Abstract

Due to the negative impact of a pronounced drought on spring flow in southern Utah, two deep culinary water wells were completed in 1991. These wells, one near Escalante and the other in Tropic, are drilled into the Navajo Sandstone and extend to depths of 2,250 and 2,450 feet (686 and 747 m) respectively. The Escalante well is located near the western limb of the Escalante anticline and penetrates the Entrada Sandstone, Carmel Formation, Page Sandstone and upper Navajo Sandstone. Formation thicknesses cut in this well were found to be very different from thicknesses of the same formations as measured in section in near-by Pine Creek canyon. The Tropic well is located in the Paria Amphitheater and penetrates the Tropic Shale, Dakota Formation, Entrada Sandstone, Carmel Formation, and upper Navajo Sandstone. Completion of these two wells ranks them among the deepest municipal water wells in the state of Utah.