Little Cottonwood Canyon lies within the Wasatch-Cache National Forest along the eastern side of the

Salt Lake Valley Salt Lake Valley is a valley in Salt Lake County in the north-central portion of the U.S. state of Utah. It contains Salt Lake City and many of its suburbs, notably Murray, Sandy, South Jordan, West Jordan, and West Valley City; its total ...

, roughly 15 miles from

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

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 ...

. The canyon is part of

Granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies un ...

, a CDP and "Community Council" designated by

Salt Lake County Salt Lake County is located in the U.S. state of Utah. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 1,185,238, making it the most populous county in Utah. Its county seat and largest city is Salt Lake City, the state capital. The cou ...

. The canyon is a

glacial trough U-shaped valleys, also called trough valleys or glacial troughs, are formed by the process of glaciation. They are characteristic of mountain glaciation in particular. They have a characteristic U shape in cross-section, with steep, straight s ...

("U" shaped canyon), carved by an

alpine glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such as ...

during the last ice age, 15,000 to 25,000 years ago. A number of rare and endemic plant species are found in the canyon's Albion Basin.

Mountain goat The mountain goat (''Oreamnos americanus''), also known as the Rocky Mountain goat, is a hoofed mammal endemic to mountainous areas of western North America. A subalpine to alpine species, it is a sure-footed climber commonly seen on cliffs an ...

s inhabit the surrounding mountains. The

Salt Lake Temple The Salt Lake Temple is a temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. At , it is the largest Latter-day Saint temple by floor area. Dedicated in 1893, it is the sixth templ ...

of the

LDS Church The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The c ...

was built of blocks of

quartz monzonite Quartz monzonite is an intrusive, felsic, igneous rock that has an approximately equal proportion of orthoclase and plagioclase feldspars. It is typically a light colored phaneritic (coarse-grained) to porphyritic granitic rock. The plagio ...

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies un ...

, and

granodiorite Granodiorite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock similar to granite, but containing more plagioclase feldspar than orthoclase feldspar. The term banatite is sometimes used informally for various rocks ranging from gr ...

which Latter Day Saint pioneers quarried from the Little Cottonwood Stock near the mouth of the canyon. State Route 210 is the primary access road to the canyon, running from the canyon mouth up to Alta.

Little Cottonwood Creek Little Cottonwood Creek is one of the principal streams entering Salt Lake Valley from the east. The creek rises near the summit of the Wasatch Mountains, a short distance south of the ski resort town of Alta, and flows in a westerly direction thr ...

runs down the length of the canyon, beginning at Cecret Lake at Alta and flowing westward.

Geology

The Little Cottonwood

stock In finance, stock (also capital stock) consists of all the shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided.Longman Business English Dictionary: "stock - ''especially AmE'' one of the shares into which ownership of a compan ...

is a

granitic A granitoid is a generic term for a diverse category of coarse-grained igneous rocks that consist predominantly of quartz, plagioclase, and alkali feldspar. Granitoids range from plagioclase-rich tonalites to alkali-rich syenites and from quartz- ...

intrusion In geology, an igneous intrusion (or intrusive body or simply intrusion) is a body of intrusive igneous rock that forms by crystallization of magma slowly cooling below the surface of the Earth. Intrusions have a wide variety of forms and com ...

that extends from the mouth of the canyon almost to Snowbird ski resort. It is

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but t ...

in age, roughly 30.5 to 29 million years old, composed primarily of

, and granite, with some

mafic A mafic mineral or rock is a silicate mineral or igneous rock rich in magnesium and iron. Most mafic minerals are dark in color, and common rock-forming mafic minerals include olivine, pyroxene, amphibole, and biotite. Common mafic rocks in ...

enclaves An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

. The Little Cottonwood stock is intruded in its northeast corner by another unit called the White Pine intrusion, and other smaller igneous units, collectively about 27-26 million years old, which are the source of the inactive White Pine

molybdenum Molybdenum is a chemical element with the symbol Mo and atomic number 42 which is located in period 5 and group 6. The name is from Neo-Latin ''molybdaenum'', which is based on Ancient Greek ', meaning lead, since its ores were confused with lead ...

