Preliminary geologic map of the Laketown quadrangle, Rich County, Utah (M-58)

By: G. L. Valenti

The south end of Bear Lake, Utah, had not been previously studied in sufficient detail to provide a geologic map at a scale of 1:24,000. The structural geology and regional structural relationships were not adequately known, and recent stratigraphic work in the region required recognition of new formations not previously mapped. The area is of interest because it lies in the Thrust Belt region, which has been the scene of several new discoveries of petroleum in Wyoming and Utah, and because it is part of a rapidly developing recreational area.

The Laketown quadrangle is located near the western boundary of the Wyomide ranges within the Middle Rocky Mountain geographic province. The area lies at the south end of Bear Lake Valley, is bounded on the west by the Bear River Range, and is bordered on the east and south by the Bear Lake Plateau. Maximum relief in the area is 1,617 feet, with elevations ranging from 5,923 feet at Bear Lake to 7,540 feet near the south end of Laketown Canyon. Much of the area consists of a moderately dissected, plateau-like surface formed on the flat-lying Wasatch Formation of Tertiary age, which unconformably overlies older, dipping strata. Where streams have incised narrow canyons into the underlying Paleozoic and Mesozoic rocks, topography is rugged. Good bedrock outcrops are limited to ledge or cliff exposures within these canyons. An exception to this occurs in the northeast corner of the area where the hogback ridges along the lakeshore are composed of well exposed, overturned Mesozoic rocks.

Other Information:
Published: 1982
Pages: 9 p.
Plates: 1 pl.
Scale: 1:24,000
Location: Rich County
Media Type: Paper Map