Utah's geology, minerals and fossils are getting national exposure in the current issue of Rocks & Minerals, a magazine for collectors and rockhounds.
The entire November-December issue of the magazine is devoted to the state's earth resources, with numerous articles by experts on Utah. It articles are illustrated with color closeups of semiprecious gems, drawings of fossils, pictures of attractions like Arches National Park and historic views of mining."Every year the magazine does a state issue in which we focus on the geology, mineralogy and paleontology of that state," said Marie Huizing, editor of Rocks & Minerals. She was interviewed by telephone at her office in Cincinnati.
"This is only the beginning (for articles about Utah) . . . There'll be lots of other things coming."
An overview of the geology of the state was written by Frank DeCourten, until recently the staff paleontologist at the Utah Museum of Natural History and now teaching at Sierra College in Rocklin, Calif. Attractions such as national parks, displays, prospecting clubs and museums are highlighted by Salt Lake resident Philip D. Richardson.
Other articles are about the history of mining at Bingham Canyon, minerals found in various mines, an overview of recent mineral collecting in the state (listing sites in most counties) and pyrite crystals of the Park City region.
A description of Middle Cambrian fossils was written by three generations of the Gunther family of Brigham City: Lloyd F. and his son, Val G., and Val's son, Glade.
Lloyd is a retired biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, while his son works for Thiokol. Glade, presently in a missionary training center, provided detailed drawings of fossil animals for the articles.
Glade Gunther drew trilobites, sponges, arthropods, eocrinoids, hyolithids and other odd creatures that swam through the Utah seas 530 million years ago.
According to Huizing, the idea for the special issue on Utah came a few years ago, when some mineral collectors from Utah approached her at a rock show. They "wanted to see their state featured because they thought it had a lot to offer, and it was underrepresented in the field," she said.
The special issue was about three years in preparation. "First of all, we set up a list of proposed articles and proposed authors, and contacted them all. And everyone was willing to do it," she said.
The special issue is so successful that some of the authors are busily writing articles about the state for future editions.
The magazine is published by the nonprofit Helen Dwight Reid Educational Foundation.