G.

K Gilbert Geologic View Park

Emmanuel Toledo

Geology 1010

April 5, 2019

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 The G.K. Gilbert Park is located near Little Cottonwood Canyon, it is known for its

geologic sites and features. This location is famous for its landscape, bedrock, proximity to the

Wasatch Fault and many other features (Eldredge, GeoSights). The park is surrounded by

manmade accommodations such as roads and cross roads for traffic and bicyclists to use. There

are also benches that surround the area for the enjoyment of the public. Along the park there are

fences and pavement placed alongside dirt roads that sport houses. There are houses along the side

of the park of varying heights. However, the focal point of this location is the basin, the mountains

and the history of the area.

Along the base of the mountain and a way up there is a neighborhood of houses. From this

location you can see that the valley is wide and located within a basin. The basin is u-shaped which

looks like half of a wide cylinder tube. The mountain itself is large with many colors, some of the

most prominent colors are beige, blue and black on the steep slopes. When looking at the

mountains there appears to be minuscule amounts of glacial snow on the peaks. This is common

for the winter and early spring seasons. Along the basin there are boulders that are stacked on the

side of the hill that go in every direction. At the main park there are benches that are located on

gravel, sand and surrounded by granite stones. There are glades of grass that border the side of the

road.

Approximately 15,000 years ago, most of G.K. Gilbert Park was under Lake Bonneville.

Standing at certain parts of the park would have been like standing at the beach in front of Lake

Bonneville (Eldredge, GeoSights). From this beach you could have sailed to Idaho, Nevada, or

within 30 miles of Cedar City, Utah. Ultimately this ancient lake shaped much of the landscape

in G.K. Gilbert Park (Eldredge, GeoSights). There are wave-cut benches, deltas and other aspects

that are a result of the rise and fall of Lake Bonneville.

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 Moreover, geological surveys show that between 30,000 to 10,000 years ago, glaciers

covered Utah’s high mountains and plateaus (Utah Geological Survey - State of Utah). In fact this

time table is most often referred to as the last Ice Age. In the basin great depths of snow

accumulated approximately 10,000 feet in elevation causing glaciers to form. These great masses

of ice eventually extended downslope to elevations as low as 5,000 feet in some areas. (Utah

Geological Survey - State of Utah) During that time, the climate was extremely cold, however how

much colder is still up to debate, some estimate that it experienced temperatures 45° to 60°F colder

and wetter (Utah Geological Survey - State of Utah). They also estimated that the precipitation

level was 33 percent more than what it currently is. All of these occurrences also influences and

shaped the landscape to what we see today.

In addition, thorough research shows that there are many dangers living and settling in G.

K. Gilbert Park due to the proximity to the Wasatch Fault. The Wasatch Fault is one of the longest

and most active faults of its kind in the world (Eldredge, GeoSights). The fault is divided into 10

segments and each segment averages 25 miles in length (Eldredge, GeoSights). Each of these

segments act independently and are sources for large earthquakes. Seismic activity such as

earthquakes along the Wasatch Fault can result in an earthquake of a 7.5 magnitude.

Moreover, surveys show that there are geologic-hazards and the potential of liquefaction

in this area as well as landslides, surface-fault ruptures, debris-flow and an alluvial-fan flooding

hazards. They keep track of these potential hazards through GIS datasets and through their

database. Moreover, they also keep track of potential rock fall, stream flooding and problematic

soils (Utah Geological Survey - State of Utah). All of these hazards are especially dangerous

because of the houses and buildings that are surrounding the park.

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 Aside from all the landscape and potential hazards G.K Gilbert Park is rich in history. G.K

Gilbert Park is a historical location for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

In the year 1853, Latter-day Saints found the granite they would use to construct the well-known

Salt Lake City Temple. There were workmen assigned to bringing back enormous slabs of granite

from the base of Little Cottonwood Canyon. Initially these three-ton blocks of granite were hauled

from the canyon to the temple site in Salt Lake City by ox teams. Each trip took three to five days.

In the year 1873, the railroad was completed and a branch track was built that led to and from the

quarry allowing the workers to use the rail cars to transport the granite. This change greatly

impacted the progress of the Salt Lake Temple (Utah Geological Survey - State of Utah 5. SALT

LAKE CITY LDS TEMPLE).

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 Cited work

Eldredge, Sandy. “GeoSights: G.K. Gilbert Geologic View Park, Salt Lake County, Utah.” Utah

Geological Survey, geology.utah.gov/map-pub/survey-notes/geosights/g-k-gilbert-

geologic-view-park/

Are there glaciers in Utah's mountains? (n.d.). Retrieved from https://geology.utah.gov/map-

pub/survey-notes/glad-you-asked/does-utah-have-glaciers/

5. Salt Lake City LDS Temple. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://geology.utah.gov/popular/places-to-

go/geologic-guides/building-stones-of-downtown-salt-lake-city/stop-5/

UGS Compiles GIS Database Showing Geologic-Hazard Special-Study Areas for the Wasatch

Front. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://geology.utah.gov/map-pub/survey-notes/geologic-hazard-

special-study-area-of-wasatch-front/

UGS Compiles GIS Database Showing Geologic-Hazard Special-Study Areas for the Wasatch

Front. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://geology.utah.gov/map-pub/survey-notes/geologic-hazard-

special-study-area-of-wasatch-front/

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 Mountain observations
LEFT IMAGE: These mountains where one of the

first landscapes I saw. There is vegetation upon the

mountain, the colors are yellow green, blue, orange,

and bronze. There is a large gap between the

mountains. There are draws, lines, boulders that are

cracking, and large.

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 Granite observation

Along the park there are many granite rocks of all sizes.

The colors: black, white, orange, and grey. On the rocks

there are many levels and chips. Some rocks are round

and smooth while others are jagged and sharp.

Moreover, some are very shiny, rough, heavy and

spread all over the area.

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 Sand/gravel observation

The sand along the path is a mixture between coarse

grains and fine grains. There is grass along the sandy

parts. It is also moist in some areas depending on

where you are standing. There are small pebbles of

rocks spread everywhere on the ground there is

different varieties of color and sizes. Some of the

rocks feel very light when you pick them up. (Image

below).

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 Granite with mechanical pencil #1

In this image I am using a mechanical pencil

as a ruler to give you an understanding of the

size of these granite rocks. In this rock there

are three lines parallel from one to another.

There are bedding of different depths. I found

several Igneous rocks that compare to the rock

pictured to the left.

Granite with mechanical pencil #2

This is another example of Granite that

has variation, its surface is rough and

textured. When touching the surface, it

is not smooth and has lumpy areas.

When I removed my from handling the

rock I noticed sparkly specks.

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Map of the G.K Gilbert park

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