ore deposit in White Pine fork. The intrusion and its associated ore deposit have several interesting features, including quartz-bearing porphyry, pebble dikes, and other features related to

hydrothermal Hydrothermal circulation in its most general sense is the circulation of hot water (Ancient Greek ὕδωρ, ''water'',Liddell, H.G. & Scott, R. (1940). ''A Greek-English Lexicon. revised and augmented throughout by Sir Henry Stuart Jones. with th ...

ore deposit Ore is natural rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals, typically containing metals, that can be mined, treated and sold at a profit.Encyclopædia Britannica. "Ore". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 7 April ...

processes, and possibly

volcanism Volcanism, vulcanism or volcanicity is the phenomenon of eruption of molten rock (magma) onto the surface of the Earth or a solid-surface planet or moon, where lava, pyroclastics, and volcanic gases erupt through a break in the surface called a ...

, that occurred during intrusion. The intrusion is also the footwall of the East Traverse Mountain Mega-Landslide, and its presence is probably a second-order control on the cause of the landslide, in addition to the elevation gradient caused by the nearby

Wasatch Fault The Wasatch Fault is an active fault located primarily on the western edge of the Wasatch Mountains in the U.S. states of Utah and Idaho. The fault is about long, stretching from southern Idaho, through northern Utah, before terminating in cen ...

Recreational activities

Recreational activities in Little Cottonwood Canyon include hiking, camping, fishing, mountain biking, rock climbing, Bouldering, skiing, snowboarding, and backcountry use. There are two resorts in the canyon, Alta and Snowbird, providing both summer and winter recreational opportunities. The

Utah Native Plant Society The Utah Native Plant Society (UNPS) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the appreciation, preservation, conservation and responsible use of the native plants and plant communities found in the state of Utah and the Intermountain West. Its ...

often conducts wildflower walks at Albion Basin and in other locations in the canyon. The road is approximately 8.3 miles from the base of the canyon to the top with an average grade of 9.2%, making it a popular road cycling challenge.

Skiing and snowboarding

Little Cottonwood Canyon is home to two ski areas, Snowbird and Alta. Both areas are well known for the amount of snow they receive each year with Alta averaging around 550 inches per year. The canyon is also well known for its backcountry skiing access, with over 300 named backcountry runs including one of the most prominent peaks in the canyon,

Mount Superior Mount Superior (also known as Superior Peak) is an mountain peak in the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States. With prominent visibility from Utah State Route 210 in Little Cottonwood Canyon, and bein ...

Rock climbing

The lower third of the canyon is strewn with

, granite, and granodiorite outcroppings, mostly consisting of smooth steep faces, some up to several hundred feet high. Local climbers informally refer to the rock as

, which is a close relative to quartz monzonite. The earliest recorded climbing activity dates from the 1930s, when Harold Goodro put up some routes before shifting to predominantly climbing on the quartzite of

Big Cottonwood Canyon Big Cottonwood Canyon is a canyon in the Wasatch Range southeast of Salt Lake City in the U.S. state of Utah. The -long canyon provides hiking, biking, picnicking, rock-climbing, camping, and fishing in the summer. Its two ski resorts, Brig ...

and elsewhere. Many of the major routes in Little Cottonwood were established in the early 1960s by the Alpenbock Club, some in conjunction with well-known visitors including

Fred Beckey Friedrich Wolfgang Beckey (14 January 1923 – 30 October 2017), known as Fred Beckey, was an American rock climber, mountaineer and book author, who in seven decades of climbing achieved hundreds of first ascents of the tallest peaks and best ro ...

Layton Kor Layton Kor (June 11, 1938 – April 21, 2013) was an American rock climber active in the 1960s, whose first ascents and drive for climbing are well known in the climbing world. His routes included many climbs in Eldorado Canyon, near Boulder ...

, and

Royal Robbins Royal Robbins (February 3, 1935 – March 14, 2017) was one of the pioneers of American rock climbing. After learning to climb at Tahquitz Rock, he went on to make first ascents of many big wall routes in Yosemite. As an early proponent of bol ...

