TWO PHASES OF CONTRACTIONAL DEFORMATION IN THE CARMEL FORMATION, CEDAR CITY, UTAH

Cedar Canyon, located immediately east of Cedar City, Utah, contains contractional structures that may be related to the Sevier Orogeny but have not been well characterized. Analysis of the structures provides insight into the geologic history of southern Utah. The close proximity of Cedar Canyon to Southern Utah University’s campus allows an excellent opportunity to implement concepts covered in upper level geology classes offered at Southern Utah University, and to conduct a study on a structurally complex area. In this analysis, which is a continuation of a class project in Structural Geology, we measured contractional features within the Jurassic Carmel Formation and interpreted the structural history. We have distinguished multiple phases of deformation. Some of these structures have a principal stress (σ₁) orientation parallel to the east-directed Sevier Orogeny. However, other structures found in the canyon are directed to the south. Similar south-directed structures have been recognized approximately 75 kilometers to the east in the Bryce Canyon region and have been related to the Ruby’s Inn Thrust Fault. The south-directed structures in Cedar Canyon could be an extension of a south-directed shear zone associated with the Ruby’s Inn Thrust.