Editing Wasatch Range (section)

{{Short description|Sub-range of the Rocky Mountains in the western United States}}
{{About|the mountain range in the western United States|other uses|Wasatch (disambiguation){{!}}Wasatch}}
{{Distinguish|text=the [[Wasatch Plateau]] or the [[Sawatch Range]]}}
{{Infobox mountain
| name= Wasatch Range
| photo= Jan_14_06_eastern_Salt_Lake_County_UT_USA.JPG
| photo_caption= View of the Wasatch Range from the [[Salt Lake City Public Library]], January 2006
| country= United States
| subdivision1_type= States
| subdivision1= {{hlist|[[Utah]]|[[Idaho]]}}
| parent= [[Rocky Mountains]]
| highest= [[Mount Nebo (Utah)|Mount Nebo]]
| range_coordinates = {{Coord|40|29|24|N|111|41|46|W|region:US-UT_type:mountain|display=inline,title}}
| elevation_ft= 11928
| map= Utah
| map_caption=
}}

The '''Wasatch Range''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|w|ɑː|s|æ|tʃ}} {{respell|WAH|satch}}) or '''Wasatch Mountains''' is a [[mountain range]] in the western [[United States]] that runs about {{convert|160|mi|km}} from the [[Utah]]-[[Idaho]] border south to central [[Utah]].<ref>{{Cite GNIS|1447008|Wasatch Range}}</ref> It is the western edge of the greater [[Rocky Mountains]], and the eastern edge of the [[Great Basin]] region.<ref name="Hiking">''Hiking the Wasatch'', John Veranth, 1988, Salt Lake City, {{ISBN|978-0-87480-628-1}}</ref> The northern extension of the Wasatch Range, the [[Bear River Mountains]], extends just into [[Idaho]], constituting all of the Wasatch Range in that state.

In the language of the native [[Ute people]], Wasatch means "mountain pass" or "low pass over high range."<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/w/WASATCH_COUNTY.shtml |title=Wasatch County |last=Fuller |first=Craig |encyclopedia=Utah History Encyclopedia |access-date=24 March 2019 |archive-date=9 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190209093436/https://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/w/WASATCH_COUNTY.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z3Pqk9tazU4C&pg=PA390 |title=Utah Place Names: A Comprehensive Guide to the Origins of Geographic Names: A Compilation |last=Van Cott |first=John W. |publisher=[[University of Utah Press]] |location=Salt Lake City |page=390 |year=1990 |access-date=24 March 2019 |isbn=978-0-87480-345-7 |oclc=797284427 |archive-date=3 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240603054906/https://books.google.com/books?id=z3Pqk9tazU4C&pg=PA390#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> According to [[William Bright]], the mountains were named for a [[Shoshone people|Shoshoni]] leader who was named with the Shoshoni term ''wasattsi'', meaning "blue heron".<ref name="Bright2004">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5XfxzCm1qa4C&pg=PA549 |title=Native American Placenames of the United States |last=Bright |first=William |author-link=William Bright |publisher=[[University of Oklahoma Press]] |year=2004 |location=Norman, Oklahoma |page=549 |isbn=978-0-8061-3598-4 |access-date=22 November 2015 |archive-date=3 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240603054912/https://books.google.com/books?id=5XfxzCm1qa4C&pg=PA549#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1926, Cecil Alter quoted Henry Gannett from 1902, who said that the word meant "land of many waters," then posited, "the word is a common one among the Shoshones, and is given to a berry basket" carried by women.<ref>Salt Lake Tribune, 16 May 1926</ref>