GEOLOGIC MAP AND STRUCTURAL INTERPRETATION OF THE GOLDEN THRONE 7.5 MINUTE QUADRANGLE, CAPITOL REEF NATIONAL PARK, UTAH

The Golden Throne Quadrangle is located within Capitol Reef National Park, south-central Utah. Geologic mapping of this 1:24,000 scale 7.5 Minute Quadrangle began in 2003 as the second in a series of three quadrangles in Capitol Reef National Park. This geologic map was created in order to have a ready source of general geologic knowledge about the quadrangle for both park employees and the visiting public. The geologic map will also be used for park facility expansion planning, for identification of geologic hazards, and to provide a location map of potentially important areas where species of endangered and non-endangered plants exist. For example, certain types of flora grow only on specific formations or the alluvium of these formations. This map will be published and available through the Utah Geological Survey.

Structurally the Golden Throne Quadrangle encompasses most of the southern portion of the Miners Mountain Uplift. The crest of this southwest verging uplift is cut by the left-lateral strike-slip Teasdale Fault zone. Preparation of a cross section through the axis of the uplift within the quadrangle has precluded the use of usual faulting and folding mechanisms (i.e. fault-bend folds and fault-propagation folds) for the creation of the uplift. Two structural models can account for the geometries observed in the field. The first model is a high angle reverse basement fault; the second model is a fold over an inverted basin.