Confusion Range
Encyclopedia
The Confusion Range is a north-south trending mountain range in west-central Utah
. It is bounded by Snake Valley to the west, Tule Valley
to the east, the Great Salt Lake Desert
to the north, and the Ferguson Desert
to the south. The range trends into the Burbank Hills
, Mountain Home Range
, and the Wah Wah Mountains
to the south. In the central part of the range, an offshoot of the mountains to the west is known as the Conger Range. The Confusion Range is named for its "rugged isolation and confusing topography."
The highest peaks in the range are Conger Mountain 39.23328°N 113.700817°W, which is 7,713 feet tall, and King Top 38.910000°N 113.529666°W, which is 8,350 feet tall.
The geology of the Confusion range is deformed Silurian
to Permian
limestone
s, dolomite
s, and shale
s.
There are three main ways to travel through the Confusion Range:
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
. It is bounded by Snake Valley to the west, Tule Valley
Tule Valley
Tule Valley, also known as White Valley, is a north-south trending endorheic valley within the Great Basin , Great Basin Desert , and Basin and Range Province of west-central Utah...
to the east, the Great Salt Lake Desert
Great Salt Lake Desert
The Great Salt Lake Desert is a large dry lake in northern Utah between the Great Salt Lake and the Nevada border which is noted for white sand from evaporite Lake Bonneville salt deposits...
to the north, and the Ferguson Desert
Ferguson Desert
The Ferguson Desert is a small valley in the Hamlin-Snake Watershed of west-central Utah, southeast of the Snake Valley to the northwest, and is bound by the Burbank Hills to the west, the Tunnel Springs Mountains, Pine Valley, and Wah Wah Valley to the south, and the House Range to the north and...
to the south. The range trends into the Burbank Hills
Burbank Hills
The Burbank Hills is a small northwest-southeast mountain range in western Utah that lies entirely within Hamlin-Snake Watershed between the Snake Range and, to the northeast and east, the Ferguson Desert. It is bounded by Snake Valley to the north, west, and south; and trends into the Tunnel...
, Mountain Home Range
Mountain Home Range
The Mountain Home Range is a north-south trending mountain range in western Beaver County in southwest Utah, United States. It is part of the Basin and Range Province. It is bound by Hamlin Valley to the west, Snake Valley to the north, Pine Valley to the east, and trends into the Indian Peak...
, and the Wah Wah Mountains
Wah Wah Mountains
The Wah Wah Mountains are a north-south trending range in west-central Utah, part of the larger Basin and Range Province. It is bound by Pine Valley to the west, Wah Wah Valley to the east, the Escalante Desert to the south, and on trend with the Confusion Range to the north. The Wah Wah...
to the south. In the central part of the range, an offshoot of the mountains to the west is known as the Conger Range. The Confusion Range is named for its "rugged isolation and confusing topography."
The highest peaks in the range are Conger Mountain 39.23328°N 113.700817°W, which is 7,713 feet tall, and King Top 38.910000°N 113.529666°W, which is 8,350 feet tall.
The geology of the Confusion range is deformed Silurian
Silurian
The Silurian is a geologic period and system that extends from the end of the Ordovician Period, about 443.7 ± 1.5 Mya , to the beginning of the Devonian Period, about 416.0 ± 2.8 Mya . As with other geologic periods, the rock beds that define the period's start and end are well identified, but the...
to Permian
Permian
The PermianThe term "Permian" was introduced into geology in 1841 by Sir Sir R. I. Murchison, president of the Geological Society of London, who identified typical strata in extensive Russian explorations undertaken with Edouard de Verneuil; Murchison asserted in 1841 that he named his "Permian...
limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
s, dolomite
Dolomite
Dolomite is a carbonate mineral composed of calcium magnesium carbonate CaMg2. The term is also used to describe the sedimentary carbonate rock dolostone....
s, and shale
Shale
Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals and tiny fragments of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite. The ratio of clay to other minerals is variable. Shale is characterized by breaks along thin laminae or parallel layering...
s.
There are three main ways to travel through the Confusion Range:
- Around the north end, from Callao, UtahCallao, UtahCallao is a small farming community in northern Snake Valley, along the border of Juab County and Tooele County, Utah, United States. It was part of the original Pony Express overland route, and was first called Willow Springs in 1860. E. W. Tripp, his wife and son, were the first to establish...
to Sand Pass - On old Highway 6/50, on a dirt road through Cowboy Pass
- On US Highway 6/US Highway 50, through Kings Canyon (Utah)Kings Canyon (Utah)Kings Canyon is a canyon within the Confusion Range in Millard County, Utah. US Highway 6/US Highway 50 runs through the windy canyon. The area in and around the canyon is unpopulated, and is only used by humans for transportation and some sheep herding....