USA, Utah: Mapping Helps for Better Understanding of the Quaternary Geologic History of the Utah FORGE Site

Quaternary Geology of the Utah FORGE Site and Vicinity, Millard and Beaver Counties, Utah (Utah Geological Survey)

By Tyler Knudsen, Emily Kleber, Adam Hiscock, and Stefan M. Kirby

We present new Quaternary geologic mapping, geomorphic analysis, and luminescence geochronology to better understand the Quaternary geologic history of the Utah FORGE site near Milford, Utah.

The Utah FORGE site is in the eastern Basin and Range Province, a region of east-west extension that covers much of the southwestern United States. The province consists of north-south-striking, range-bounding normal faults that
define a series of bedrock horst blocks and corresponding basins. Basin and Range extension began in the early Miocene (ca. 17.5 Ma) and continues today (Dickinson, 2006). Within the Basin and Range, most developed geothermal systems are fault controlled (Faulds and others, 2011). In the Sevier Desert of southwestern Utah, several geothermal systems may have magmatic sources (Faulds and others, 2011), and deep-seated faults allow for hydrothermal circulation. Some late Quaternary normal faulting in the Sevier Desert about 75 km north of the FORGE site may be related to rift-assisted magmatism.

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