Oquirrh Mountains

Oquirrh Mountains
Oquirrh Mountains
Range
The Oquirrh Mountains as seen looking southwest from Salt Lake City's City Creek Canyon.
Country United States
State Utah
Part of Great Basin
The Oquirrh Mountains are visible when departing the Salt Lake City airport, heading southwest
The Salt Lake Valley and Oquirrh Mountains (background) from Snowbird ski resort in the Wasatch Range

The Oquirrh Mountains (play /ˈkər/) is a mountain range that run north-south for approximately 30 miles (50 km) to form the west side of Utah's Salt Lake Valley, separating it from Tooele Valley. The range begins in northwest Utah County and stops at the south shore of the Great Salt Lake. The highest elevation is Flat Top Mountain at 10,620 ft (3,237 m). The name Oquirrh was taken from the Ute word meaning "shining." [1] The mountains have been mined for gold, silver, lead, and most famously for copper, as home of the porphyry copper deposit at Bingham Canyon Mine, one of the world's largest open pit mines. As seen from Salt Lake City, the view of the mountain range is dominated by the displaced rock material (known as "spoils") dug from the Kennecott mine. At the north end of the range is Kennecott's smelter complex which refines ore concentrates from the mine into useful metals. Dark colored tailings from past metal refining at the complex can be observed from the adjacent freeway, I-80. The value of the minerals taken from the range has been estimated to far exceed the combined value of those taken in the California, Nevada, and Klondike gold and silver rushes.

In the winter months, the mountains become home to a small population of bald eagles, which can often be found in the cliffs on the west side of the range down to the reservoir near the town of Stockton.

The range has many canyons and dense forests, consisting mainly of conifers and aspen. The area is also home to thriving populations of butterflies, deer, mountain lions, and squirrels. Two of the most popular canyons are Yellow Fork Canyon and Butterfield Canyon. Yellow Fork Canyon is home to a trail administered by Salt Lake County and numerous gated communities. Butterfield Canyon contains a paved road (with the exception of a 1/4 mile portion on the Tooele side that is well maintained dirt) that connects Tooele with Herriman. Butterfield Canyon road climbs to a summit of 9,180 ft. above sea level. At night the mouth of the canyon is a dangerous area as large herds of deer move into the farmlands for feeding.

The north end of the mountain range features a peak known as Farnsworth Peak which houses almost all Salt Lake City FM and TV station transmitters. The peak is also used for emergency communications (such as police, fire, and EMS). Several local businesses and amateur radio operators have transmitters on Farnsworth Peak.

See also

References

External links

Coordinates: 40°22′21″N 112°11′21″W / 40.3725°N 112.18917°W / 40.3725; -112.18917


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Oquirrh Mountains — ▪ mountains, Utah, United States also called  Oquirrh Range        mountain range that extends about 30 miles (50 km) southward from the southern end of the Great Salt Lake, Utah, U.S., overlooking the Tooele and Salt Lake valleys. The mountains… …   Universalium

  • Oquirrh Mountains — Das Oquirrh Gebirge aus der Luft Das Oquirrh Gebirge ist ein Bergzug im US Bundesstaat Utah, der das Salzseetal über 50 km vom westlich gelegenen Tooeletal abtrennt. Das Gebirge endet am Nordufer des Großen Salzsees. Die höchste Erhebung ist der… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Oquirrh Mountains — geographical name mountain range N central Utah S of Great Salt Lake; highest point about 11,000 feet (3353 meters) …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple — in May 2009. Number 130 …   Wikipedia

  • Oquirrh, Utah —   CDP   Coordinates …   Wikipedia

  • Old Oquirrh Bucket — The Old Oquirrh Bucket The Old Oquirrh Bucket (named after the Oquirrh Mountains to the west of Salt Lake City) is the symbol of in state basketball supremacy in Utah. Every year since 1974 the trophy has been awarded to the in state college team …   Wikipedia

  • Salt Lake County, Utah — Infobox U.S. County county = Salt Lake County state = Utah seal seallink map size = 150 founded year = 1852 seat wl = Salt Lake City largest city wl = Salt Lake City area total sq mi = 808 area total km2 = 2092 area land sq mi = 737 area land km2 …   Wikipedia

  • West Jordan, Utah — Infobox Settlement official name = West Jordan, Utah settlement type = City nickname = motto = imagesize = image caption = image mapsize = 250px map caption = Location of West Jordan, Utah mapsize1 = map caption1 = subdivision type = Country… …   Wikipedia

  • South Jordan, Utah — Infobox Settlement official name = South Jordan, Utah settlement type = City nickname = motto = imagesize = image caption = image mapsize = 250px map caption = Location of South Jordan, Utah mapsize1 = map caption1 = subdivision type = Country… …   Wikipedia

  • Salt Lake Valley — is a 500 square mile valley in Salt Lake County in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Utah. It contains Salt Lake City and many of its suburbs, notably West Valley City, Sandy, and West Jordan; its total population is 948,172 as of… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”