Oquirrh Mountains

Oquirrh Mountains
North end of the Oquirrh Mountains, view from the descent to the Salt Lake City airport
Highest point
Peak	Flat Top Mountain
Elevation	10,613 ft (3,235 m)
Coordinates	40°37′26″N 112°19′21″W / 40.62389°N 112.32250°W / 40.62389; -112.32250Coordinates: 40°37′26″N 112°19′21″W / 40.62389°N 112.32250°W / 40.62389; -112.32250
Dimensions
Length	30 mi (48 km) N-S
Width	15 mi (24 km) E-W
Geography
Oquirrh Mountains Oquirrh Mountains in Utah
Country	United States
State	Utah
Counties	Salt Lake, Tooele and Utah
Parent range	Great Basin
Borders on	Great Salt Lake-N Tooele Valley-W & NW Rush Valley (Utah)-SW Salt Lake City-NE & E Cedar Valley (Utah)-SE

The Oquirrh Mountains /ˈoʊkər/ is a mountain range that runs north-south for approximately 30 miles (50 km) to form the west side of Utah's Salt Lake Valley, separating it from Tooele Valley. The range runs from northwest Utah County–central, east Tooele County, and ends north at the south shore of the Great Salt Lake. The highest elevation is Flat Top Mountain (Utah) at 10,620 ft (3,237 m). The name Oquirrh was taken from the Goshute word meaning "wood sitting."

The Oquirrh Mountains have been mined for gold, silver, lead, and most famously for copper, as home of the porphyry copper deposit at Bingham Canyon Mine, one of the world's largest open pit mines. As seen from Salt Lake City, the view of the mountain range is dominated by the displaced rock material (known as overburden) dug from the Kennecott mine. At the north end of the range is Kennecott's smelter complex which refines ore concentrates from the mine into useful metals. Dark colored tailings from past metal refining at the complex can be observed from the adjacent freeway, I-80. The value of the minerals taken from the range has been estimated to far exceed the combined value of those taken in the California, Nevada, and Klondike gold and silver rushes.

In the winter months, the mountains become home to a small population of bald eagles, which can often be found in the cliffs on the west side of the range down to the reservoir near the town of .