Utah offers spectacular geologic features and valuable analog environments and processes for Mars studies. Horizontal strata of the Colorado Plateau are analogous to Mars because the overprint of plate tectonics is minimal, yet the effects of strong ground motion from earthquakes or impacts are preserved in the sedimentary record. The close proximity of analog environments and lack of vegetative cover are advantages for field and remote-sensing studies. Dry, desert climate and modern wind processes of Utah are comparable to Mars and its current surface. Analogs in Utah include eolian, sabkha and saline bodies, glacial, lacustrine, spring, alluvial, fluvial, delta, and outflow channel depositional environments, as well as volcanic landforms and impact craters. Analogous secondary processes producing modification features include: diagenetic concretions, weathering and soils, sinkholes, sapping, knobs and pinnacles, crusts and varnish, and patterned grounds. Utah's physical and chemical environments are analogous to conditions on Mars where water existed and could support microorganisms. The development of Mars includes: ancient and modern depositional records, burial and diagenesis, uplift and tectonic alteration, and modern sculpting or weathering of the surface exposures. Recent satellite images are providing unprecedented details that rival the outcrop scale. Analogs in Utah are prime field localities that can be utilized in planning future robotic and human missions to Mars, and for teaching the next generation of planetary explorers.

Warford Ranch is a small “drive-in” shield volcano covering an area of ~2 by 3 km west of Phoenix, and it is accessible from Interstate Highway 8 near Gila Bend, Arizona. The basaltic shield is superposed on silicic lavas, granodiorites, and alluvial deposits and is part of the Sentinel-Arlington volcanic field. Dated at 3.19 Ma, the shield volcano is sufficiently young to preserve the original morphology, but it also shows the effects of moderate weathering, development of desert varnish, and the formation of caliche deposits. Imaged in both color near-infrared (IR) and in thermal infrared multispectral scanner (TIMS) data, these various units afford the opportunity to conduct simple remote-sensing mapping, which can then be field tested. In addition to the lava flows comprising the shield, pyroclastic deposits and dikes are also present. The compact size of the volcano enables the entire feature to be examined in the field in one day. With short introductory discussion, participants of nearly any background can be introduced to the fundamentals of remote sensing, igneous rocks, field methods, and evaluation of the volcanic history of a small volcano.