courses. 

Runoff water in the upper reaches of the Escalante 

River and in most other areas where dissolved-solids concentrations are generally less than 500 mg/L is of a calci-
urn bicarbonate type. Runoff water in other areas is generally of a calcium sulfate or sodium sulfate type. 

Dissolved-solids concentrations on Lake Powell 

water range from 500 to 1 , 000 mg/L (197 6 salinity level). 

Although Wahweap, Warm, and Last Chance Creeks discharge moderately saline water into Lake Powell, the total 

annual salt load contributed to the lake by those streams 

is relatively small, probably only about 0.3 percent of 

the total estimated salt load added to the lake by the Colorado and San Juan Rivers under 1974 conditions (modified) (Price, 1979). 

Coal Resource Maps 

Coal Extent and Thickness, and Amount of 

Overburden on Major Coal Zones 

Two coal resource maps constitute a major part of 

the Kaiparowits coal-basin area folio; one shows extent 

and total thickness of coal beds (Hansen, 1978a), and 

another shows amount of overburden on major coal zones 

(Hansen, 1978b). These maps give a general overview 

of coal resources of the Kaiparowits coal basin. Coal 

studies by the Utah Geological and Mineral Survey (for 

example, Doelling and Graham, 1972) and the U.S. 

Geological Survey (for example, Bowers, 1973a, and Zeller, 1973a) should be used where more detail is required. 

The coal in the Kaiparowits Basin is of Late Cretaceous age and is found in the Dakota Sandstone and the 

Straight Cliffs Formation. The Dakota Sandstone and the 

lower part of the Straight Cliffs Formation contain only 

discontinuous beds of coal and carbonaceous shale, but 

the John Henry Member of the Straight Cliffs Formation 

contains major coal deposits in at least five zones. In ascending order, these are: (1) lower coal zone, (2) Henderson coal zone, (3) Christensen coal zone, (4) Rees coal 

zone, and (5) Alvey coal zone. The Christensen and 

Alvey zones are generally considered to be most important, although the lower, the Henderson, and the Rees 

are locally of economic interest. 

The thickest coals in the John Henry Member occur 

in a northwest-trending belt 10--15 mi wide that goes 

through the center of the Kaiparowits coal basin. Hansen 

(1978a) showed a total thickness of 14.3 to 29.2 m of 

coal in the southern part of this belt and 28.9 to 42 m 

in the northern part. 

Hansen's second map (1978b) shows amount of overburden on two major coal-bearing zones: the combined 

Christensen and Henderson and the Alvey. This map 

shows four categories of overburden thickness: (1) less 

than 300 m, (2) 300--600 m, (3) 600--900 m, and (4) 

greater than 900 m. Examination of this map shows that 

limited stripping operations west of Escalante and a few 

miles south of Utah Highway 12 may be feasible, but 

most of the coal-basin area is only amenable to underground mining. Areas with the least amount of overburden 

are on the east and south sides of the plateau where thick 

zones of coal lie at depths of less than 300 m. 

A large area of potentially minable coal extends 

from about 10 mi south of Canaan Peak northwestward 

as far as 30 mi; this coal area, however, is buried in 

excess of 900 m. 

Landform Map 

This map (Sargent and Hansen, 1980) portrays the 

shape and ruggedness of the terrain. The bedrock consists 

of gently dipping sedimentary rock layers that have eroded 

back away from the Colorado River Valley (Lake Powell) 

in a series of steps that form a giant staircase. Each step 

is shown on the map as a set consisting of light map 

colors for flatlands and dark map colors for steep canyons 

or cliffs. From south to north the steps are progressively 

higher; each step represents successively higher rocks in 

the geologic column. Terrain with intermediate slopes is 

patterned for recognition. Other landform features include 

hogbacks and depositional units. Hogbacks are those features formed where sedimentary rocks are sharply upturned by folding, and eroded into sharp ridges (fig. 7). 

Such features can be found in the northeast comer of the 

map area along the Waterpocket Fold and in the southwest 

comer of the area along The Cockscomb (or East Kaibab 

A 

Strike valley 

\ Hogback ridge 

B 

Figure 7. Formation of hogbacks by A, arching of 

stratified rocks; and B, subsequent erosion that leaves 

resistant ridges or hogbacks on hard rock units and 

strike valleys on less resistant rock units. 

Maps of the Kaiparowits Coal-Basin Folio 11 
monocline). Depositional units are composed of unconsolidated sediments and include areas of valley fill or alluvium, sand dune fields, and pediment gravels. These 

units lie as veneers on top of the bedrock and because 

of their even surfaces are commonly the best transportation routes across rough terrain. 

Off-road vehicular travel across hogbacks is difficult 

to impossible, whereas travel parallel along strike valleys 

is generally easy. Locally, low gaps allow vehicle crossing of the ridges from one strike valley to another. Alluvial flats and stream courses commonly afford the best 

routes to cross intermediate- slope and cliff units of the 

staircase topography (fig. 8). 

Figure 8. Sketch of stream valley floored with unconsolidated fill which serves as a transportation route to 

cross from one bench level to another. 

Landslide Map 

This map (Fuller and others, 1981) provides a general indication of potential hazard from landsliding and 

rockfall in the Kaiparowits coal-basin area by identifying 

areas affected by those processes in the past. Landslides 

tend to recur in the same areas over thousands of years; 

relatively few landslide events can be expected to occur 

in new areas. Recently active landslides, those that have 

moved significantly in the last few thousand years, are 

the most probable sites for future movement, and these 

areas are shown as a special unit within the mass of older 

slides. Debris flows associated with recent landslides have 

extended far beyond the toes of slides, and buried vast 

areas of gentle slope where existence of such a hazard 

is not obvious. These areas are also depicted on the map. 

