Ranger Axel has worked for the National Park Service for 25 years at 12 parks. This fall he completed an assignment as the acting superintendent of Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument in Las Vegas. His naturalist specialties include geology, volcanism, caves, and the last Ice Age. He is the chief of interpretation and visitor services at Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument, located on the Arizona Strip. He has lived in St. George since 2015.
SILVER REEF MUSEUM Cosmopolitan Event Saturday, August 26, 2023 -10 am Recent Volcanism in Southwest Utah and Northwest Arizona Just looking around here in St. George it is pretty obvious we live in a geologically amazing and scenic area. Scientists and tourists from all over the world come here to see the grand variety of geologic features on display. This geologic story also includes volcanoes! National Park Ranger Jeff Axel will present an illustrated program on our local erup- tions and the unusual reason behind them. When and where will the next eruption be? The talk will cover topics including how magma rises to the surface and erupts, what kind of eruptions we have in this area (are they explosive like Mt. St. Helens or relatively quiet rivers of lava like Kilauea?), why lava flows repeatedly dammed the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon, and did volcanoes actually erupt in Lake Bonneville? Finally, what is the connection between our local volcanism and the mysterious rise of the Colorado Plateau?
