{"id":6783,"date":"2024-02-16T06:18:38","date_gmt":"2024-02-16T06:18:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.backroadswest.com\/blog\/santa-clara-volcano-hike-near-st-george-copy\/"},"modified":"2025-10-02T03:45:30","modified_gmt":"2025-10-02T03:45:30","slug":"st-george-area-roadcut-reveals-colorful-geology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.backroadswest.com\/blog\/st-george-area-roadcut-reveals-colorful-geology\/","title":{"rendered":"St. George Roadcut Reveals Colorful Geology"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Southwest Utah is well known for its dazzling scenery thanks to the world-class geology that is in plain sight for everyone to enjoy<\/strong>. Most of this scenery is created by natural erosion that goes on continually for centuries, exposing the hidden beauty underneath.<\/p> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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Sometimes, however, this process is sped up when certain manmade events happen. One of these events is called a roadcut. In many ways, roadcuts are a geologist\u2019s best friend. They provide an opportunity to see what\u2019s below the earth\u2019s surface and get a good look at the unaltered, hidden layers that wouldn\u2019t normally have been seen without these necessities of civilization.<\/p>\n

One intriguing roadcut that was just made in 2023 is in the town of Toquerville, about 20 miles northeast of St. George, Utah. This roadcut reveals some rather colorful sedimentary layers, including their curious angle or tilt. This tilt shows us something we can\u2019t easily see elsewhere \u2013 what happened beneath the Earth\u2019s surface at a specific point in time and how the nearby Hurricane Fault caused this odd tilt.<\/p>\n

The Roadcut<\/h2>\n

This road cut was made while building what\u2019s known as the Toquerville bypass. It re-routes Highway 17 that runs between La Verkin and Interstate 15. The goal of the bypass is to route traffic away from the small, picturesque town of Toquerville, and have it go to the west, where there is wide open, undeveloped land.<\/p> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Certainly, construction workers and area residents didn\u2019t expect what to see once the digging was completed. What can now be seen are thin layers of colorful yellow, orange and purplish colors, all tilting in an odd direction. Unfortunately, these layers are not very easy to see, and one can hope that after the construction is complete, people that pass by on the new bypass road will be able to see it.<\/p>\n

The cross section of the roadcut reveals four episodes (or layers) of erosional deposition. The first, on top, is the newest addition, consisting of alluvial deposits and area sand that, in recent times, accumulated at the top. Next down is this layer of dense basalt, which was created from a lava flow originating about ten miles north of the site. The third layer down are more alluvial deposits with larger boulders.<\/p>\n

The fourth layer is the most interesting. It\u2019s what geologists call the Iron Springs Formation, and it consists of those colorful layers. Plus, it\u2019s the only layer that is at a 20\u00b0 angle \u2013 the other three layers lie flat. The site is quite unusual and, for someone that enjoys geology, it makes for a great geologic mystery to solve.<\/p>\n

The Roadcut’s Geology<\/h2>\n

As mentioned, roadcuts are a geologist\u2019s best friend. And that couldn\u2019t be truer than at the site of the Toquerville bypass. Motorists that will soon be speeding by will only notice the unusually colored stripes on both sides of the road. Most likely, most will not stop and study the roadcut to ponder what\u2019s going on. When the road is complete, hopefully the decision isn\u2019t made to shore up the sides of the roadcut that would hide what was exposed during its construction.<\/p>\n

While the roadcut is exposed for all to see, our interpretation comes with a disclaimer: we are not trained geologists. Nonetheless, we offer our observations, viewing this roadcut as a single piece in the intricate puzzle of Southwest Utah’s landscape. Read on, and we\u2019ll explain three aspects to that single puzzle piece.<\/p>\n

More…<\/p>\n

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Pictures<\/h3>

Below are some pictures of what you will see along the way.<\/p> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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