Areas affected by rockfall include all steep cliffs as well 

as accumulations of fallen rock. Probability of new rock 

falls in these areas must be considered high. In some areas 

of older landsliding, topographic and climatic changes 

have stabilized the slopes, so that the risk of recurrent 

movement is low. Thus some sites within the older landslide unit are stable enough for some kinds of construe12 Environmental Studies, Kaiparowits Coal-Basin Area, Utah 

tion, although engineering analysis and certain precautions 

may be necessary. 

Areas of most extensive landsliding and debris flow 

occur along the steep slopes of the Kaiparowits and 

Aquarius Plateaus. Here, shales and relatively unresistant, 

poorly consolidated sedimentary rocks are overlain by 

more resistant sandstones (on the Kaiparowits Plateau) and 

volcanic rocks (on the Aquarius Plateau). Because of the 

overlying more competent caprock, the slopes tend to be 

oversteepened in the underlying less consolidated sediments, thereby forming a situation ideal for slope failure, 

especially in the higher areas of the Kaiparowits and 

Aquarius Plateaus where precipitation is greater. Landslides do not pose a serious problem in much of the interior of the Kaiparowits Plateau coal basin. However, under 

the south and east rims of the Kaiparowits Plateau (fig. 

9) adjacent to Nipple Bench, Smoky Mountain and FiftyFigure 9. Oblique aerial photograph of landslide debris. 

Photograph taken just north of Fiftymile Point looking 

west near south end of Fiftymile Mountain. Landslide 

and debris-flow material has moved toward viewer from 

near base of highest cliffs onto intermediate bench of 

Dakota Sandstone as a sheet slide (1) and locally has 

flowed down over Morrison-Entrada cliffs as a lobate debris slide (2). Boulders in debris slide are as large as 40 

ft. Debris flow (3) formed at lower end. Landslide data 

from V. S. Williams (written commun., 1981). Photograph 

by K. A. Sargent, 1976. 
mile Mountain (fig. 3), and in almost all the deeper canyons, rockfalls, landslides, and local debris flows are possible. 

Bedrock Geologic Map 

The map of bedrock geology (Sargent and Hansen, 

1982) is a compilation and synthesis of all the known 

previous mapping and extensive new field observations. 

It depicts the geologic relations discussed previously under 

"Structure" and "Stratigraphy." Current stratigraphic 

usage is concisely summarized in the description of map 

units, and the locations of all the major fold axes are 

shown. In order to show bedrock relations better, this map 

omits surficial geologic deposits, which are the subject 

of a companion map by Williams (1984). Bedrock contacts that are buried by thick surficial deposits are dashed, 

reflecting the uncertainty of their location. This uncertainty is especially high east of Johns Valley and around 

the flanks of the Aquarius Plateau, where faulting, landsliding, and thick vegetation frustrate reliable projection 

of contacts. Elsewhere on the map, contacts have been 

placed as close as possible to their correct elevations in 

relation to contours on the topographic base. In a few 

places, where the contours are mislocated, it has been 

necessary to move contacts from their true planimetric 

position. 

Geologic Cross Sections 

Drill-hole and mapping data were combined to construct six generally east-west geologic cross sections 

Figure 10. Flash flood on Twentyfive Mile Wash on 

Hole-in-the-Rock road, September 1977. Maximum water 

depth approximately 8 ft. Rain causing this flood fell 6--8 

mi west (left) on Fiftymile Mountain. Photograph by 

L. M. H. Carter, 1977. 

which are perpendicular to the structural grain of the 

Kaiparowits Plateau (Lidke and Sargent, 1983). The major 

structural features depicted by these sections have been 

discussed previously under "Structure." No vertical exaggeration has been used, and the true amplitude of folding 

and dip of beds, which is locally substantial, is quite apparent. 

All 94 known deep test holes in the general area 

of the Kaiparowits coal basin, including producing wells 

of the Upper Valley oil field, are located and described. 

Eight exceed 10,000 ft in depth, and the deepest (Tenneco 

No. 1 Griffin Point Unit 2) bottomed in Permian rocks 

at 14,117 ft. Only one drill hole (Tidewater No. 1 Kaibab 

Gulch) penetrates the bottom of the Paleozoic section. It 

was spudded in Permian rocks on the north end of the 

East Kaibab monocline just west of the map area (drill 

hole 93), and bottomed in Proterozoic Y, Shinumo 

Quartzite of the Unkar Group at 6,253 ft. 

Scenic Features Related to Geology 

This map (Carter and Sargent, 1983) depicts most 

of the land features of interest to people who wish to 

tour, hike, explore, or collect fossils, minerals, or rock 

specimens. The Kaiparowits area is diverse in having 

Lake Powell to the south for boating, swimming, and fishing, the beautiful slickrock canyon country for hiking and 

collecting in the central part, and high forested plateaus 

for hiking and fishing in the north. 

The road net is updated to 1978. Some unmaintained roads may have deteriorated since then, owing to 

flash floods (fig. 10), landslides, or rockfalls. 

Zones containing fossils and petrified wood (fig. 11) 

Figure 11. Petrified logs weathering from Petrified 

Forest Member of the Chinle Formation, northwestern 

part of Circle Cliffs. Man near center gives scale. 

