Kings Peak EarthCache
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Kings Peak
13,528 feet
Ashley National Forest
The Uinta Mountains are located in northeastern Utah. But, to understand how they came to be, one must look at the history of the region as a whole. Utah first emerged after the Hadean eon as a mass of metamorphosed rock, with the oldest found rock in Utah dating to approximately 2.5 Billion years old.
Next, in the late pre-Cambrian the soon-to-be North America experienced continental rifting, and Utah split along the Wasatch Line, carrying away the Western part, but leaving behind the eastern part. The effect was the land to the West stretched out, thinned, lowered, and land to the East remained intact.
Soon thereafter Utah was covered by an ocean approaching form the West; as a result, thin crust to the West was deep under water and experienced heavy deposition, whereas crust to the East of the Wasatch Line was only covered by shallow, warm water with less deposition .
Utah remained this way for several hundred million years until the ocean receded in the Mesozoic. At this time crust was intruded by granitic magma to the west of the Wasatch Line, and land to the East was either a desert or covered by shallow tropical water. When the Sevier orogeny began in the Cretaceous period, about 150 million years ago, Mountains were thrust upwards to the West of Utah. But, the mountains couldn’t grow too far West due to the Wasatch Line, so crust to the East remained intact and mostly desert. It is because of this line that the Uintas could be, for without that border, mountains would have continued to form further and further East .
At this point in time, crust to the East of the Wasatch Line is thick crust, receiving pressure from the Sevier orogeny now called the Wasatch Range, but not allowing growth any further East. About 80 million years ago from the East, however, there were also forces resulting from Laramide orogeny. This orogeny was due to basement uplift and created the Rocky Mountains. With compression forces coming form the West and now East, something had to give on this flat, relatively unscathed portion of crust.
What would it be? On the northern portion of the strip was the Bridger and Green River Basins (Wyoming), and nothing could give there. To the south was the Uinta Basin which again wouldn’t give. So, the only place where tectonic activity could and had to occur was the strip in between the two basins, which is the exact location of the modern day Uinta Mountains.
Despite this amazing process, the Uinta Mountains of today are no where near the same as those 65 Million years ago. As soon as they formed, erosion began. In fact, this range experienced approximately 45 Million years of continuous erosion. During this time, physical and chemical weathering combined to take many thousands of feet from off the mighty range. Though no one is certain, it is assumed that, “the original lofty mountains had been worn down to a low lying surface, probably of inconsiderable relief.
The current Uintas are highest at Kings Peak, 13,528 feet high. Today there are cirques, tarns, ‘U’ shaped valleys, and striated rocks. These characteristics all mark the existence of some 30 glaciers in the region during the early Pleistocene epoch. The glaciers varied from one and a half to twenty seven and a half miles long and covered nearly 1000 square miles.
Logging requirements:
Once in the area take a visual observation and tell me the signs that a glacier may or may not have been here. Do not post in your log, send me an E-Mail.
OPTIONAL: Take a picture of you and your party in the area with either Kings Peak behind you, or, on the Summit.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Pbbeqf jvyy chg lbh ba gur fhzzvg. Fvapr guvf Pnpur cbfgrq va Wnahnel naq gur nern jvyy abg or noyr gb or npprffrq hagvy Whar be Whyl, V jvyy bssre gur Tenaqsngure pynhfr. Vs lbh unir orra gb gur fhzzvg naq unir cvpgherf bs lbh gurer naq pna nafjre gur dhrfgvbaf. V jvyy nyybj lbh gb ybt gur svaq. Ohg cyrnfr R-Znvy zr svefg.
Treasures
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