The bituminous sandstones of the Asphalt Ridge area, northeastern Utah

The bituminous sandstones in the Asphalt Ridge area represent the seepage of millions of barrels of oil. The asphalt sands herein described lie 3 to 4 miles west and south of the town of Vernal, Utah. The deposits were mentioned in an early report by Eldridge (1901), who visited the deposits but did not make a detailed investigation. The first significant investigation of the asphalt sands was made by E. M. Spieker (1930). Later Barb and Ball (1944) published the results of an investigation of Uinta Basin hydrocarbons which included a discussion of the asphalt sandstones. Detailed mapping of the eastern Uinta Basin was clone by Paul T. Walton in 1944. In 1954 the author made a detailed examination of two tracts in the Asphalt Ridge area for the Ridge Development Company, a New York corporation. Topographic and geologic mapping was done in conjunction with coring to determine the asphalt reserves.