Maximum log length about 36 ft. Photograph by K. A. 

Sargent, 1979. 

Maps of the Kaiparowits Coal-Basin Folio 13 
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Figure 12. Typical mollusks from Sciponoceras zone, Tropic Shale, south of Escalante. Fossil assemblage is varied, but contains straight cone cephalopods, 

ammonites, gastropods, and pelecypods. Photograph by Dawn Reed, 1981. 
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Figure 13. Cretaceous sharks teeth from Straight Cliffs Formation, Alvey Wash, southwest of Escalante. These teeth are from types that probably 

resembled today's sand shark and the long snouted "ghost shark." Photograph by Dawn Reed, 1981. 
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Figure 14. "Moqui marbles" or ironstone concretions from Big Spencer Flats, between Boulder and Escalante. These oddities weather out of the 

Navajo Sandstone and are presently very common. Photograph by Dawn Reed, 1981. 
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Figure 15. Sand-calcite crystals from Morrison Formation south of Escalante. Photograph by Dawn Reed, 1981. 
are shown on the map. Good specimens remain in many 

of the less accessible areas. Mollusks (fig. 12), sharks 

teeth (fig. 13), dinosaur bones, "Moqui marbles" and 

sand-calcite crystals (figs. 14 and 15) occur at various 

sites. A detailed report of sand crystals from a small locality south of Escalante has been prepared by Sargent and 

Zeller (in press). These crystals are the first reported occurrence from rocks of Jurassic age and the only reported 

sand crystals in southern Utah. Colorful red and yellow 

agates, probably formed by silicification of tuffaceous 

sediment under the basaltic cap of the Aquarius Plateau, 

are relatively abundant and can be found in numerous 

places around the Aquarius Plateau and south of the 

plateau in pediment deposits. Towering rock columns, demoiselles, and deep canyons a few feet wide and hundreds 

of feet deep (fig. 16), add to a hiker's interest and the 

enchantment of the slickrock country. The canyon lands 

are full of beautiful natural bridges, windows, and arches. 

Many are well known locally, such as Peek-a-boo Rock, 

Wahweap Window, and Jacob Hamblin Arch. Others are 

Figure 16. Narrow canyon cut in Navajo Sandstone, 

Kaibab Gulch. Canyon bottoms offer cool relief from the 

summer sun, but are extremely dangerous during flash 

floods. Photograph by B. C. Philpott, 1978. 

t8 Environmental Studies, Kaiparowits Coal-Basin Area, Utah 

Figure 17. Unnamed natural bridge near junction of 

Alvey Wash and Calf Canyon, southwest of Escalante. 

Man (arrow) gives scale. Photograph by K. A. Sargent, 

1979. 

seldom visited, such as Starlight, Cobra, Sam Pollack, 

Woolsey, and Lamanite Arches, and several more that 

are unnamed (fig. 17). Many of these features are remote 

and can be reached on foot only; they make an attractive 

destination for hikers and explorers. The discussion concludes with a brief historical sketch of early settlement 

and short descriptions of coal, oil, and uranium exploration in the area. 

Surficial Geologic Map 

This map (Williams, 1984) provides information 

about geologic materials and processes that occur at or 

near the ground surface. It locates and describes 48 different types of surficial geologic material that may have 

practical uses or may impose limitations on the use of 

certain areas. It also describes the geomorphic processes 

that affect different parts of the area and may of themselves impose limitations on use of the land. 

The map is intended to aid in planning and feasibility assessment of projects where availability of natural 

construction materials, excavation and foundation conditions, slope stability, and geologic hazards must be considered. 

Surficial materials, which extend from 1 m to more 

than 100 m below the ground surface, are subdivided on 
the basis of genesis, lithologic composition, and age. The 

major genetic divisions are: alluvium, colluvium, eolium, 

residuum, and bedrock. These categories are further subdivided according to specific genesis. For example, alluvial deposits are classified as flood-plain alluvium, terr':lce 

alluvium, fan alluvium, pediment alluvium, or sheetwash 

alluvium. The materials subdivision for deposits is based 

primarily on lithology generalized as sandstone, quartzite, limestone, volcanic rock, and fine-textured sediment 

(lacking clasts). Bedrock outcrop material is subdivided 

according to rock type rather than by formations. Rock 

types are generalized as: shale, interbedded sandstone and 

shale, massive sandstone, quartzite-cobble conglomerate, 

limestone, volcanic rock, and baked rock (by burning 

coal). Some of the deposits are further subdivided by 

grouping into three general age ranges: Holocene, late 

Pleistocene, and late Pleistocene to late Pliocene(?). 

THE USE OF MAPS IN COMBINATION 

The favorability of certain land uses can be 

evaluated by combining all or parts of the maps previously 

discussed. The simplified examples presented here are 

supported by generalized versions of the maps. 

Coal Mining Areas 

Hansen's two maps showing coal extent and thickness (1978a) and amount of overburden (1978b) can be 

combined to provide a guide to planning the location of 

mines. Where the area of thickest coal (fig. 18) is 

superimposed with an overlay of thickness of overburden, 

an area of relative favorability for coal mining is defined. 

More specifically, the area where overburden exceeds 

1 ,000 ft is excluded as unfavorable and the remaining 

area of thick coal where overburden is less than 1 ,000 

ft is defined (fig. 19). Additionally, if the area of roughest 

terrain (from Sargent and Hansen, 1980) is superimposed 

(fig. 20), the still-remaining areas should be even more 

favorable for siting coal-mine shafts. 

