Rocks on the Rise

Movement along the Hurricane Fault has created the dramatic topography around Cedar Breaks

Some of the older rocks in the Cedar Breaks amphitheater contain oyster and gastropod fossils. Yet today the rim is more than 10,000 feet above sea level. How did this happen? Cedar Breaks sits at the boundary between the Movement along the Hurricane Fault has created the dramatic topography around Cedar Breaks. Colorado Plateau and the Basin and Range province of western Utah and Nevada. The Hurricane Fault divides the two regions in SW Utah. A fault is a fracture in the Earth’s crust along which movement occurs, creating earthquakes.

For the past 10 million years, earthquakes along the Hurricane Fault have been lowering land to the west, forming the level valley far below. At the same time, the east side of the fault has moved upward, elevating Cedar Breaks and the Markagunt Plateau to their lofty heights. This process continues today. Small earthquakes are common along the Hurricane Fault. Geologic sleuth work indicates that larger quakes occur periodically. It is not a matter of if, but rather when, the Hurricane Fault will rupture again. The active fault poses a significant seismic hazard to cities and towns in southwestern Utah.
Cedar Breaks