The Colorado Plateau and specifically the Paradox basin of southeastern Utah, southwestern Colorado, and adjacent states provides a superbly exposed natural laboratory to consider what drives fluid flow in sedimentary basins and what are its manifold consequences for mineral resources. The rich geologic context reveals multiple types and scales of fluid-driven and fluid-mediated phenomena. The focus of the material from this field trip is on Cu and U(-V) ore systems in Mesozoic rocks, their settings and deposit-scale geologic characteristics, evidence for their timing, their links to broader flow systems including antecedent or contemporaneous petroleum systems, and what colocated modern fluid systems can illustrate. The guidebook includes a course map for the four-day trip.

The Colorado Plateau and specifically the Paradox basin of southeastern Utah, southwestern Colorado, and adjacent states provides a superbly exposed natural laboratory to consider what drives fluid flow in sedimentary basins and what are its manifold consequences for mineral resources. The rich geologic context reveals multiple types and scales of fluid-driven and fluid-mediated phenomena. The focus of the material from this field trip is on Cu and U(-V) ore systems in Mesozoic rocks, their settings and deposit-scale geologic characteristics, evidence for their timing, their links to broader flow systems including antecedent or contemporaneous petroleum systems, and what colocated modern fluid systems can illustrate. The guidebook includes a course map for the four-day trip.