Join Arizona Geological Survey geologist Steve Rauzi and a team of Conoco geoscientists as they raft through Grand Canyon examining the Precambrian Chuar Group.
Arizona’s Grand Canyon and Madrean Sky Islands epitomize the evolving geoheritage concept; ‘geologic features with significant scientific, educational, cultural, and/or aesthetic value’ (from Geological Society of America position statement).
The Arizona Geological Survey identifies and characterizes Arizona’s geoheritage sites as part of our charge to ‘encourage the wise and prudent use of Arizona’s lands and mineral resources’. And there is no shortage of potential sites. A deeply abridged list of geoheritage sites includes: San Francisco, Uinkaret and San Bernardino volcanic fields, Grand Falls, Wupatki and Walnut Canyon National Monuments, the Chiricahua Mountains, Salt River Canyon, the Colorado, Gila, Verde, and San Pedro Rivers, monoclines of northern Arizona, the Virgin River Gorge, and the Kofa, Mohawk, and Gila Mountains of southwestern Arizona.
In 1990, Larry Fellows (Arizona State Geologist) launched our Down-to-Earth series (DTE) of geology booklets for the Arizona public and its guests. In 2016, we published the 22nd volume, ‘A Guide to the Geology of the Santa Catalina Mountains, Arizona: The Geology and Life Zones of a Madrean Sky Island Arizona’ by John Bezy. All but one of the DTE’s are free to download at the AZGS Online Document Repository.
Our new AZGS Photo Gallery, now approaching 500 entries, is dedicated to showcasing the breadth and diversity of Arizona’s geoheritage sites.
Story Maps
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The San Pedro River is Arizona's last undammed river. Joe Cook and his colleagues at the Arizona Geological Survey recently mapped the extent of Holocene channel and floodplain alluvium there.
"Down to Earth" Field Guides
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A non-technical treatment of the geology and ecology of the Santa Catalina Mountains, Tucson, Arizona. Natural landscapes have distinctive personalities.
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The Sedona-Oak Creek Canyon area offers some of the most unique and spectacular geologic features in northern Arizona. Photo by Don Graham.
