READ: Natural Resources and Their Geology
READ: Natural Resources and Their Geology
One of the main natural resources found in Utah is coal. The black layers in this sedimentary rock are seams of coal.
- What are your observations about the coal in the rock?
- What questions do you have about the coal?
- Can you explain how the coal formed?
Natural Resources
Natural resources are substances constructed by nature that help to support life on Earth. Humankind is one species in an extensive web which includes the Earth’s resources and all life. Without question, we are a unique species. We have the power to change that web in ways no other species can. We have the responsibility to use natural resources in ways which sustain the web – for our ourselves and for all life on this planet.
Distribution of Resources
- Think about all of the natural resources that are found in the United States.
- How many natural resources can you name?
- Are there parts of the US that have more resources than others?
- Coal is a major resource found in the United States but is it found in every state?
- Why do some states like West Virginia and Utah have abundant coal deposits while a large state like California has little to none?
Over millions of years, plant material growing in bogs and swamps gets buried, compacted, and altered as organisms die and build up. This is the process that forms coal. Swampy areas don’t occur everywhere. In dry areas they don’t form at all. Because of this you will not find coal everywhere on earth’s surface. Utah and West Virginia have coal because millions of years ago Utah and West Virginia had extensive swamps and bogs.
Resources are not equally distributed across the earth. Some areas have access to many varied resources while others have few to none. The distribution of many natural resources depends on the geology of the area.
Mineral and Fossil Fuel Resources and Geology
The natural resources that our society uses form in very specific environments. The way the rocks in an area formed determines the mineral resources that are found there.
Mineral and fossil fuel resources fall into a few main groups.
- Metals: including iron, lead, gold, silver, copper, zinc and others
- Fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas
- Other minerals: gemstones, salt, gypsum, phosphate, etc.
- Building materials: stone for buildings, gravel for roads, asphalt
Water resources are also dependent on the geology of an area. Water will only collect in and flow through certain types of rocks.
The table below shows some resources and the geological environments where they are usually found.
Resource | Where it is found |
Metals (gold, silver, iron, copper, lead, zinc, etc.) | Occasionally in, but more often near, volcanic intrusive (cooled deeper in the earth) rocks, faults, metamorphic rocks, and sometimes sedimentary rocks. |
Salt, calcite, gypsum | Sedimentary minerals; these form when elements dissolved in water are left behind by water or are deposited when the water evaporates. |
Uranium | Concentrated in sedimentary rocks but can be found in volcanic or metamorphic rocks. |
Fossil fuels (oil, natural gas, coal, oil shale/sands) | Form in sedimentary rocks. This happens as plants, animals, sediment, and bacteria are buried, compacted, and altered by heat and pressure. |
Precious gems | All rock types. Most are found in igneous or metamorphic. |
Building Materials (gravel, building stone, clay, sand, asphalt) | Anywhere there is rock. Most rocks can be useful in some way or another as building materials. |
Water | Groundwater aquifers: porous rock, fractured rock and spaces between soil particles |
We live in a state with a very diverse geologic history. We have mountains and valleys, flat table lands, faults and earthquakes, volcanoes, sedimentary rocks that were deposited in lakes and oceans, and metamorphosed rock. Because of this Utah has abundant mineral and fossil fuel resources.
Utah has been a major producer of copper and other metals that are associated with volcanic rocks. There are mostly found in the western half of the state. Coal and oil are found in the eastern half of the state. Other resources that have been mined here include uranium, beryllium, magnesium, molybdenum, potash, salt, magnesium, chloride, and gilsonite.
Bingham Canyon Copper Mine in Salt Lake Valley
Used with permission from the Utah Division of Oil, Gas, and Mining
Geologic Maps
A geologic map shows the different rocks that are exposed at the surface of a region. The geology is often put on a contour map. Rock units are shown in a color identified in a key. On the geologic map of the Grand Canyon, for example, different rock types are shown in different colors.
A geologic map looks very complicated in a region where rock layers have been folded. Faults are seen on this geologic map cutting across rock layers. When rock layers are tilted, you will see stripes of each layer on the map. There are symbols on a geologic map that tell you which direction the rock layers slant. Often there is a cut away diagram, called a cross section. A cross section shows what the rock layers look like below the surface. A large-scale geologic map will just show geologic provinces. They do not show the detail of individual rock layers.
A portion of the geologic map of the Grand Canyon, Arizona.
- Igneous rocks (red, purple and pink areas)
- Sedimentary rocks deposited in lakes and oceans (grey, orange and blue rocks)
- Metamorphic rocks (dark brown)
- Loose sediment that has filled valley floors (light tan)
- Earthquake faults (solid or dotted black lines)
What kind of resources would you expect to find in each of these areas?
On a worldwide scale these patterns are repeated. Some countries have many resources available to them while others have few. Large countries have a resource advantage because more land means more possible resources. Small countries often struggle to provide resources for their people and have to maintain good relations with their neighbors so that they can trade for resources they lack.
The 12 highest oil producing countries. Some countries have vast oil reserves. Others do not have any oil.
Putting It All Together
Using the photo above, answer the following:
- How has your understanding changed?
- Can you think of another phenomenon that applies these concepts?
- Explain what is going on based on what you have learned in this section.
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