CHAPTER
1
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Topographyl Iron County overlaps two of Utah's three major physiographic provinces. The eastern portion is part of the Colorado Plateau and the western portion is part of the Basin and Range Province, known as the Great Basin. The Colorado Plateaus Province 2 is an area of strongly carved, table-like relief, here and there modified by volcanic action. Dominant topographic features are plateaus, cliffs, canyons, volcanic cones, and lava fields. The sedimentary rocks and thicker lava flows are displayed as platforms at different altitudes, bordered by slopes of imposing height. The platforms are bordered by broad terraces on which are developed benches that record the different erosion of both more-resistant and fragile stratigraphic formations. There are four contrasting plateau districts in the county: 1. The belt that includes the Hurricane Cliffs is a fault escarpment marking the division between the arid lowlands of the Great Basin to the west and the highlands of the Colorado Plateau to the east. 7
