Works Cited

Baker, A. A., Huddle, J. W., & Kinney, D. M. (1949). Paleozoic geology of north and west sides

of Uinta Basin, Utah. AAPG Bulletin, 33(7), 1161-1197.

Crittenden Jr, M. D. (1976). Stratigraphic and structural setting of the Cottonwood area, Utah.

Ehlers, T. A., & Chan, M. A. (1999). Tidal sedimentology and estuarine deposition of the

Proterozoic Big Cottonwood Formation, Utah. Journal of Sedimentary Research, 69(6).

James, L. P. (1979). Geology, ore deposits, and history of the Big Cottonwood mining district,

Salt Lake County, Utah (Vol. 114). Utah Geological Survey.

Marjorie A. Chan, Dept. of Geology & Geophysics, University of Utah.

geology.utah.gov/popular/places-to.../geologic...canyons/big-cottonwood-canyon/
 Big Cottonwood Canyon is home to many unique and intriguing geologic features. Some

of these features include mud cracks, tectonic folding, ancient glacial activity, and

metamorphism. These geologic elements are the cause of the unique landforms we observe in

Big Cottonwood Canyon today and it is these elements that will be discussed in the following

research paper.

The Cottonwood area is very unique due to its location along the Wasatch Fault. Over

time this caused the prehistoric basin landforms to thrust upwards through tectonic plate activity

creating the canyon we continue to study today (Crittenden Jr, M. D., 1976). The Wasatch Fault

also caused a lot of folding and uplift to occur on the ancient basin area creating the more

mountainous region familiar to us today.

The bottom of the canyon reveals the tidal environment once present here. This is

recognized by the abundant layers of quartzite and shale along the canyon walls for the first six

miles up the canyon (Marjorie A. Chan). The once flat-laid canyon walls represent the ancient

sediment of an ocean shoreline once present in the tidal environment.

Progressing further up the canyon the sediment along the canyon walls begins to change

as the landscape transgresses from an ancient shoreline to an ancient sea nearly seven hundred

million years old (Marjorie A. Chan). The evidence of this ancient sea is clear to see in the blue

to purple shale deposits about six miles up the canyon (Image 1). Originally deposited as silt and

mud near the sea’s shore these deposits were most likely dried up by erosional activity creating

the mud crack patterns as seen in image 2 (Ehlers, T. A., & Chan, M. A. 1999). After forming,

these tidal flat mud cracks were compacted then tilted up to their present position due to

movement along the Wasatch Fault (Ehlers, T. A., & Chan, M. A. 1999).
 Moving up past the large shale deposits the remnants of a continental shelf hundreds of

millions of years old becomes visible. This time period, referred to as the Mississippian age,

once was home to many coral reefs and prehistoric fish that over time broke down through the

forces of erosion creating the debris of the ocean floor. Millions of years later and by much heat

and pressure the thick debris was compacted into rocks and minerals now visible on the canyon

walls (Baker, A. A., Huddle, J. W., & Kinney, D. M., 1949). One of these more prominent

minerals developed during this period was limestone.

The limestone lining both sides of the road as you move up the canyon is very easy to

spot due to its bright white color (Image 5). It appears this way because of bleaching that

occurred while the limestone was recrystallized into marble (Baker, A. A., Huddle, J. W., &

Kinney, D. M., 1949). This compressed limestone, or Mississippian Marble, is commonly found

throughout the majority of Big Cottonwood Canyon which further emphasizes the hypothesis of

a once ancient sea and provides evidence of such through the clues left behind in the sediment.

Even further up the road, at about mile nine, the canyon opens up in a large “U-shaded”

area known as Reynolds Flat. This flat is home to a wide variety of rock types including shale,

quartzite, sandstone, and even granite. This large variety of minerals is quite unusual in such a

concentrated area and is likely to have been centralized to the same location due to glacial

activity thousands of years ago (Marjorie A. Chan). This unique topography was formed by

glacial ice near the top of the canyon until it eventually slid down the mountain shearing rock

and sediment in its path until if suddenly came to a stop at Reynolds Flat (Marjorie A. Chan).

The rock and sediment at Reynolds Flat is primarily gathered around the edges of the “U-

shaped” opening where the glacier came to a halt and, over time, melted. The reason for such a
selection of different rock types can be attributed to the large glacier’s destructive path down the

canyon. This event tore open rock and sediment layers previously buried and pushed these varied

layers of sediment nearly five miles down the mountainside (James, L. P. 1979).

I was able to observe many of the different rock types walking around the edge of the flat

(Image 6). Rocks such as granite, once buried deep under the earth, became exposed to the

Earth’s surface, while other rock types, such as shale and sandstone, were simply scraped off top

sedimentary layers causing very different rock types not usually seen together to be gathered in

one central location, making Reynolds Flat an extremely intriguing geological study.

Today the rock layers of Big Cottonwood Canyon are used in many different ways than

they were in the past. Geological uplift has made the canyon a very popular location for activities

such as hiking, mountain biking, and rock climbing. The multiple trails throughout the canyon

make it a great hiking and mountain biking location while the uplifted rock faces are widely used

throughout the spring and summer season for rock climbing and bouldering. The peak of the

canyon’s slopes is currently utilized for skiing and snowboarding at Brighton Ski Resort during

the winter months.

Big Cottonwood Canyon is unique in so many different ways there is bound to be

something for everyone. So, whether you are looking for a fun activity throughout the year or are

studying the geological past of Utah’s canyons through sediment layers, Big Cottonwood

Canyon is a great place to be.