Devil's Slide is a geological

formation Formation may refer to: Linguistics * Back-formation, the process of creating a new lexeme by removing or affixes * Word formation, the creation of a new word by adding affixes Mathematics and science * Cave formation or speleothem, a secondary ...

located near the border of

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the sou ...

in northern

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...

Weber Canyon 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 long. History Weber Canyon is, historically, one of the more import ...

, near the community of

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extens ...

Morgan County, Utah Morgan County is a county in northern Utah, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 9,469. Its county seat and largest city is Morgan. Morgan County is part of the Ogden- Clearfield, UT Metropolitan Statistical Area as well ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. The Slide consists of two parallel

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms wh ...

strata In geology and related fields, a stratum ( : strata) is a layer of rock or sediment characterized by certain lithologic properties or attributes that distinguish it from adjacent layers from which it is separated by visible surfaces known as e ...

that have been tilted to lie vertical, protruding out of the mountainside. Intervening layers have

eroded Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is distin ...

more quickly, forming a channel some wide running hundreds of feet down the mountain. The distance between the two slabs is around 7.6 m.

I-84 Interstate 84 may refer to: * Interstate 84 (Oregon–Utah), passing through Idaho, formerly known as Interstate 80N * Interstate 84 (Pennsylvania–Massachusetts), passing through New York and Connecticut {{road disambiguation 84

runs right past Devil's Slide, which can be clearly seen from the road. The

Weber River The Weber River ( ) is a 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 Weber River ...

flows between the formation and the freeway. There are parking areas on both sides of the highway for viewing the Slide.

Background

Devil's Slide was originally discovered by Utah settlers in the 1840s in upper Weber Canyon. Early settlers, including a well known railman by the name of John Walker, called the site "Gutter Defile" on their maps. The settlers were working with the Transcontinental Railroad to establish tracks through the Weber Canyon, Utah area. There are four other geological formations in the United States called "Devil's Slide," including California and Montana, just north of Yellowstone in addition to the one in Utah. Utah Geologist believe the Slide was formed 170 to 180 million years ago by a draining sea that poured down the center of the Slide. The first mentioning of Devil's Slide by its current name was in 1875. The Salt Lake Tribune printed a story on the workcamp turned small town near the Slide on June 28, 1888, authored by Allan Forman. The town had sprung up due to the abundant limestone available in the area. The Native American tour guide the newspaper had hired called the formation, "Devil's War Club." The mining town was originally called Portland, but would be renamed Devil's Slide in honor of the proximity to the Slide nearby. Before the Great Depression, Devil's Slide had 500 residents, but would slowly close down until only a school and small group of families remained. The town would eventually be closed after the mining company shut down operations. A large gravel pit is the only evidence the town existed that remains to this day.

Legends of the Slide

Local legend about the Slide states that when God threw Lucifer out of heaven after he betrayed him, before the start of mankind, he slid down the mountainside to hell along the route of Devil's Slide. Another legend states that Father Pietro del Torra, a Christian Missionary traveling through the canyon encountered the Devil, disguised as a Spaniard. The Father was tempted of the Devil with food, spirits, wealth, and other fine material things. When the Priest resisted, the Devil threatened to kill him. The Father held up a crucifix and prayed, which weakened the Devil, causing him to fall down the side of the mountain, thus forming Devil's Slide, the Devil's Club, or the Devil's Gate, another term by which the Slide was previously known.

Gallery

Image:Devils Slide.jpg, Devil's Slide photo by

Carleton Watkins Carleton E. Watkins (1829–1916) was an American photographer of the 19th century. Born in New York, he moved to California and quickly became interested in photography. He focused mainly on landscape photography, and Yosemite Valley was a ...

, c.1874 File:The Devil's Slide-LCCN2008678212.jpg, Photochrom print, 1898 Image:DevilsSlideUtah.jpeg, Front view in March 2008 from the south parking area File:Devil's Slide, Morgan, UT.jpg, October 2013 File:DevilsSlideReddi.png, Front view in Fall of 2008

References

External links

* Geology of Utah Landforms of Morgan County, Utah Rock formations of Utah Tourist attractions in Morgan County, Utah {{Utah-geo-stub