Nine mining sites have, in fact, been proposed, all 

of which are within the area outlined above as favorable. 

Figure 21 shows the area of the current coal leasing and 

the proposed location of the El Paso Red and Blue coal 

mines and the Mono Power Company, et al. 1 to 5 mines 

(U.S. Department of the Interior, 1979) in southern 

Kaiparowits coal-basin area. Most of the mines and leases 

are well placed with respect to the criteria of thick coal, 

thin overburden, and smooth terrain. Two mines, the Blue 

Mine and Kaiparowits No. 5, are on either side-hill or 

valley-bottom locations that would add to construction 

costs and be susceptible to erosion and (or) mudslides 

during or after heavy rainstorms. 

Transportation Routes 

Coal haulage roads, electrical transmission lines, 

and access roads should be routed with consideration of 

geology, landforms and topography, landslide and 

rockfall susceptibility, and effect on scenic value. The 

usefulness of the maps in this folio for road and transmission line location can be illustrated by examples from the 

area of current coal mining interest in the southern 

Kaiparowits Plateau. Lease areas there are separated from 

the nearest paved highway (U.S. 89) by extensive rugged 

terrain (Sargent and Hansen, 1980). Existing roads (fig. 

22) are poor; major road construction and realinement will 

be a necessary first step if development occurs. Smoky 

Mountain Road (fig. 22), if used, would have to be upgraded to accommodate heavy truck traffic. The existing 

Missing Canyon Road (fig. 22) follows the stream bottom 

from the southwest side of Smoky Mountain to its intersection with the Warm Creek Road; both road segments 

have potential problems in maintenance and construction-the Missing Canyon and Kelly Grade section of 

Smoky Mountain Road have potential landslide and 

rockfall hazards (Fuller and others, 1981), shaly horizons 

in the Straight Cliffs Formation may cause road stability 

problems, and Missing Canyon Road is susceptible to 

washouts where branches of Warm Creek cross it. Warm 

Creek Road is constructed throughout its length on the 

clay-rich Tropic Shale (Sargent and Hansen, 1982), a rock 

unit notorious for its lack of stability on slopes or when 

wet. An alternate access road (proposed in the 1979 EIS, 

Part 2, p. RB-11-9) down Nipple Creek appears to be 

more favorable than the other routes. It crosses less of 

the unstable rock, does not have such a high potential 

for washout, and does not cross any of the Glen Canyon 

National Recreation Area. None of the routes appear to 

endanger areas of high scenic value (Carter and Sargent, 

1983). Gravels from Wahweap Creek or the pediment 

gravels on Horse Mountain (fig. 3) would be good sources 

for road aggregate (U.S. Bureau of Land Management, 

1976; Williams, 1984). 

Townsites 

Any major development of the coal resources of the 

Kaiparowits coal-basin area would require establishing at 

least one new town and would also result in some growth 

in existing towns. Careful planning for this growth in 

population would be necessary, and consideration of the 

geologic and hydrologic conditions at a given site would 

be essential for successful planning. Two examples, a proposed new townsite on East Clark Bench (fig. 22) and 

the existing town of Escalante (fig. 22), illustrate this 

need. 

The 1976 Environmental Impact Statement (U.S. 

Maps of the Kaiparowits Coal-Basin -Folio 19 
10 

10 20 30 KILOMETERS 

Figure 18. Generalized area of thickest coal (>8ft). Modified from Hansen (1978a). 

20 Environmental Studies, Kaiparowits Coal-Basin Area, Utah 
10 20 MILES 

10 20 30 KI LOMETERS 

Figure 19. Generalized area of thickest coal showing where overburden is less than 1,000 ft thick (dark stipple), 

and where overburden is greater than 1,000 ft (light stipple). Modified from Hansen (1978a, b). 

The Use of Maps in Combination 21 
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-7 ~ 

20 MILES 

30 KILOM ETERS 

~:/ 

//~-~~--~ 

Figure 20. Generalized map of area of thickest coal where overburden is less than 1,000 feet thick showing areas 

of roughest terrain (patterned). Modified from Hansen (1978a, b) and Sargent and Hansen (1980). 

22 Environmental Studies, Kaiparowits Coal-Basin Area, Utah 
10 

10 20 30 KILOMETERS 

Figure 21. Generalized map showing areas of present coal leases (cross hatched) and proposed mmmg sites (x) 

in relation to thickest coal and least amount of overburden (dark stipple), and areas of roughest terrain (patterned) 

(factors considered in figs. 18, 19, and 20). 

The Use of Maps in Combination 23 
112°00' 

:JBooo· 

ll 

\\ 

" ~ 

"' " \\ 

\\ 

"' ·>-

0' ~~ )' ,, -9 "' -1 '\ / '\ 

G '' ,y ·~~ 

_______ ,---------- GARFIELD CO /- '\ "'~ ---~NECO ----~"'-------------

10 

,, 

~'"' KELLY ;; 

GRADE '',. 

10 

I) 

// 'l'l' 

20 30 KILOMETERS 

Figure 22. Kaiparowits coal-basin area showing some existing unimproved roads and the proposed townsite at East 

Clark Bench. 

24 Environmental Studies, Kaiparowits Coal-Basin Area, Utah 
Bureau of Land Management, 1976) discussed a preferred 

new townsite on East Clark Bench. This site was preferred 

because of accessibility (U.S. Highway 89 passes close 

by), sufficient space for residential, commercial, and industrial development, favorable climate, and proximity to 

the proposed mines (25 mi distant) and Lake Powell recreation area (about 20 mi distant). 

