| Weber Canyon | |
|---|---|
 The building of Devil's Gate Bridge in Weber Canyon, 1869 | |
| Traversed by |  I-84 Overland Route |
Weber Canyon is a canyon in the Wasatch Range near Ogden, Utah, through which the Weber River flows west toward the Great Salt Lake. It is fed by 13 tributary creeks and is 40 miles (64 km) long.
Weber Canyon is, historically, one of the more important canyons in Utah. The many streams that feed into the Weber River made the area attractive to prehistoric nomadic Native Americans, including the Shoshone and Ute tribes.
The river and canyon were named for fur trapper John Henry Weber. Early explorers also included Étienne Provost. In 1825, near the present-day community of Mountain Green, trappers of the British Hudson's Bay Company Snake Country Expedition, under the leadership of Peter Skene Ogden, had a confrontation with competing American trappers, under the leadership of Johnson Gardner. Gardner insisted that the British group was trespassing in United States Territory. Ogden kept the situation from becoming an international incident, although some of his men, including Canadian Antoine Godin, left his group to join Gardner. [1]
Emigrants traveling to California, including the Hudspeth, Bryant-Russell, and Young and Harlan parties, took the first wagons through Weber Canyon in 1846. The first road through the canyon was completed in 1855 by a group led by Thomas J. Thurston. In 1868, Brigham Young contracted with the Union Pacific Railroad to build part of the transcontinental railroad through Weber Canyon. [2]
Interstate 84 now travels through Weber Canyon. The highway passes by an unusual geological formation called Devil's Slide.
There is also the 1000 Mile Tree, a pine discovered by Union Pacific Railroad workers marking 1,000 miles (1,600 km) from the railroad's origin in Omaha, Nebraska. [3] The original tree died in 1900 and was removed in September of that year. In 1982 to commemorate the site, UP planted a new tree that has grown today to over 30 feet (9.1 m) tall. [4]
North America's first transcontinental railroad was a 1,911-mile (3,075 km) continuous railroad line constructed between 1863 and 1869 that connected the existing eastern U.S. rail network at Council Bluffs, Iowa with the Pacific coast at the Oakland Long Wharf on San Francisco Bay. The rail line was built by three private companies over public lands provided by extensive US land grants. Building was financed by both state and US government subsidy bonds as well as by company issued mortgage bonds. The Western Pacific Railroad Company built 132 miles (212 km) of track from the road's western terminus at Alameda/Oakland to Sacramento, California. The Central Pacific Railroad Company of California (CPRR) constructed 690 miles (1,110 km) east from Sacramento to Promontory Summit, Utah Territory. The Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) built 1,085 miles (1,746 km) from the road's eastern terminus at the Missouri River settlements of Council Bluffs and Omaha, Nebraska westward to Promontory Summit.
The Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad, often shortened to Rio Grande, D&RG or D&RGW, formerly the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, was an American Class I railroad company. The railroad started as a 3 ft narrow-gauge line running south from Denver, Colorado, in 1870. It served mainly as a transcontinental bridge line between Denver, and Salt Lake City, Utah. The Rio Grande was also a major origin of coal and mineral traffic.
Weber County is a county in the U.S. state of Utah. As of the 2020 census, the population was 262,223, making it Utah's fourth-most populous county. Its county seat and largest city is Ogden, the home of Weber State University. The county was named for the Weber River.
Ogden is a city in and the county seat of Weber County, Utah, United States, approximately 10 miles (16 km) east of the Great Salt Lake and 40 miles (64 km) north of Salt Lake City. The population was 87,321 in 2020, according to the US Census Bureau, making it Utah's eighth largest city. The city served as a major railway hub through much of its history, and still handles a great deal of freight rail traffic which makes it a convenient location for manufacturing and commerce. Ogden is also known for its many historic buildings, proximity to the Wasatch Mountains, and as the location of Weber State University.
The Wasatch Range or Wasatch Mountains is a mountain range in the western United States that runs about 160 miles (260 km) from the Utah-Idaho border south to central Utah. It is the western edge of the greater Rocky Mountains, and the eastern edge of the Great Basin region. The northern extension of the Wasatch Range, the Bear River Mountains, extends just into Idaho, constituting all of the Wasatch Range in that state.
The Denver and Salt Lake Railway (D&SL) was a U.S. railroad company located in Colorado. Originally incorporated in 1902 as the Denver, Northwestern and Pacific (DN&P) Railway, it had as a goal a direct connection of Denver, Colorado, with Salt Lake City, Utah. It underwent numerous reorganizations throughout its financially troubled history and by the time the company was acquired in 1931 by the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad, it had advanced only as far as Craig, Colorado. After the acquisition the line was connected to the D&RGW main, and the eastern half of the line was used to give the D&RGW a more direct route to Denver. The portions of the railroad still in use today are known as the Moffat Tunnel Subdivision of Union Pacific Railroad's Central Corridor. Amtrak’s California Zephyr service from Denver to Glenwood Springs follows much of the old D&SL route.
The Wasatch Front is a metropolitan region in the north-central part of the U.S. state of Utah. It consists of a chain of contiguous cities and towns stretched along the Wasatch Range from approximately Provo in the south to Logan in the north, and containing the cities of Salt Lake City, Bountiful, Layton, and Ogden.
Interstate 84 (I-84) is an Interstate Highway in the northwestern United States. The highway runs from Portland, Oregon, to a junction with I-80 near Echo, Utah. The highway serves and connects Portland, Boise, and Ogden, Utah. With connections to other highways, I-84 connects these cities to points east and also serves as part of a corridor between Seattle and Salt Lake City. The sections running through Oregon and Idaho are also known as the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Highway.
