Our “geology tour” covers the triple junction area around the St. George area where three ecosystems converge in Southwest Utah. Those ecosystems are the Colorado Plateau, Mojave Desert and Great Basin. Our popular video on YouTube explains how these three ecosystems influence the scenery seen overall here in this area. See below to watch our videos.
Now that you’ve seen the video and our other videos explaining where to see this unique scenery around St. George, perhaps you’d like to have us take you on a personal tour of these areas described in the videos. This is what our Geology Tour offering is all about.
During the tour, an expert guide will teach you how to “read the landscape” and identify which pieces of the puzzle created the scenery from the three different ecosystems. Along the way, you’ll also learn the story behind all the spectacular landscapes that makes the St. George area so famous and is often a must-see destination for “geology nerds”.
Since many of the areas we’ll visit require tour guides to possess the proper permits (CUAs or Commercial Use Agreements), we partner with the following tour companies that have them. These CUAs include Zion National Park, St. George BLM Field Office, and Dixie National Forest.
Would you like to learn more about what you’ll see when you take this tour? The best way to learn is to watch our videos below.
Tour Itinerary
Below is our tour’s itinerary that closely follows the videos. However, if you prefer to spend more time at certain stops or take hikes to nearby places of geologic interest, we can alter the itinerary.
How ever we arrange the tour stops, along with a one-hour lunch break, it will last about 9 hours. To fit all the stops in, the best start time is 8:30am.
- St. George area pickup (see below) – decided upon the day before tour
- Santa Clara volcanic field and Snow Canyon are not included due to proximity. We can provide detailed instructions on how to visit on your own.
- Virgin Anticline overlook
- Quail Creek Reservoir
- Silver Reef – walk around and see the remains of this 1880s era mining town
- Babylon – multiple stops
- Anderson Junction – Black Ridge
- Lunch stop
- La Verkin Overlook
- Hurricane Mesa
- Smith Mesa – multiple stops
- Lambs Knoll (Cave Valley)
- Basalt flow along Kolob Terrace Road
- Cliffhanger Rd / Peregrine Point overlook of Babylon in Hurricane
- Return to pick-up point
NOTE: Depending on the time of year, we may need to alter this itinerary. For instance, during the winter, depending on the amount of rain or snow that has fallen, there may be no access to Smith Mesa. When this occurs, we will alter the tour to other points of interest using paved roads.
Videos
Triple Junction:
the video that started it all
Driving Tour, Part #2:
from Hurricane Fault to Zion National Park
Driving Tour, Part #1:
from Snow Canyon to the Hurricane Fault
Tour Price
Price includes pick-up and drop-off at a St. George area (i.e., St. George, Hurricane, Virgin, Springdale) hotel. Extra time is needed for pick-up or drop-off in Ivins.
Price includes transportation in either a 4 seat or 6 seat 4WD SUV. For larger groups, either two vehicles or a van are required. Contact us for a price quote and availability for larger groups.
Price is $800 for 1-4 people, 5-6 $1,000. Price approximately $1,400 for 7-11 people using one van.