Water needs for the East Clark Bench townsite were 

estimated at about 5,000,000 gal/day (9,690 acre ft/yr). 

The preferred source for the water was six wells, all less 

than 2,000 ft deep, drilled into the Navajo Sandstone. 

Each well was estimated to be able to give a sustained 

yield of about 1,000 gal/min. A contingency source of 

water for the town was to be from the 102,000 acre ft 

of water allocated from Lake Powell for the proposed 

power project. The Paria River to the west near Adairville 

(fig. 22) and Wahweap Creek to the north could supply 

a limited amount of poor-quality water for agricultural 

purposes. Treated sewage water could also be used for 

agricultural purposes. No other sources of water adequate 

for a town of the size proposed are available. 

The East Clark Bench townsite has many inadequacies. It lacks a soil-stabilizing vegetative cover and 

has only a thin to almost nonexistent layer of poor soil 

in which to establish a vegetative cover. Much of the 

site area is dense sandstone and shale covered with a few 

feet of eolian sand. The shallow depth to bedrock would 

considerably increase the construction cost of basements 

and pipelines. The windblown sand cover is unstable and 

could cause considerable damage to vegetation and property during windstorms. Treated effluent from the sewage 

plant, possibly as much as 5,000,000 gal/day, would run 

off into Lake Powell. This effluent, even though treated, 

would have a high dissolved solid content which, although 

it would be a very minor amount relative to natural inflow, would be undesirable. 

The East Clark Bench townsite does not appear to 

endanger any areas of great scenic value (Carter and Sargent, 1983). 

Escalante is a town of about 650 people situated 

on the Escalante River near the north end of the Straight 

Cliffs (fig. 22). It is the largest town in the Kaiparowits 

coal-basin area, and any large-scale development of the 

coal resources would cause the town to grow considerably. 

The domestic water supply for Escal~te is from 

several springs and small reservoirs in the Aquarius 

Plateau area (fig. 22), and agricultural water for the area 

is supplied by Wide Hollow Reservoir (fig. 3) just west 

of the town. Any large population growth would necessitate finding additional sources of water. Alternative means 

of increasing the public water supply are to increase reservoir storage capacities or drill deep wells. Several possible 

nearby well locations seem favorable. Wells sited by an 

experienced ground-water hydrologist and drilled no 

deeper than 3,000 ft into the Entrada Sandstone of Jurassic age or the Navajo Sandstone of Triassic(?) and Jurassic 

age, along the Alvey Wash syncline (fig. 4) or the Bailey 

Wash syncline (fig. 4), could yield as much as 1,000 

gal/min of high-quality water on a sustained basis. (See 

Price, 1977a, b; Goode, 1969; Lidke and Sargent, 1983, 

for hydrologic and geologic data.) 

During 1977, the Escalante area experienced a severe drought; Wide Hollow Reservoir was extremely low, 

and the springs and creeks that supply the town's culinary 

water were going dry. This seems to indicate the desirability of having a contingency water supply-presumably 

from deep wells. 

The present limits of the Escalante townsite could 

absorb some population growth, but any growth beyond 

the present town limits would have to be carefully 

planned. Valley fill (alluvium), normally considered ideal 

for commercial and residential growth, is the best and 

most arable soil in the area and should be considered for 

retention as farm land. Some of the areas of valley fill, 

the bottomlands, or flood plains, are subject to flooding 

and should be carefully evaluated before being designated 

for human habitation. Areas west of Escalante seemingly 

available for townsite expansion are underlain by the 

Tropic Shale, a formation with a high content of expanding clay and poorly suited for road and foundation construction. Areas close to the Escalante Rim (northern 

Straight Cliffs) are susceptible to landsliding (Fuller and 

others, 1981). 

Oil Exploration 

The bedrock geologic map (Sargent and Hansen, 

1982) and cross sections (Lidke and Sargent, 1983) may 

form a basis for planning additional oil exploration programs in the Kaiparowits area. Oil exploration to 1981 

is summarized here along with an evaluation of the structures that might have further potential for oil production. 

Oil exploration began in the Kaiparowits area in 

1921 when the Ohio Oil Company drilled a 3,212-ft dry 

hole on the Circle Cliffs anticline. Eighteen dry holes 

were drilled in the area before Tenneco made a discovery 

in the Upper Valley field in 1964. This field has a total 

of 28 wells that have produced from the TimpoweapKaibab interval (Triassic Timpoweap Member of the 

Moenkopi Formation, and Permian Kaibab Limestone). 

Other wells drilled in the Kaiparowits area to test hydrocarbon accumulation in the Timpoweap-Kaibab interval 

are shown on figure 23. It appears that only the Smoky 

Mountain anticline (SM) and the Cedar Mountain anticline 

(CM), in their southern extensions, have any potential for 

petroleum production in the Timpoweap-Kaibab. 

Deeper formations with potential for hydrocarbon 

accumulation include the White Rim Sandstone Member 

The Use of Maps in Combination 25 
10 20 MILES 

10 20 30 KILOMETERS 

I -~ 

~ ~ i 

~ 

~+1 ', ~\I ',{~~ 

; RO I 

figure 23. Map showing all deep drill holes in Kaiparowits Plateau area and showing data on Timpoweap-Kaibab 

interval. Structure contours modified from Hackman and Wyant (1973). 

