The Mountain in Our Backyard -- Mount Timpanogos

Here are a few shots I have taken over the years of one of nature's most beautiful mountains: Mount Timpanogos in the Wasatch Mountains of Utah. Even though Timp is only 11,752 feet high, it rises abruptly from Utah Valley, with an elevation difference of over 5,000 feet. The upper parts of the mountain were glaciated during the last ice age, carving the top into its present form.

Most of the mountain is comprised of the Oquirrh Group, a series of Pennsylvanian-Permian age limestones and sandstones that were deposited in the ocean about 300 million years ago when Utah was at the edge of the North American continent. The rocks have since had an interesting history including deep burial, uplift, and erosion to form them into the current spectacular mountain. Several of the photos here were taken from my backyard and others as I have traveled around the mountain.

Red Cliffs, Washington County, Utah - January 2013

When the weather is not so good in northern Utah in January, you can always head south where the sun is usually shining. Here are a few photos I took on my way home from a conference in St. George, Utah at the Red Cliffs Recreation Area and preserve. Also included are a few pictures of the rocks around the Quail Creek reservoir.

 Red Cliffs with Pine Valley Mountains peaking through on the right.

 Narrow underpass under the I-15 freeway to access the Red Cliffs Recreation Area.

 Historic Orson Adams home at Red Cliffs with arch in background.

Historic Orson Adams home. The home was built between 1862 and 1865. Orson Adams was a veteran of the Mormon Battalion. The Adams house is the only intact structure that remains of the short-lived Mormon pioneer settlement of Harrisburg.

Sandstone outcrops near the Red Cliffs campground.

More sandstone outcrops  near the campground.

Pine Valley Mountains, a granite intrusion, in the rear with the Red Cliffs in front. The granite intruded into the area about 20-21 million years ago, warping up the surrounding rock layers. This type of intrusion is called a laccolith.

Map showing the location of the Red Cliffs Recreation Area and campground.

 View of the Pine Valley Mountains in January.

Scattered granite boulders washed out from the Pine Valley Mountains.

Virgin anticline (fold) at the north end of the Quail Creek reservoir. The thin sandstone cliff capping the top of the hills is the Shinarump Conglomerate Member of  the Triassic Chinle Formation. The darker red and lighter striped red and gray rocks below are the Upper Red Member and Shnabkaib Member of the Triassic Moenkopi Formation.

Exposures along the west side of Quail Creek reservoir of the Triassic Moenkopi Formation capped by a thin ledge of Shinarump Conglomerate. The dark brick red rock layers are the Upper Red Member of the Moenkopi and the lighter reddish pink and gray layers are the Shnabkaib Member of the Moenkopi, where the gray layers are mostly gypsum.