Right Fork Canyon
Encyclopedia
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 glaciers in previous ice ages.Lamoille Canyon begins...
, located in the Ruby Mountains
Ruby Mountains
The Ruby Mountains comprise one of the many mountain ranges of the Great Basin in the western United States. They are the predominant range in Elko County, in the northeastern section of the state of Nevada. To the north is Secret Pass and the East Humboldt Range, and from there the Rubies run...
of Elko County
Elko County, Nevada
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 45,291 people, 15,638 households, and 11,493 families residing in the county. The population density was 3/sq mi . There were 18,456 housing units at an average density of 1/sq mi...
, in the northeastern section of the state of Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
in the western United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Approximately 5 miles (8 km) in length, it was extensively sculpted
Glacial landforms
Glacial landforms are those created by the action of glaciers. Most of today's glacial landforms were created by the movement of large ice sheets during the Quaternary glaciations...
by glaciers in previous ice age
Ice age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
s.
Glacial striations
Glacial striations or glacial grooves are scratches or gouges cut into bedrock by process of glacial abrasion. Glacial striations usually occur as multiple straight, parallel grooves representing the movement of the sediment-loaded base of the glacier...
caused by direct contact with the lower surface of the glacier that once filled this valley.
Mount Gilbert (Nevada)
Mount Gilbert, the sixth highest named peak of the Ruby Mountains and the eighth highest in Elko County, is located in the northeast portion of the state of Nevada in the western United States. It is a spectacular part of the view from state route 227 in Lamoille Valley, rising over above the...
, the canyon then makes a dramatic drop and sharp turn to enter its lower section. Near here are visible a large geologic fault
Geologic fault
In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock, across which there has been significant displacement along the fractures as a result of earth movement. Large faults within the Earth's crust result from the action of tectonic forces...
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.