Raft River Mountains
Encyclopedia
The Raft River Mountains are a mountain range
in northern Box Elder County
, Utah
, United States
. The ghost town
of Yost
is on the north central slopes. Tributaries of the Raft River
drain the northern slopes of the range.
, the range's montane
forest
ecoregion is "surrounded by montane steppes and desert
". The range is oriented in an east-west orientation, and is a portion of the Great Basin Divide
between the Bonneville Basin of the Great Basin
(south).
metamorphic rock
s. The Elba Quartzite with interlayered schist
outcrops along the southern slopes of the range and in the Grouse Creek Mountains to the southwest. Cambrian
quartzite
outcrops in the west part of the range and in the Grouse Creek range and the Goose Creek Mountains
to the west. The thinly bedded quartzites have been quarried for building stone in the area.
of the Columbia Plateau
.
is near a campground).
Mountain range
A mountain range is a single, large mass consisting of a succession of mountains or narrowly spaced mountain ridges, with or without peaks, closely related in position, direction, formation, and age; a component part of a mountain system or of a mountain chain...
in northern Box Elder County
Box Elder County, Utah
Box Elder County is a county located in the U.S. state of Utah. It lies on the north end of the Great Salt Lake, covering a large area north to the Idaho border and west to the Nevada border. Included in this area are large tracts of barren desert, contrasted by high, forested mountains. The...
, Utah
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...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The ghost town
Ghost town
A ghost town is an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters...
of Yost
Yost, Utah
Yost is a ghost town located in northwestern Box Elder County, Utah, on the north central slopes of the Raft River Mountains, some 115 miles northwest of Brigham City. The first name for the area was "George Creek" for a man named George, an early range rider who came to the area with Charles Yost...
is on the north central slopes. Tributaries of the Raft River
Raft River
The Raft River is a tributary of the Snake River located in northern Utah and southern Idaho in the United States. It is part of the Columbia River Basin.-Course:...
drain the northern slopes of the range.
Geography
Located in the Sawtooth National ForestSawtooth National Forest
Sawtooth National Forest is in Idaho and Utah was protected in 1905 by U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt as the Sawtooth Forest Reserve. Today the forest administers over 2.1 million acres of some of the most remote forestland in the lower 48 states, and there are over 1,000 lakes and 3,000...
, the range's montane
Montane
In biogeography, montane is the highland area located below the subalpine zone. Montane regions generally have cooler temperatures and often have higher rainfall than the adjacent lowland regions, and are frequently home to distinct communities of plants and animals.The term "montane" means "of the...
forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
ecoregion is "surrounded by montane steppes and desert
Shrub-steppe
Shrub-steppe is a type of low rainfall natural grassland. Shrub-steppes are distinguishable from deserts, which are too dry to support a noticeable cover of perennial grasses or other shrubs, while the shrub-steppe has sufficient moisture levels to support a cover of perennial grasses and/or...
". The range is oriented in an east-west orientation, and is a portion of the Great Basin Divide
Great Basin Divide
The Great Basin Divide is the western continental divide that separates the Great Basin from the Pacific Ocean watershed. The water divide is the perimeter of the largest set of contiguous endorheic watersheds of North America, including six entire USGS watershed subregions...
between the Bonneville Basin of the Great Basin
Great Basin
The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic watersheds in North America and is noted for its arid conditions and Basin and Range topography that varies from the North American low point at Badwater Basin to the highest point of the contiguous United States, less than away at the...
(south).
Geology
The central mass of the range consists of PrecambrianPrecambrian
The Precambrian is the name which describes the large span of time in Earth's history before the current Phanerozoic Eon, and is a Supereon divided into several eons of the geologic time scale...
metamorphic rock
Metamorphic rock
Metamorphic rock is the transformation of an existing rock type, the protolith, in a process called metamorphism, which means "change in form". The protolith is subjected to heat and pressure causing profound physical and/or chemical change...
s. The Elba Quartzite with interlayered schist
Schist
The schists constitute a group of medium-grade metamorphic rocks, chiefly notable for the preponderance of lamellar minerals such as micas, chlorite, talc, hornblende, graphite, and others. Quartz often occurs in drawn-out grains to such an extent that a particular form called quartz schist is...
outcrops along the southern slopes of the range and in the Grouse Creek Mountains to the southwest. Cambrian
Cambrian
The Cambrian is the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era, lasting from Mya ; it is succeeded by the Ordovician. Its subdivisions, and indeed its base, are somewhat in flux. The period was established by Adam Sedgwick, who named it after Cambria, the Latin name for Wales, where Britain's...
quartzite
Quartzite
Quartzite is a hard metamorphic rock which was originally sandstone. Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tectonic compression within orogenic belts. Pure quartzite is usually white to gray, though quartzites often occur in various shades of pink...
outcrops in the west part of the range and in the Grouse Creek range and the Goose Creek Mountains
Goose Creek Mountains
The Goose Creek Mountains are a mountain range in Box Elder County, Utah. It is also partly in Elko County, Nevada....
to the west. The thinly bedded quartzites have been quarried for building stone in the area.
Flora and fauna
The range's plants and animals include pines and rodents of the Northern Basin & Range ecoregionNorthern Basin and Range (ecoregion)
The Northern Basin and Range ecoregion is a Level III ecoregion designated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency in the U.S. states of Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, and California. It contains dissected lava plains, rolling hills, alluvial fans, valleys, and scattered mountain ranges...
of the Columbia Plateau
Columbia Plateau
The Columbia Plateau is a geologic and geographic region that lies across parts of the U.S. states of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. It is a wide flood basalt plateau between the Cascade Range and the Rocky Mountains, cut through by the Columbia River...
.
Camping and activities
The range's Bull Flat trail leads to Bull Flat, Bull Lake, and Bull Mountain and passes former mines (the trailheadTrailhead
A trailhead is the point at which a trail begins, where the trail is often intended for hiking, biking, horseback riding, or off-road vehicles...
is near a campground).