The Weber River is a c. 125-mile (201 km) long river of northern Utah, United States. It begins in the northwest of the Uinta Mountains and empties into the Great Salt Lake. The Weber River was named for American fur trapper John Henry Weber.
The Salt Lake City Southern Railroad is a 25-mile (40 km) short-line railroad operating between Salt Lake City, and Murray, in Utah, United States. The SL began operating on April 19, 1993, as a RailTex subsidiary. Today the SL is a subsidiary of the Utah Railway and is owned by the Genesee & Wyoming Inc.
Fort Buenaventura, located in west Ogden, Utah, United States, was the first permanent Anglo settlement in the Great Basin. Built just east of the Weber River in 1846 by Miles Goodyear, the fort and its surrounding lands were purchased by Mormon settlers in 1847 and renamed Brownsville. Following flooding along the river in 1850, the fort was abandoned.
The Feather River Route is a rail line that was built and operated by the Western Pacific Railroad. It was constructed between 1906 and 1909, and connects the cities of Oakland, California, and Salt Lake City, Utah. The line was built to compete with the Central Pacific Railroad, which at the time held a nearly complete monopoly on Northern California rail service. The route derives its name from its crossing of the Sierra Nevada, where it follows both the North and Middle Forks of the Feather River. The route is famous for its impressive engineering qualities and its considerable scenic value. All of the route is now owned and operated by the Union Pacific Railroad; however, the Union Pacific has transferred significant portions of the route to other lines. The portion still called the Feather River Route by the Union Pacific runs from the California Central Valley to Winnemucca, Nevada and has been divided into three subdivisions named the Sacramento, Canyon and Winnemucca subdivisions.
Interstate 84 (I-84) is a part of the Interstate Highway System that links Portland, Oregon, to I-80 near Echo, Utah. The 117.38-mile-long (188.90 km) segment in the US state of Utah is the shortest of any of the three states the western I-84 passes through and contains the eastern terminus of the highway. I-84 enters Box Elder County near Snowville before becoming concurrent with I-15 in Tremonton. The concurrent highways travel south through Brigham City and Ogden and separate near Ogden-Hinckley Airport. Turing east along the Davis County border, I-84 intersects US Route 89 (US-89) and enters Weber Canyon as well as Morgan County. While in Morgan County, I-84 passes the Devil's Gate-Weber Hydroelectric Power Plant and Devil's Slide rock formation. Past Morgan, the highway crosses into Summit County, past the Thousand Mile Tree before reaching its eastern terminus at I-80 near Echo.
Mountain Green is a census-designated place in northwestern Morgan County, Utah, United States. The population was 2,309 at the 2010 census. Located 16 miles (26 km) up the Weber River from Ogden, Mountain Green is the world headquarters of the Browning Arms Company.
The Utah Division of the former Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad (D&RGW) is a rail line that connects Grand Junction, Colorado and Salt Lake City, Utah in the Western United States. It is now incorporated into the Union Pacific Railroad (UP) system as part of the Central Corridor. The modern Union Pacific has split the line into two subdivisions for operational purposes, the Green River Subdivision between Grand Junction and Helper, Utah and the Provo Subdivision from Helper to Salt Lake City. Daily passenger service is provided by Amtrak's California Zephyr; the BNSF Railway and Utah Railway have trackage rights over the line.
John Henry Weber (1779–1859) was an American fur trader and explorer. Weber was active in the early years of the fur trade, exploring territory in the Rocky Mountains and areas in the current state of Utah. The Weber River, Weber State University, and Weber County, Utah were named for Weber.
The Overland Route was a train route operated jointly by the Union Pacific Railroad and the Central Pacific Railroad / Southern Pacific Railroad, between Council Bluffs, Iowa / Omaha, Nebraska, and San Francisco, California, over the grade of the first transcontinental railroad which had been opened on May 10, 1869. Passenger trains that operated over the line included the Overland Flyer, later renamed the Overland Limited, which also included a connection to Chicago. Although these passenger rail trains are no longer in operation, the Overland Route remains a common name for the line from Northern California to Chicago, now owned entirely by the Union Pacific.
Thousand Mile Tree is a pine tree located in Weber Canyon near the community of Henefer, Utah along the Overland Route of the Union Pacific Railroad. In January 1869, graders of the railroad found a similar tree standing next to the line they were constructing, which by coincidence marked the western progress of exactly one thousand miles of road from Omaha, Nebraska/Council Bluffs, Iowa, the eastern terminus of the First Transcontinental Railroad.
The Central Corridor is a rail line operated by the Union Pacific Railroad from near Winnemucca, Nevada to Denver, Colorado in the western United States. The line was created after the merger with the Southern Pacific Transportation Company by combining portions of lines built by former competitors. No portion of the line was originally built by the Union Pacific; in fact, some portions were built specifically to compete with the Union Pacific's Overland Route. The line is known for significant feats of engineering while crossing the Wasatch Mountains of Utah and the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. The line features numerous tunnels, the longest and highest of these is the Moffat Tunnel.
The California Zephyr is a passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago and the San Francisco Bay Area, via Omaha, Denver, Salt Lake City, and Reno. At 2,438 miles (3,924 km), it is Amtrak's longest daily route, and second-longest overall after the Texas Eagle's triweekly continuation from San Antonio to Los Angeles, with travel time between the termini taking approximately 511⁄2 hours. Amtrak claims the route as one of its most scenic, with views of the upper Colorado River valley in the Rocky Mountains, and the Sierra Nevada. The modern train is the second iteration of a train named California Zephyr; the original train was privately operated and ran on a different route through Nevada and California.
Media related to Weber Canyon at Wikimedia Commons
Coordinates: 41°08′09″N111°54′14″W / 41.13583°N 111.90389°W