26 Environmental Studies, Kaiparowits Coal-Basin Area, Utah 
EXPLANATION 

-6000- PARTIAL STRUCTURE CONTOURS ON DAKOTA SANDSTONE-Projected in part, contour interval 500ft 

._____ AXIS OF ANTICLINE-Showing plunge 

NAMED ANTICLINES 

BC Boulder-Collet Canyon 

BR Bridge 

BU Button 

BV 

cc 

CM 

ES 

JV 

KA 

MH 

NB 

RC 

RO 

SM 

TC 

uv 

WT 

Butler Valley 

Circle Cliffs 

Cedar Mountain 

Escalante 

Johns Valley 

Kaibab 

Moqui Hut 

Nipple Bench 

Rees Canyon 

Rock Creek 

Smoky Mountain 

Tommy Canyon 

Upper Valley 

Willow Tank 

~ STRIKE AND DIRECTION OF DIP OF BEDS AT SURFACE 

• PRODUCING WELL-Timpoweap-Kaibab interval 

&~ WELL WITH SHOW OF OIL-Timpoweap-Kaibab· interval 

~ WELL WITH SHOW OF GAS-Timpoweap-Kaibab interval 

0 

WELL WITH NO SHOWS OF GAS OR OIL-Timpoweap-Kaibab 

interval 

WELL SPUDDED BELOW TIMPOWEAP-KAIBAB INTERVALNo information available, or not drilled deep enough to 

encounter Timpoweap-Kaibab interval 

of the Cutler Formation (Permian), Organ Rock Tongue 

of the Cutler Formation (Permian), Cedar Mesa Sandstone 

Member of the Cutler Formation (Permian), Toroweap 

Formation (Permian), Hermosa and Molas Formations 

(Pennsylvanian), Redwall Limestone (Mississippian), and 

Tapeats Sandstone (Cambrian). Many of these units have 

been penetrated on several anticlines in the area, and a 

few holes have encountered good shows of oil and gas 

(fig. 24). The types of shows and the formations where 

they occur are given where information is available. The 

Upper Valley anticline is the only structure that has had 

production below the Timpoweap-Kaibab interval. Here, 

the Red wall Limestone produced 16,431 barrels of oil of 

17.2° gravity from the California Company Upper Valley 

No. 1 well (Kunkel, 1965). The oil was recovered, however, only after extensive swabbing and pumping. Most 

of the larger structures have been penetrated and appear 

to have shows in at least one of the deeper intervals. 

Two unexplored structures in the Kaiparowits area are the 

Smoky Mountain anticline (SM) and the Circle Cliffs anticline (CC) north of the Hunt No. 1 Circle Cliffs well 

(drill hole 9 on fig. 24), where closure has been suggested 

by Steed (1954). 

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 

The U.S. Geological Survey Energy Lands Program 

for the Kaiparowits coal-basin area of south-central Utah 

consists of 12 geologic and hydrologic maps summarizing 

the latest earth-science data. This report briefly discusses 

the content and use of each of these maps and how they 

may help developers and land-use planners make effective 

decisions where earth science is involved. 

It is unlikely that the vast coal resources of the 

Kaiparowits Plateau will long remain undeveloped, but 

it seems likely that development will be constrained by 

strict standards to prevent unnecessary or excessive degradation of the environment. Difficult decisions will be necessary in the face of conflicting interests. It is hoped that 

the body of objective data encompassed in this study will 

facilitate the best possible decisions and the most intelligent compromises between conflicting national needs. 

REFERENCES CITED 

Averitt, Paul, and Cashion, W. B., 1965, History of coal production in southwestern Utah, in Geology and resources of 

south central Utah-Resources for power: Utah Geological 

Society Guidebook to Geology of Utah 19, p. 113-120. 

Bowers, W. E., 1972, The Canaan Peak, Pine Hollow, and 

Wasatch Formations in the Table Cliff region, Garfield 

County, Utah: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1331-B, 

39 p. 

---1973a, Geologic map and coal resources of the Upper 

Valley quadrangle, Garfield County, Utah: U.S. Geological 

Survey Coal Investigations Map C-60, scale 1:24,000. 

---1973b, Geologic map and coal resources of the Griffin 

Point quadrangle, Garfield County, Utah: U.S. Geological 

Survey Coal Investigations Map C-61, scale 1:24,000. 

---1973c, Geologic map and coal resources of the Pine Lake 

quadrangle, Garfield County, Utah: U.S. Geological Survey 

Coal Investigations Map C-66, scale 1:24,000. 

---1975, Geologic map and coal resources of the Henrieville 

quadrangle, Garfield and Kane Counties, Utah: U.S. 

Geological Survey Coal Investigations Map C-74, scale 

1:24,000. 

Carter, L. M. H., and Sargent, K. A., 1983 (1984), Scenic 

features related to geology in the Kaiparowits Plateau area, 

Utah: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Investigations 

Map 1-1033-K, scale 1:125,000. 

Davidson, E. S., 1967, Geology of the Circle Cliffs area, Garfield and Kane Counties, Utah: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1229, 140 p. 

References Cited 27 
0 10 20 30 KILOMETERS 

Figure 24. Map showing exploratory holes in Kaiparowits Plateau area drilled deeper than Timpoweap-Kaibab interval. 

Structure contours modified from Hackman and Wyant (1973). Drill hole 9 mentioned in text. 

