Geology
The geology of Silver Reef is as fascinating as its history. Nowhere else in the world was silver found in sandstone in such abundance, and that unusual geology shaped everything that followed. This section explores the forces that formed the reefs, the faults that shaped the region, and the scientific puzzles that drew geologists here for more than a century.
Look through the article below to learn about the fascinating geology that made Silver Reef what it is today.
Articles About the Geology of Silver Reef
Hurricane Fault
The Hurricane Fault is one of the largest, longest, and most active faults of Southern Utah and Northern Arizona. Its nearest rival is the famous San Andreas Fault in California, about 200 miles to the southwest. Although the Hurricane Fault […]
Silver Mining
The chain of events that led to the rise of historic mining towns in the American Southwest often followed a familiar pattern: valuable ore was discovered in predictable geologic settings, but Silver Reef broke that pattern. Here, silver was found […]
The Mills of Silver Reef
The mills were the beating heart of Silver Reef’s mining boom — the places where raw sandstone ore was crushed, washed, and refined into valuable silver. While the mines pulled the ore from the ground, the mills turned it into […]
The Mines of Silver Reef
The mines were where silver-bearing ore was removed from the Earth by hard-rock miners by digging underground tunnels and shafts. Silver ore varied considerably throughout the Silver Reef area and the surrounding Harrisburg Mining District. The Virgin Anticline pushed up […]
Triple Junction of Landscapes
Silver Reef lies at the center of a triple junction of the three great ecosystems or provinces of the American Southwest: the Colorado Plateau, Mojave Desert and Great Basin. Influences from these three regions are responsible for creating the spectacular […]
Uranium Mining
During the 1950s, Silver Reef also experienced a brief uranium rush. After the end of World War 2 and at the beginning of the Cold War, uranium and similar minerals quickly became in high demand. Since a lot of uranium […]
Virgin Anticline
The mineral‑rich ridges mined at Silver Reef owe their very existence to the long and complex geologic history of the Virgin Anticline. An anticline, unlike its downward‑curving counterpart, the syncline, is a fold in the Earth’s crust that arches upward. […]
What is a Reef?
In Utah, a “reef” isn’t underwater at all — it’s a bold, tilted wall of rock that rises out of the desert like a natural fortress. These ridges were pushed up by deep movements in the Earth’s crust, tilting layers […]