The Silver Island Range, also called the Silver Island Mountains, is a
mountain range
A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have aris ...
in
Utah
Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...
,
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, situated the northwest corner of Tooele County, Utah, Tooele County and the southwest corner of Box Elder County, Utah, Box Elder County, about northeast of Wendover, Utah, Wendover.
The Silver Island Range lies at the west perimeter of the Great Salt Lake Desert; the southeast flank of the range is on the northwest border of the Bonneville Salt Flats.
Geography
The Silver Island Range is a rough triangular area which extends into Utah from the Utah - Nevada border, with the Pilot Valley Playa (Nevada and Utah), Pilot Valley Playa to the west and the Great Salt Lake Desert to the east. The wilderness area includes with sloping stream terraces, foothills, canyons, and steep mountains. Elevation starts at at the base of the range, to more than at the summit (topography), summits. The four tallest peaks in the range are Graham Peak (Utah), Graham Peak, at , Campbell Peak , Jenkins Peak , and Cobb Peak (Utah), Cobb Peak, at .
[''Silver Island Mountains'']
/ref> Other peaks include Tetzlaff Peak, Rishel Peak, and Volcano Peak (Utah), Volcano Peak. With no perennial streams, vegetation on the rocky slopes is sparse, consisting of juniper, sagebrush, ricegrass and Ephedra (genus), ephedra along with other desert shrubs and grasses.[Silver Island Mountains, BLM]
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Geology
Bedrock in the range includes Fault (geology), faulted and Fold (geology), folded fossil bearing limestones. The slopes of the range have been terraced by shoreline erosion and deposition from Lake Bonneville.[
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History
Historically, several caves in the Silver Island Range served as habitation for Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans. The range also played a role in the more recent mining history of the region, and stood as both a barrier and landmark to settler, pioneers who crossed the inhospitable Salt Lake Desert. Donner Canyon in the northeast section of the range bears the name of the Donner Party, Donner-Reed party, who passed north of the area on the Hastings Cutoff.
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Modern uses
The Silver Island Range is used for all-terrain vehicle driving, camping, caving, hiking, hunting, mining, and rockhounding.
References
External links
{{commons category, Silver Island Mountains
Silver Island Mountain National Back Country Byway
Great Salt Lake Desert
Mountain ranges of the Great Basin
Mountain ranges of Box Elder County, Utah
Mountain ranges of Tooele County, Utah
Mountain ranges of Utah