White Mountain (Wyoming)

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White Mountain
WhiteMountainWY.jpg
White Mountain's highest point (minus Pilot Butte) located near Rock Springs, Wyoming
Highest point
Elevation 7,623 ft (2,323 m)
Coordinates 41°34′41″N109°19′12″W / 41.57806°N 109.32000°W / 41.57806; -109.32000
Geography
Location Sweetwater County, Wyoming, U.S.
Climbing
Easiest route Roads from Rock Springs and Green River
The central portion of the mountain, from Rock Springs, Wyoming WhiteMountainWY2.jpg
The central portion of the mountain, from Rock Springs, Wyoming

White Mountain is a long mountain located in central Sweetwater County, Wyoming, near the cities of Rock Springs and Green River. The mountain is part of the Green River Formation, and contains communications towers that serve a number of purposes. Hundreds of carved figures also dot the sandstone cliffs at the White Mountain Petroglyph site and range from 200 to 1000 years old. Pilot Butte, located on top of White Mountain, is accessible from roads on the mountain.

Contents

Geology

Like its neighbor, Wilkins Peak, White Mountain is a member of the Green River Formation,Technically a plateau & aformation of the intermontane Lake Gosiute environment during the Eocene epoch. White Mountain is part of the Rock Springs Uplift, [1] and some of the largest oil shale and trona beds in the region are located west of the mountain. White Mountain contains sediment from a subcategory of the Green River Formation, known as the Wilkins Peak Formation . [2] [3]

The peak itself is 7,623 feet (2,323 m) in elevation and is located 5.4 miles (9 km) from Rock Springs, Wyoming and 8.85 miles (14 km) from Green River, Wyoming.

Communication uses

White Mountain houses communication radio towers for a number of local and regional uses. A tower for the radio station K299AG broadcasts a religious radio format on 107.7 FM. Programming on the station comes from KCSP-FM. [4] The local cable company, Sweetwater Television, owns the tallest tower, on the center of the mountain. This tower can be seen in the picture above. K28JU-D, the local PBS affiliate of KCWC-DT broadcasts from space on the tower as well, and as of August 2009, is the only television station broadcasting from White Mountain. [5] Located next to that tower are transmitters used by the local BLM office, as well as a tower for cellular telephones, owned by Union Wireless. [6]

On the side of the mountain facing Green River, two more radio towers are present. One of the towers is used for airport communications from a nearby airport. The other, owned by Verizon Wireless is used for cellular telephone transmissions. [7]

White Mountain, as seen from Wilkins Peak. Pilot Butte is to the left WhitemountainWY.jpg
White Mountain, as seen from Wilkins Peak. Pilot Butte is to the left

Pilot Butte

Ancestral Shoshone petroglyphs (White Mountain Petroglyphs), carved into the soft sandstone Ancestral Shoshone Indian petroglyphs (~1000 to ~200 years old) (White Mountain Petroglyphs, southwestern Wyoming, USA) 5 (22865206805).jpg
Ancestral Shoshone petroglyphs (White Mountain Petroglyphs), carved into the soft sandstone

Pilot Butte is located directly on top of White Mountain, and was named by early travelers in the region as a signal that they were close to the Green River. [8] Pilot Butte is also a part of the Wild Horse tour, and several herds of wild horses have been spotted in the area. [9] The butte is the second highest point in the immediate region, the first being Aspen Mountain to the south. It is 7,949 feet (2,423 m) in elevation at its highest point. The butte can be hiked, and used to contain a steel ladder to assist in reaching the summit. [10]

Petroglyphs

Hundreds of carved figures dot the sandstone cliffs at the White Mountain Petroglyph site in Wyoming’s Red Desert. Etched into the stone surface some 200 to 1,000 years ago, several figures appear to portray bison and elk hunts while others depict geometric forms or tiny footprints. Handprints are worn into the rock as well, providing visitors with a compelling connection to those who used the site long ago. [11]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sweetwater County, Wyoming</span> County in Wyoming, United States

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rock Springs, Wyoming</span> City in Wyoming, United States

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">KZWB</span> Radio station in Green River, Wyoming

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">KFRZ</span> Radio station in Green River, Wyoming

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Humpy Peak is a peak located in the Uinta Mountain Range in northern Utah. It is approximately 27.56 miles (44 km) south of Evanston, Wyoming and 21.29 miles (34 km) east of Coalville, Utah. The summit has an elevation of 10,875 feet (3,315 m).

The Rock Springs Uplift is an area of uplifted Cretaceous to Eocene rocks in Wyoming surrounded and once covered by sediments of the Green River Formation which were deposited in the Eocene Lake Gosiute. The Rock Springs Uplift formed in the Late Cretaceous through the Eocene and is related to the Laramide orogeny. The structure is a north–south trending anticline with a surface expression of approximately 56 miles (90 km) by 28 mi (45 km). The community of Rock Springs is located on the western margin of the uplift.

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References

  1. ↑ "Green River". www.geology.wisc.edu.
  2. ↑ Eugster, H.P.; Hardie, L.A. (1975). "Sedimentation in an ancient playa-lake complex; the Wilkins Peak Member of the Green River Formation of Wyoming". Bulletin of the Geological Society of America. 86 (3): 319–334. doi:10.1130/0016-7606(1975)86<319:SIAAPC>2.0.CO;2 . Retrieved 20 Apr 2008.
  3. ↑ "Green River Formation". University of California Museum of Paleontology. Retrieved 2008-04-19.
  4. ↑ "K299AG-FM 107.7 MHz – Rock Springs, WY". radio-locator.com.
  5. ↑ "TV Query Results: K28JU-D WY ROCK SPRINGS, ETC. USA". www.fcc.gov. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  6. ↑ "White Mountain Rock Springs side". www.angelfire.com.
  7. ↑ "White Mountain Green River side". www.angelfire.com.
  8. ↑ Wyoming Places Wiki / Pilot Butte
  9. ↑ "Wyoming Wild Horses – Pilot Butte Scenic Loop Tour".
  10. ↑ "A Little Grace (Liliana's Blog): Hiking up Pilot Butte, Wyoming". August 8, 2007.
  11. ↑ "White Mountain Petroglyphs". February 18, 2021.
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