Dead Horse Point State Park is in the heart of the Canyonlands region of Utah between Canyonlands and Arches National Parks (Figure 1). The views are spectacular, sublime, awe-inspiring, and majestic, and would be hard to surpass anywhere. The mood of the vistas changes by season and time of day. One of nature's engineers, in this instance the Colorado River, has carved and exposed strata of Late Pennsylvanian to Early Jurassic age (Figure 2). These strata have a cumulative thickness of 2,700 to 3,600 feet, depending upon which direction you look (Figure 3). Past structural events have locally folded and fractured these rocks in a manner that favored the deposition or accumulation of economic natural resource deposits. The signs of human activity to extract these deposits are apparent as one approaches the park or looks from the canyon edge.

Utah oil fields have produced over 1.2 billion barrels (191 million m{sup 3}). However, the 13.7 million barrels (2.2 million m{sup 3}) of production in 2002 was the lowest level in over 40 years and continued the steady decline that began in the mid-1980s. The Utah Geological Survey believes this trend can be reversed by providing play portfolios for the major oil-producing provinces (Paradox Basin, Uinta Basin, and thrust belt) in Utah and adjacent areas in Colorado and Wyoming. Oil plays are geographic areas with petroleum potential caused by favorable combinations of source rock, migration paths, reservoir rock characteristics, and other factors. The play portfolios will include: descriptions and maps of the major oil plays by reservoir; production and reservoir data; case-study field evaluations; summaries of the state-of-the-art drilling, completion, and secondary/tertiary techniques for each play; locations of major oil pipelines; descriptions of reservoir outcrop analogs; and identification and discussion of land-use constraints. All play maps, reports, databases, and so forth, produced for the project will be published in interactive, menu-driven digital (web-based and compact disc) and hard-copy formats. This report covers research activities for the first quarter of the second project year (July 1 through September 30, 2003). This work included (1) describing the Conventional Southern Uinta Basin Play, subplays, and outcrop reservoir analogs of the Uinta Green River Conventional Oil and Gas Assessment Unit (Eocene Green River Formation), and (2) technology transfer activities. The Conventional Oil and Gas Assessment Unit can be divided into plays having a dominantly southern sediment source (Conventional Southern Uinta Basin Play) and plays having a dominantly northern sediment source (Conventional Northern Uinta Basin Play). The Conventional Southern Uinta Basin Play is divided into six subplays: (1) conventional Uteland Butte interval, (2) conventional Castle Peak interval, (3) conventional Travis interval, (4) conventional Monument Butte interval, (5) conventional Beluga interval, and (6) conventional Duchesne interval fractured shale/marlstone. We are currently conducting basin-wide correlations to define the limits of the six subplays. Production-scale outcrop analogs provide an excellent view, often in three dimensions, of reservoir-facies characteristics and boundaries contributing to the overall heterogeneity of reservoir rocks. They can be used as a ''template'' for evaluation of data from conventional core, geophysical and petrophysical logs, and seismic surveys. Outcrop analogs for each subplay except the Travis interval are found in Indian and Nine Mile Canyons. During this quarter, the project team members submitted an abstract to the American Association of Petroleum Geologists for presentation at the 2004 annual national convention in Dallas, Texas. The project home page was updated on the Utah Geological Survey Internet web site.

Produced minerals in the Henry Mountains area include uranium, vanadium, coal, gold, silver, copper, and gemstones. Three are excluded from discussion here because they are discussed by others in this book. Non-produced commodities such as titanium, zirconium, molybdenum and clay are added. The commodities covered are those with less potential for significant future mineral production. Lode deposits of gold, silver and copper are known near the apexes of the three largest peaks, but most production has been achieved in the Bromide Basin of Mt. Ellen. About 700 ounces of gold, 3000 ounces of silver and 17,500 pounds of copper have been produced since their discovery in 1889. Most ore came from thickenings or chutes along two north-south trending mineralized fissures. Fissure minerals include chalcopyrite, pyrite, limonite, malachite, azurite, chrysolcolla, hematite and rare molybdenite. In addition to the lode deposits, laccoliths and igneous-sedimentary contacts are locally mineralized with disseminated pyrite containing very small amounts of gold. Gold placer deposits are found on the east side of Mt. Ellen in the fanglomerates and stream gravels on both sides of Crescent Creek. Only 300-500 ounces of gold have been recovered; limited water to work gravels, difficulty in recovering the fine flakes of gold, and irregular tenor are hindrances to economical production. A fossil placer containing titanium and zirconium has been discovered in the Ferron Sandstone (Cretaceous). Clay is abundant in the sedimentary formations, but is mostly impure or otherwise unsuitable for special uses. In one area, however, clay has been discovered that is suitable for high- or super-duty refractory purposes. In the gemstone category, jasper, agate, petrified wood, dinosaur bone and jet have all been produced; the total value lies in a range 3 or 4 times that of the produced precious metals.

Variscite (A1PO4 ·2H2 O) is found in Utah in three principal deposits: Clay Canyon, Lucin, and Amatrice Hill. Amatrice Hill, on the east flank of the Stansbury Mountains near Stockton, is the most recently found deposit and the only one mined at present. The mineral occurs as nodules in faulted and brecciated limestones of the Pennsylvanian-Permian Oquirrh Formation. Variscite resembles turquoise in color and is used similarly in jewelry. It is softer, however, and generally not as durable. Larger pieces are used for decorative stone. Three principal types based on pattern and color are recognized: jade, apple blossom, and cobweb. A blue color variant has been called variquoise.

The 1.9-million-acre Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument was created September 18, 1996 by President Clin- ton and was the first national monument to be placed under the management of the U.S. Bur eau of Land Management. Located in southern Utah, the monument contains an array of geological, paleontological, historic, ar chaeological, and bi- ological resources. It lies in a r emote area comprised of canyons, plateaus, mesas, and clif fs set in an envir onment of col- orful geologic formations. The monument is surrounded by several national and state parks, a primitive ar ea, and a national recreation area. It can be divided into three geographical sections: fr om west to east these are the Grand Staircase, Kaiparowits Basin, and Es- calante Canyons sections. Rock formations exposed in these sections range in age fr om Permian to Cretaceous comprising more than 200 million years of Earth's history . Structurally, these rocks dip gently northward, and are deformed by most- ly north-south-trending faults, anticlines, synclines, and monoclines. The monument area contains known coal, oil and gas, and mineral r esources and potential resources which are gener- ally undeveloped because market areas are distant and because ways of transporting the commodities out of the r egion have never been in place. As a national monument, the area will provide many future opportunities to study a r egion of remarkably well-exposed geology.