Geology in Utah

Discover 22 places to experience unusual geology in Utah.

Lake Powell, Utah

Cathedral in the Desert

The damming of the Colorado River buried an iconic geologic formation before record-breaking drought brought it back.

Moab Rock Shop

This Moab institution functions as both a rock store and a small natural history museum.

Tusher Tunnel

A crack flared at the base provides a pathway completely through a sandstone ridge near Moab.

Castle Dale, Utah

Wedge Overlook

A spectacular overlook of the Little Grand Canyon of the San Rafael River, a deep sandstone gorge streaked with orange, red and white in a remote, uncrowded part of Utah.

Gemini Bridges

It's safe—and permitted—to walk across these twin natural sandstone arches.

Duck Creek Village, Utah

Cascade Falls

An improbable waterfall springs from an orange-white cliff face, tumbling into the headwaters of the Virgin River above Zion National Park.

Brian Head, Utah

Cedar Breaks National Monument

Erosion and various mineral deposits give this striking canyon its distinct color and soft appearance.

Checkerboard Mesa

The unusual patterns in this rock formation result from two distinct modes of weathering.

Hanksville, Utah

Kathline Rock View Area

This roadside stop between Goblin Valley is the perfect location to view some of the region's natural wonders.

Monticello, Utah

Newspaper Rock

One of the world’s largest collections of petroglyphs records 2,000 years of human activity.

Factory Butte

A striking, menacing sandstone peak towering above a landscape that's equal parts Mordor and the Moon.

Green River, Utah

Buckhorn Wash Pictograph Panel

This gallery of prehistoric red ochre art lines the wall of a scenic segment in Utah's San Rafael Swell.

Henrieville, Utah

Kodachrome Basin Spires

This quiet park's strange sedimentary spires were named after Kodak's color film.

Panguitch, Utah

The Cassidy Trail

Local lore holds that Butch Cassidy took an escape route through Red Canyon's sandstone hoodoos after an attempted murder.

The Wahweap Hoodoos

Giant pinnacles in the sun-scorched lands of Southern Utah have been nicknamed "white ghosts."

Homestead Crater

This geothermal hot spring hides beneath a slowly growing mineral dome.