28 Environmental Studies, Kaiparowits Coal-Basin Area, Utah 
EXPLANATION 

-6000- PARTIAL STRUCTURE CONTOURS ON DAKOTA SANDSTONE-Projected in part. contour interval 500 ft 

..._____ AXIS OF ANTICLINE-Showing plunge 

NAMED ANTICLINES 

BC Boulder-Collet Canyon 

BR Bridge 

BU Button 

BV Butler Valley 

CC Circle Cliffs 

CM Cedar Mountain 

ES Escalante 

JV Johns Valley 

KA Kaibab 

MH Moqui Hut 

NB Nipple Bench 

RC Rees Canyon 

RO Rock Creek 

Smoky Mountain 

Tommy Canyon 

Upper Valley 

WT Willow Tank 

~ STRIKE AND DIRECTION OF DIP OF BEDS AT SURFACE 

• Cm? PRODUCING WELL-Showing deepest interval penetrated. and 

(Mrl 

Pee 

Q(Pee) 

IPh ~(Peo) 

~Pee 

Pt 

Peu 

Pew 

Peo 

Pee 

Ph 

IPh 

IPm 

(in parentheses) producing horizon: queried where uncertain 

WELL WITH SHOW OF OIL-Showing deepest interval 

penetrated, and (in parentheses) interval with show 

WELL WITH SHOW OF GAS-Showing deepest interval 

penetrated. and (in parentheses) interval with show 

NO SHOWS REPORTED-Showing deepest interval penetrated 

PERMIAN 

Toroweap Formation 

Coconino Sandstone 

White Rim Sandstone Member of Cutler Formation 

Organ Rock Tongue of Cutler Formation 

Cedar Mesa Sandstone Member of Cutler Formation 

Hermit Shale 

PENNSYLVANIAN 

Hermosa Formation 

Molas Formation 

MISSISSIPPIAN 

Redwall Limestone 

DEVONIAN 

Do Ouray Limestone 

De Elbert Formation 

CAMBRIAN 

C m Muav Limestone 

Ct Tapeats Sandstone 

MIDDLE PROTEROZOIC 

Ys Shinumo Quartzite 

Doelling, H. H., and Graham, R. L., 1972, Southwestern Utah 

coal fields-Alton, Kaiparowits Plateau and Kolob-Harmony: Utah Geological and Mineralogical Survey Monograph Series No. 1, 333 p. 

Fenneman, N. M., 1931, Physiography of western United 

States: New York, McGraw-Hill, 534 p. 

Fuller, H. K., Williams, V. S., and Colton, R. B., 1981, Areas 

of landslides and potential landsliding in the Kaiparowits 

coal-basin area, Utah: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Investigations Map I-1033-H, scale 1:125,000 . 

Goode, H. D., 1969, Reconnaissance appraisal of the water resources near Escalante, Garfield County, ,Utah: Utah 

Geological and Mineral Survey Water-Resources Bulletin 

11, 38 p. 

Gregory, H. E., 1948, Geology and geography of central Kane 

County, Utah: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 

59, no. 3, p. 211-248. 

Gregory, H. E., and Moore, R. C., 1931, The Kaiparowits region, a geographic and geologic reconnaissance of parts of 

Utah and Arizona: U.S. Geological Survey Professional 

Paper 164, 161 p. 

Hansen, D. E., 1978a, Map showing extent and total thickness 

of coal beds in the Kaiparowits coal basin, Utah: U.S. 

Geological Survey Miscellaneous Investigations Map I1033--C, scale 1:125,000. 

---1978b, Maps showing amount of overburden on major 

coal zones in the Kaiparowits coal basin, Utah: U.S. 

Geological Survey Miscellaneous Investigations Map I1033-D, scale 1:125,000. 

Hackman, R. J., and Wyant, D. G., 1973, Geology, structure, 

and uranium deposits of the Escalante quadrangle, Utah and 

Arizona: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Geologic 

Investigations Map I-744, scale 1:250,000. 

Hem, J. D., 1970, Study and interpretation of the chemical 

characteristics of natural water (2nd ed.): U.S. Geological 

Survey Water-Supply Paper 1473, 303 p. 

Hintze, L. F .• 1963, Geologic map of southwestern Utah: 

Washington, D.C., Williams and Heintz Map Corporation. 

available from Utah Geological and Mineral Survey, Salt 

Lake City, Utah 84112, scale 1:250,000. 

Hintze, L. F., and Stokes, W. L., 1964, Geology map of southeastern Utah: Washington·, D.C., Williams and Heintz Map 

Corporation, available from Utah Geological and Mineral 

Survey, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, scale 1:250,000. 

Kunkel, R. P. , 1965, History of exploration for oil and natural 

gas in the Kaiparowits region, Utah, in Geology and resources of south-central Utah-Resources for power: Utah 

Geological Society Guidebook to Geology of Utah 19, p. 

93-111. 

Lidke, D. J., and Sargent, K. A., 1983, Geologic cross sections 

of the Kaiparowits coal-basin area, Utah: U.S. Geological 

Survey Miscellaneous Investigations Map I-1033-J, scale 

1:125,000. 

Peterson, Fred, 1969, Four new members of the Upper Cretaceous Straight Cliffs Formation in the southeastern 

Kaiparowits region, Kane County, Utah: U.S. Geological 

Survey Bulletin 1274-J, p. 1-28. 

---1973 (1974), Geologic map of the southwest quarter of 

the Gunsight Butte quadrangle, Kane and San Juan Counties, Utah, and Coconino County, Arizona: U.S. Geological 

Survey Mineral Investigations Field Study Map MF-306, 

scale 1:24,000. 

---1975, Geologic map of the Sooner Bench quadrangle, 

Kane County, Utah: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous 

Geologic Investigations Map I-874, scale 1:24,000. 

