Editing Wasatch Range (section)

==Geography and geology==
[[File:Wasatch Plateau.png|thumb|Wasatch Plateau geologic cross-section, where Kmt and Kmf are the Tununk and Ferron Sandstone members of the Mancos Shale, Km. Kmv is the Mesaverde Group, and Tkn is the North Horn Formation.]]
[[File:Spanish Fork Peak from Y Mountain.jpg|thumb|left|West side of [[Mount Nebo (Utah)|Mount Nebo]], the highest peak in the Wasatch Range, unknown date]]

The Wasatch Range's origins are rooted in the [[Sevier orogeny|Sevier Orogeny]]. As the Farallon plate subducted under the North American plate between the Jurassic and Paleogene, the regional stress regime became a maximum striking east to west. This horizontal compression caused thin skinned imbricated thrust faults resulting in as much as 50% crustal shortening of the western North American Plate.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2015.08.001 |doi=10.1016/j.earscirev.2015.08.001 |title=Tectonic evolution of the Sevier and Laramide belts within the North American Cordillera orogenic system |year=2015 |last1=Yonkee |first1=W. Adolph |last2=Weil |first2=Arlo Brandon |journal=Earth-Science Reviews |volume=150 |pages=531–593 |bibcode=2015ESRv..150..531Y |url-access=subscription |access-date=2 March 2023 |archive-date=3 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240603054910/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0012825215300258?via%3Dihub |url-status=live }}</ref> The Wasatch anticlinorium represented the furthest eastern margins of these Sevier origin imbricated thrusts. Once the Farallon plate had largely subducted, the NW moving Pacific plate latched onto the North American Plate, causing a change in regional stress. Sevier thrust ramps were reactivated into normal faults, causing crustal extension as the Pacific plate drags the western margins of the North American plate to the NW. The current Wasatch range continues to grow via normal faults as the valley drops in periodic motion. Mount Nebo, the highest peak of the Wasatch, is at the southern edge of the range. The [[Colorado Plateau]] comes to its northwest corner as it meets the southern end of the Rocky Mountains. Immediately west of these two, the [[Great Basin]], which is the northern region of the [[Basin and Range Province]], begins and stretches westward across western Utah and [[Nevada]] until it reaches the [[Sierra Nevada (U.S.)|Sierra Nevada]] near the Nevada/[[California]] border. Geologic faults punctuate the range, chief among them the [[Wasatch Fault]]. These faults also formed the [[Timpanogos Cave National Monument|Timpanogos Cave]].

A series of mountain valleys punctuate the northern Wasatch Range. While the western side of the range drops sharply to the floors of the Wasatch Front valleys, the eastern side of the range is gentler, allowing for the construction of several ski resorts. The Cottonwoods, a particularly rugged and dense area just east of the Salt Lake Valley, shelters small mountain coves that harbor four world-famous ski resorts ([[Alta Ski Area|Alta]], [[Brighton Ski Resort|Brighton]], [[Solitude Mountain Resort|Solitude]], and [[Snowbird ski resort|Snowbird]]). The eastern slopes of the Cottonwoods drop to the [[Snyderville Basin]], which contains Park City and its two ski resorts ([[Park City Mountain Resort]] and [[Deer Valley]]). Much of the eastern side of the range, from north of Salt Lake City to the Bear River Mountains, is especially gentle compared to the rest of the range. The range widens east of Ogden, sheltering a high mountain valley known as the Ogden Valley. Three more ski resorts lie here, as well as several small towns (such as [[Huntsville, Utah|Huntsville]], [[Liberty, Utah|Liberty]], and [[Eden, Utah|Eden]]).

[[File:Wasatch Range Salt Lake County UT United States 2006.JPG|thumb|right|The Wasatch Range viewed from Jordan Campus of [[Salt Lake Community College]], March 2006]]
North of this, the [[Wellsville Mountains]] branch off from the northwest of the range, continuing a line of mountains paralleling the [[Interstate 15|I-15]] corridor. This range is exceptionally thin and steep. However, [[U.S. Route 89 in Utah|US-89]]/[[U.S. Route 91 in Utah|US-91]] is maintained as a four-lane highway through the range at Wellsville Canyon east of [[Brigham City, Utah|Brigham City]]. [[Cache Valley]], created by the [[Bear River (Great Salt Lake)|Bear River]], is flanked on the west by the Wellsville Mountains and on the east by the much denser and higher Bear River Mountains. The northwestern border of Cache Valley is flanked by the Bannock Range in [[Idaho]]. The two highest peaks in this area are [[Naomi Peak|Mount Naomi]] and [[Logan Peak|Mount Logan]], each just under {{convert|10000|ft|m}}.

[[File:USA Region West relief Wasatch Range location map.jpg|thumb|left|The western [[United States]] with the Wasatch Range outlined in red]]
The southeastern portion of the range across [[Wasatch County, Utah|Wasatch County]] transforms into the relatively flat, windswept Wasatch Plateau at an elevation of about {{convert|8500|ft|m}} to {{convert|9500|ft|m}}. At its southeastern edge, just north of [[Helper, Utah|Helper]], it runs into the [[Book Cliffs]]. Further north, the [[Heber, Utah|Heber]] Valley and Weber River Valley separate the Wasatch Range from the [[Uinta Mountains]], while the Bear River Valley and [[Bear Lake (Idaho-Utah)|Bear Lake]] Valley separate it from lower mountain ranges that mark the western edge of the [[Green River (Colorado River tributary)|Green River]] Basin.

The Wasatch Range is traversed by just seven highways, along with several rugged mountain roads and unpaved trails. The most prominent are [[Interstate 80 in Utah|I-80]] through [[Parley's Canyon]] east of Salt Lake City and [[Interstate 84 in Utah|I-84]] through [[Weber Canyon]] southeast of Ogden. They meet near the [[ghost town]] of [[Echo, Utah|Echo]] on the eastern slopes of the range and continue northeast as I‑80. Other highways through the range include [[U.S. Route 6 in Utah|US-6]]/[[U.S. Route 89 in Utah|US-89]] through [[Spanish Fork Canyon]], [[U.S. Route 189 in Utah|US-189]] through [[Provo Canyon]], [[Utah State Route 39]] extending east from Huntsville (a route which is closed in winter), US‑89/[[U.S. Route 91 in Utah|US-91]] through [[Logan Canyon]], and along [[Idaho State Highway 36]] near the northern end of the range.

The [[Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad]] had a line through the Wasatch Range via [[Soldier Summit, Utah|Soldier Summit Pass]] and Spanish Fork Canyon. Now operated by the [[Union Pacific Railroad]], the line is used by freight trains and [[Amtrak]]'s ''[[California Zephyr]]''.