How old is the wasatch mountains

These include the Wasatch Fault and related faults in southern Utah, and a group of faults at the eastern edge of the Sierra, called the Sierra Nevada Fault. That "spine" is the Wasatch Front. Just possibly, he said, a process similar to the Sierras' formation went on in Utah. This could be "something maybe a little different in origin, but reflecting the same physics of dense material falling away from the base of the crust.

Scientific research is needed to comprehend the forces that dominate earth plate motions in Utah. It could be a project like that carried out with the Sierra Nevadas, he said. A mobile network of seismograph stations set up by the EarthScope program might provide some answers, he said. The project, funded by the National Science Foundation and operated in conjunction with the U.

To learn about EarthScope, check the project's Internet site, www. We'll have to see — the EarthScope science program is still shaking itself out; to date, it is underfunded to fully utilize all the data that the equipment will generate. Start your day with the top stories you missed while you were sleeping. The mountains were first viewed by white men in when Fathers Francisco Atanasio Dominguez and Silvestre Velez de Escalante traversed the range, exiting near present-day Spanish Fork.

The next entry into the mountains was during the s by fur trappers and traders from Santa Fe and Taos; among them Etienne Provost, from whom the city of Provo takes its name. The competition between British and American fur interests throughout the west became moot when, by , silk replaced beaver fur as the height of fashion. For example, Colorado has numerous 14,foot-peaks in its Rockies.

However, one clear difference much of the Wasatch has is that it is in the literal back yard of Salt Lake City and the majority of Utah's population. No substantial drive is required here. Although the Wasatch is only Utah's fifth-tallest range, it is significant because it creates a watershed and climate that helps sustain about 90 percent of the state's population. The same geography that makes the Wasatch a part of the Rocky Mountains has adopted the Uinta Mountains, too, though they are the only exception to the predominant north-south pattern of the Rockies.

The Uintas run east-west and from orbit probably resemble a type of geological spacer that makes the Wasatch Mountains seem that much farther away from Colorado's Rockies. Start your day with the top stories you missed while you were sleeping.

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Print Subscriptions. Deseret News homepage. Filed under: Utah. Throughout the trek, hikers will experience panoramic views of the Salt Lake Valley and be surrounded by the Wasatch Range. As an added bonus, this trail can be hiked year-round. Following a series of switchbacks, hikers will earn views of the surrounding Wasatch Range while witnessing what early pioneers saw when they first caught a glimpse of Salt Lake Valley. This popular trail leads hikers through quartzite rock formations, through a canyon, to several alpine lakes before reaching the majestic Sundial Peak reflecting in Lake Blanche.

The trail follows an old 4x4 road through a glacially carved valley, alpine forests, and passes pristine high-altitude lakes. After a series of switchbacks, the old road levels out and hikers experience views of Red Baldy and White Baldy through a breathtaking meadow.