References Cited 29 
Peterson, Fred, and Barnum, B. E., 1973a, Geologic map of 

the southeast quarter of the Cummings Mesa quadrangle, 

Kane and San Juan Counties, Utah and Coconino County, 

Arizona: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Geologic 

Investigations Map 1-758, scale 1:24,000. 

---1973b, Geologic map of the southwest quarter of the 

Cummings Mesa quadrangle, Kane and San Juan Counties, 

Utah, and Coconino County, Arizona: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Geologic Investigations Map 1-759, scale 

1:24,000. 

---1973c, Geologic map and coal resources of the northeast 

quarter of the Cummings Mesa quadrangle, Kane County, 

Utah: U.S. Geological Survey Coal Investigations Map C63, scale 1:24,000. 

---1973d, Geologic map and coal resources of the northwest 

quarter of the Cummings Mesa quadrangle, Kane County, 

Utah: U.S. Geological Survey Coal Investigations Map C64, scale 1 :24,000. 

Price, Don, 1977a, Map showing general chemical quality of 

ground water in the Kaiparowits coal-basin area, Utah: U.S. 

Geological Survey Miscellaneous Investigations Map 1-

1033-A, scale 1:125,000. 

---1977b, Map showing general availability of ground water 

in the Kaiparowits coal-basin area, Utah: U.S. Geological 

Survey Miscellaneous Investigations Map 1-1033-B, scale 

1:125,000. 

---1978, Map showing principal drainage basins, principal 

runoff-producing areas, and selected streamflow data in the 

Kaiparowits coal-basin area, Utah: U.S. Geological Survey 

Miscellaneous Investigations Map 1-1033-E, scale 

1:125,000. 

---1979, Map showing general chemical quality of surface 

water in the Kaiparowits coal-basin area, Utah: U.S. 

Geological Survey Miscellaneous Investigations Map 1-

1033-F, scale 1:125,000. 

Sargent, K. A., and Hansen, D. E., 1976, General geology 

and mineral resources of the coal area of south-central Utah, 

with sections on Landslide Hazards by Roger B. Colton, 

Coal Mine Subsidence by C. Richard Dunrud, and Landscape Geochemistry by J. J. Connor: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 76-811, 122 p. 

---1980, Landform map of the Kaiparowits coal-basin area, 

Utah: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Investigations 

Map 1-1033-G, scale 1:125,000. 

---1982 (1983), Bedrock geologic map of the Kaiparowits 

coal-basin area, Utah: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Investigations Map 1-1033-1, scale 1:125,000. 

Sargent, K. A., and Zeller, H. D., 1984, Sand-calcite crystals 

from Garfield County, Utah: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1606 (in press). 

30 Environmental Studies, Kaiparowits Coal-Basin Area, Utah 

Steed, R. H., 1954, Geology of Circle Cliffs anticline, in Geology of portions of the high plateaus and adjacent canyon 

lands, central and south-central Utah: Intermountain Association of Petroleum Geologists Annual Conference, 5th, 

1954, Guidebook~ p. 99-102. 

Stephens, E. V., 1973, Geologic map and coal resources of 

the Wide Hollow Reservoir quadrangle, Garfield County, 

Utah: U.S. Geological Survey Coal Investigations Map C55, scale 1:24,000. 

U.S. Bureau of Land Management, 1976, Proposed Kaiparowits 

Project, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, California, final environmental impact statement: U.S. Government Printing Office, 

3,514 p. 

U.S. Department of the Interior, 1977, Quality of water, Colorado River basin: U.S. Department of the Interior Progress 

Report 8, 195 p. 

---1979, Final Environmental Statement-Development of 

coal resources in southern Utah, Part 1, Regional Analysis, 

Part 2, Site Specific Analysis: U.S. Department of the Interior, pt. 1, 451 p., pt. 2, 189 p. 

U.S. Public Health Service, 1962, Drinking water standards: 

U.S. Public Health Service Publication 956, 61 p. 

Williams, V. S., 1984, Surficial geologic map of the 

Kaiparowits coal-basin area, Utah: U.S. Geological Survey 

Miscellaneous Investigations Map 1-1033-L, scale 

1:125,000 (in press). 

Zeller, H. D., 1973a, Geologic map and coal resources of the 

Carcass Canyon quadrangle, Garfield and Kane Counties, 

Utah: U.S. Geological Survey Coal Investigations Map C56, scale 1:24,000. 

---1973b, Geologic map and coal and oil resources of the 

Canaan Creek quadrangle, Garfield County, Utah: U.S. 

Geological Survey Coal Investigations Map C-57, scale 

1:24,000. 

---1973c, Geologic map and coal resources of the Death 

Ridge quadrangle, Garfield and Kane Counties, Utah: U.S. 

Geological Survey Coal Investigations Map C-58, scale 

1:24,000. 

---1973d, Geologic map and coal resources of the Dave 

Canyon quadrangle, Garfield County, Utah: U.S. Geological 

Survey Coal Investigations Map C-59, scale 1:24,000. 

---1978, Geologic map and coal resources of the Collet Top 

quadrangle, Kane County, Utah: U.S. Geological Survey 

Coal Investigations Map C-80, scale 1:24,000. 

Zeller, H. D., and Stephens, E. V., 1973, Geologic map and 

coal resources of the Seep Flat quadrangle, Garfield and 

Kane Counties, Utah: U.S. Geological Survey Coal Investigations Map C--65, scale 1:24,000. 

icc U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1984 0-461-431/10078