Wasatch Mountains

Wasatch Range
View of the Wasatch Range from the Salt Lake City Public Library
Highest point
Peak	Mount Nebo
Elevation	11,928 ft (3,636 m)
Geography
Country	United States
States	Utah and Idaho
Parent range	Rocky Mountains

The Wasatch Range /ˈwɑːsætʃ/ is a mountain range that stretches approximately 160 miles (260 km) from the Utah-Idaho border, south through central Utah in the western United States. It is the western edge of the greater Rocky Mountains, and the eastern edge of the Great Basin region. The northern extension of the Wasatch Range, the Bear River Mountains, extends just into Idaho, constituting all of the Wasatch Range in that state.

According to the Utah History Encyclopedia, Wasatch in Ute means "mountain pass" or "low pass over high range." According to William Bright the mountains were named for a Shoshoni leader who was named with the Shoshoni term wasattsi, meaning "blue heron".

Since the earliest days of settlement, the majority of Utah's population has chosen to settle along the range's western front, where numerous river drainages exit the mountains. The mountains were a vital source of water, timber, and granite for early settlers. Today, 85% of Utah's population lives within 15 miles (24 km) of the Wasatch Range, mainly in the valleys just to the west. This concentration is known as the Wasatch Front and has a population of just over 2,000,000 residents. Salt Lake City lies between the Wasatch Range and the Great Salt Lake.

At 11,928 feet (3,636 m), Mount Nebo, a triple peak rising above Nephi, Utah at the southern end of the range, is the highest peak of the Wasatch. In some places the mountains rise immediately from the valley's base elevation of 4,330 feet (1,320 m) to over 11,000 feet (3,582 m), producing steep inclines. Other notable peaks include Mount Timpanogos, a massive peak which looms over northern Utah County and is especially prominent from Pleasant Grove and Orem; Lone Peak, the Twin Peaks, and Mount Olympus, which overlook the Salt Lake Valley; Francis Peak overlooking both Morgan and Davis counties; and Ben Lomond and Mount Ogden, both near Ogden, Utah.