Wellsville Mountains

Last updated
Wellsville Mountains
Wellsville Mountains.jpg
The Wellsville Mountains as seen from the air in mid-September. Box Elder peak and the Wellsville cone are both visible, September 2009.
Highest point
PeakBox Elder Peak [1]
Elevation 9,372 ft (2,857 m)
Coordinates 41°38′08″N112°00′52″W / 41.635624°N 112.014561°W / 41.635624; -112.014561
Dimensions
Length28 mi (45 km)N/S
Width17 mi (27 km)E/W
Area307 sq mi (800 km2)
Naming
Etymology Nearby City of Wellsville
Geography
USA Utah relief location map.svg
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Wellsville Mountains
Wellsville Mountains
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Wellsville Mountains
Wellsville Mountains (the United States)
Country United States
State Utah
Parent range Wasatch Range

The Wellsville Mountains is a mountain range in Box Elder and Cache counties in Utah, United States, [2] that is part of the Wasatch Range.

Contents

Description

North Wellsville Mountains from west, at Elwood, Utah with Mendon Peak, June 2008 08-64-City of Elwood,UT,with,Mendon Peak in background as seen from I-15. June 8,2008.jpg
North Wellsville Mountains from west, at Elwood, Utah with Mendon Peak, June 2008

The range separates the Cache Valley from the Wasatch Front (Bear River Valley), as well as form a portion of the border between Box Elder and Cache counties. Nearly all of the water collected by the Wellsville Mountains drains into the Bear River. [3]

While only moderately tall, they are particularly narrow. For this reason, it is often claimed they are one of the steepest mountain ranges in North America. [4] [5] [6] Box Elder (9,372 feet [2,857 m]) and the Wellsville Cone (9,356 feet [2,852 m]) are its two highest peaks. US-89/US-91 traverses Box Elder Canyon, Dry Canyon, and Wellsville Canyon, beginning east of Brigham City as a four-lane highway, curving north then northeast and entering Cache Valley at Wellsville.

The mountains were named for the nearby City of Wellsville. [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

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Cache County is a county located in the Wasatch Front region of Utah. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 133,154, with an estimated 140,173 in 2022. Its county seat and largest city is Logan. Cache County is included in Logan metropolitan area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wasatch Range</span> Sub-range of the Rocky Mountains in the western United States

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.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cache Valley</span> US geographical feature

Cache Valley(Shoshoni: Seuhubeogoi, “Willow Valley”) is a valley of northern Utah and southeast Idaho, United States, that includes the Logan metropolitan area. The valley was used by 19th century mountain men and was the site of the 1863 Bear River Massacre. The name, Cache Valley is often used synonymously to describe the Logan Metropolitan Area, one of the fastest growing metro areas in the US per capita — both in terms of economic GDP and population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Nebo (Utah)</span> Mountain in Utah, United States

Mount Nebo is the southernmost and highest mountain in the Wasatch Range of Utah, in the United States, and the centerpiece of the Mount Nebo Wilderness, inside the Uinta National Forest. It is named after the biblical Mount Nebo, overlooking Israel from the east of the Jordan River, which is said to be the place of Moses' death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Logan Canyon</span> Canyon in Northeastern Utah

Logan Canyon is a canyon in the western United States in northeastern Utah, which cuts its way through the Bear River Mountains, a branch of the Wasatch Range. It is popular for both summer and winter activities, especially rock-climbing, hiking, camping, fishing, snowmobiling, and skiing, at the Beaver Mountain ski resort. The canyon rises to an elevation of approximately 7,800 feet (2,400 m) above sea level, after a vertical climb of about 2,900 feet (880 m). Just beyond the summit is a steep road leading into Bear Lake Valley and scenic overlooks that provide views of deep blue Bear Lake. The western terminus is at Logan in Cache County and the eastern terminus is at Garden City in Rich County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bear River Range</span> Part of the greater Wasatch Range of Utah and Idaho

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wasatch–Cache National Forest</span> National forest in Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming in the United States

Wasatch–Cache National Forest is a United States National Forest located primarily in northern Utah (81.23%), with smaller parts extending into southeastern Idaho (16.42%) and southwestern Wyoming (2.35%). The name is derived from the Ute word Wasatch for a low place in high mountains, and the French word Cache meaning to hide. The term cache originally referred to fur trappers, the first Europeans to visit the land. The Wasatch–Cache National Forest boundaries include 1,607,177 acres (6,504.01 km2) of land.