. The Lowes –

George Lowe George Edward Lowe (born November 10, 1957) is an American voice actor and comedian whose voice roles include Space Ghost on the animated series ''Space Ghost Coast to Coast'' and its spin-off, ''Cartoon Planet''.Greg Lowe, and

Jeff Lowe Jeff Lowe (September 13, 1950 - August 24, 2018) was a famed American alpinist from Ogden, Utah who was known for his visionary climbs and first ascents established in the US and Canadian Rockies, Alps and Himalayas. He was a proponent of the ...

– came to prominence through the rest of the 1960s and early 1970s. More recent climbers have pushed the standards to the highest levels, establishing several 5.13 routes. Access can be a problem. On the north side, the "Church Buttress" above the LDS Church vault, and the Black Peeler Buttress, are on private land and not legally accessible, as are parts of the south side. This still leaves some 20-odd named buttresses and gullies available for climbing, mostly on the north side. Approaches involve parking alongside the road and hiking a short distance up through

scrub oak Scrub oak is a common name for several species of small, shrubby oaks. It may refer to: *the Chaparral plant community in California, or to one of the following species. In California *California scrub oak (''Quercus berberidifolia''), a widespr ...

, sometimes scrambling through fields of enormous boulders. Face climbing is the predominant technique, typically using bolts and cracks for protection, but there are many notable crack climbs as well. Most routes are 2-4 pitches in length, with walkoffs involving still more scrub oak. The highest-quality face routes are to be found on The Fin, an almost-featureless expanse high above the canyon. Its route The Dorsal Fin (5.10d) is a classic of the Wasatch; first ascended by George Lowe and Mark McQuarrie in 1965, the bolts of this four-pitch were all drilled on the lead. The canyon also includes Gate Buttress, whose 80+ routes include the aptly named Schoolroom (5.6), a five-pitch route requiring a wide variety of techniques, along with routes ranging up to 5.12a in difficulty. Below the buttress and near the road is the Gate Boulder, a popular gathering spot shaded by large trees. The

Pfeifferhorn The Pfeifferhorn is the triangularly-shaped peak located in the most isolated part of the Lone Peak Wilderness Area of the Wasatch Mountains The Wasatch Range ( ) or Wasatch Mountains is a mountain range in the western United States that r ...

is one of the highest peaks to climb in the Wasatch. The peak is usually climbed from the Red Pine Lake area, a ten-mile roundtrip climb that gains 3,700 feet. The peak was named after Chuck Pfeiffer, a Wasatch Club leader from long ago. With 529 climbs currently established, Little Cottonwood Canyon has the second most

bouldering Bouldering is a form of free climbing that is performed on small rock formations or artificial rock walls without the use of ropes or harnesses. While bouldering can be done without any equipment, most climbers use climbing shoes to help se ...

routes in Utah. These routes vary in difficulty, from V0 to V16. Some of the most commonly climbed areas throughout the canyon include Secret Garden, 5 Mile, and White Pine.

Gallery

File:LCLfallfoliage2005.JPG, Fall Foliage in the canyon (September 2005) File:SnowbirdHiddenPeak1.jpg, View of

from Hidden Peak summit (2004) File:QuakiesSEP2005.JPG, Quaking Aspens (September 2005) File:AlbionBasinWF1.jpg, Albion Basin

Wildflower A wildflower (or wild flower) is a flower that grows in the wild, meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted. The term implies that the plant probably is neither a hybrid nor a selected cultivar that is in any way different from the ...

s (July 2004) File:Xenoliths Little Cottonwood Canyon.JPG,

Xenolith A xenolith ("foreign rock") is a rock fragment ( country rock) that becomes enveloped in a larger rock during the latter's development and solidification. In geology, the term ''xenolith'' is almost exclusively used to describe inclusions in ig ...

s in

of the Alta Stock at the east end of the canyon (1997) File:UshapedValleyUT.JPG, U-shaped valley carved by a glacier in Little Cottonwood Canyon (July 2008)

References

;Bibliography * Bret Ruckman and Stuart Ruckman, ''Wasatch Climbing North'' (Chockstone Press, 1991, )

External links

Utah Native Plant Society
{{Authority control Canyons and gorges of Utah Canyons and gorges of Salt Lake County, Utah Wasatch Range Wasatch-Cache National Forest Climbing areas of Utah Protected areas of Salt Lake County, Utah