Right Fork Canyon is a major branch of

Lamoille Canyon Lamoille Canyon is the largest valley in the Ruby Mountains, located in the central portion of Elko County in the northeastern section of the state of Nevada, in the western United States. Approximately in length, it was extensively sculpted by ...

, located in the

Ruby Mountains The Ruby Mountains are a mountain range, primarily located within Elko County with a small extension into White Pine County, in Nevada, United States. Most of the range is included within the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. The range reache ...

Elko County Elko County is a county in the northeastern corner of Nevada, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 53,702. Its county seat is Elko. The county was established on March 5, 1869, from Lander County. Elko County is the fourth ...

, in the northeastern section of the state of

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

in the western

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 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Approximately 5 miles (8 km) in length, it was extensively sculpted by

glaciers 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 ...

in previous

ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gree ...

s. none, 450px, Mt. Fitzgerald and Upper Right Fork Canyon The canyon begins at the summit of Mount Fitzgerald at an elevation of 11,215 feet (3418 m), and quickly descends to its nearly level upper section. It is here that the greatest evidence for glacial sculpturing can be found. The canyon shows a classic

U-shaped Many shapes have metaphorical names, i.e., their names are metaphors: these shapes are named after a most common object that has it. For example, "U-shape" is a shape that resembles the letter U, a bell-shaped curve has the shape of the vertical ...

cross section, and many patches of bare granite still retain the dark patina and

striations Striations means a series of ridges, furrows or linear marks, and is used in several ways: * Glacial striation * Striation (fatigue), in material * Striation (geology), a ''striation'' as a result of a geological fault * Striation Valley, in ...

caused by direct contact with the lower surface of the glacier that once filled this valley. left, 350px, Glacial patina and striations in Upper Right Fork Canyon 2012-06-20 View south up Right Fork Canyon in Nevada from the northeast wall of Lamoille Canyon

2012-06-20 View south up Right Fork Canyon in Nevada from the northeast wall of Lamoille Canyon

Far below the summit of Mt. Gilbert, the canyon then makes a dramatic drop and sharp turn to enter its lower section. Near here are visible a large

geologic fault In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock across which there has been significant displacement as a result of rock-mass movements. Large faults within Earth's crust result from the action of plate tectonic ...

in the granite wall of the canyon, a steep cascade of the stream flow, and, further down, a 30-foot (10 m) falls. Having descended to an elevation of 7100 feet (2165 m), the canyon finally passes Camp Lamoille and merges with the main branch of Lamoille Canyon.

External links

Lamoille Canyon
{{commons category, Right Fork Lamoille Canyon Ruby Mountains Landforms of Elko County, Nevada

Canyons and gorges of Nevada This category contains canyons in the U.S. state of Nevada. Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the ...