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Cache National Forest is a 533,840-acre area of National Forest System land in Idaho and Utah which was established on July 1, 1908, by the U.S. Forest Service. The majority of its area is in Utah, and was initially created when the Bear River National Forest was disbanded. On July 1, 1915, all of Pocatello National Forest was added. In 1973 the Idaho portion was transferred to the administration of Caribou National Forest, while the Utah portion was combined administratively with Wasatch National Forest, creating the Wasatch-Cache National Forest. In descending order of forestland area, the Cache National Forest portion is located in Cache, Bear Lake, Franklin, Weber, Rich, Box Elder, Caribou, and Morgan counties. The forest has a current area of 701,453 acres (2,838.68 km2), which comprises 43.56% of the combined Wasatch-Cache's total acreage. The forest is administered from Salt Lake City, Utah as part of the Wasatch-Cache National Forest, but there are local ranger district offices in Logan and Ogden. From circa 1911 until August 1923, the area was roamed by Old Ephraim.

Logan Peak, commonly referred to as Mount Logan, is a peak in the Bear River Mountains, a branch of the Wasatch Range. Located six miles east-southeast of Logan, Utah in the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest, it is the second highest peak overlooking Cache Valley after Mt. Naomi. Logan Peak rises to an elevation of 9,714 feet (2,961 m) NAVD88. It is served by hiking trails and a narrow, unpaved access road suitable only for offroad vehicles. It is the only mountain in the Bear River Range with a road to the summit. The peak houses a weather station and a telecommunications tower. Logan Peak is a popular destination for hikers and mountain bikers during the warmer months and advanced cross-country skiers in winter. During the winter, a circular hollow on the east side of the peak, known locally as Crystal Valley, is popular with snowmobilers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Box Elder Canyon (Box Elder County, Utah)</span> Canyon in Box Elder County, Utah, United States

Box Elder Canyon is a canyon located within the western slopes of the Wellsville Mountains, a branch of the Wasatch Range of the Rocky Mountains in Box Elder County, Utah, United States. Box Elder Canyon and Wellsville Canyon together provide the routes of U.S. Route 89 / U.S. Route 91 across the Wellsville Mountains. Both of these canyons are sometimes locally referred to as Sardine Canyon, although the actual Sardine Canyon is used by an old alignment of the highway along the eastern slope of the Wellsville Mountains.

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Monte Cristo Range is a mountain range in Cache, Rich, and Weber counties in Utah, United States, that is a subrange of the Wasatch Range and is a 30 miles (48 km) long mountain range in the extreme northeast of the state. It parallels the Bear River Mountains to the west, but is only about half its length.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Superior</span> Mountain in the American state of Utah

Mount Superior is an 11,045 feet (3,367 m) mountain peak in the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Cathedral (Summit County, Utah)</span> Mountain in the American state of Utah

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Willard Peak</span> Mountain in the American state of Utah

Willard Peak is a 9,763-foot elevation (2,976 m) mountain summit located on the common border Box Elder County shares with Weber County in Utah, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spanish Fork Peak</span>

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References

  1. "Box Elder Peak". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 15 Jan 2013.
  2. "Wellsville Mountains". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  3. "Wellsville Mountains". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved January 13, 2013.
  4. Wilderness.net, Retrieved 21 Aug 2007
  5. Bear River Association of Governments, Retrieved 12 Aug 2007
  6. Publiclands.org, Retrieved 12 Aug 2007
  7. Van Cott, John W. (1990). Utah Place Names: A Comprehensive Guide to the Origins of Geographic Names: A Compilation. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press. p. 393. ISBN   978-0-87480-345-7. OCLC   797284427 . Retrieved 16 Mar 2018.