Aspen Mountain (Wyoming)

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Aspen Mountain, Wyoming

Aspen Mountain Wyoming, from the north.
Elevation 8,655 feet (2,638 m)
Location Sweetwater County, Wyoming
Coordinates 41°26′05.64″N 109°06′59.16″W / 41.4349, -109.1164333
Easiest route Access Road

Aspen Mountain is a long mountain located approximately 12 miles (19 km) south of Rock Springs, Wyoming and 5.5 miles (8.9 km) south of Arrowhead Springs, in Sweetwater County. The mountain gets its name from patches of Quaking Aspen trees located on the north and southern faces of the mountain. Various older topographical maps name the mountain "Quaking Aspen Mountain". Its primary use is for radio communications and it houses towers for various local and state companies.

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[edit] Other uses

The mountain is named for its patches of Quaking Aspen trees on the north and south face.
The mountain is named for its patches of Quaking Aspen trees on the north and south face.

Aspen Mountain also houses repeaters used by local highway patrol and local police and fire services for Sweetwater County,[1] which are also present on nearby Wilkins Peak. If the local emergency repeaters on Aspen Mountain fail, they are automatically switched to the Wilkins Peak repeaters, and vice versa. The mountain also houses amateur radio repeaters,[2][3] and a long range radar station (operated by the FAA) is the mountain's most visible feature.

[edit] Geology

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Aspen Mountain lies to the north of the Uinta Mountains in the center of the Greater Green River Basin. It is part of the Rock Springs Uplift, an area of uplifted Cretaceous to Tertiary rocks surrounded by the Green River Formation, formed in the so called Lake Gosiute.[4] The Rock Springs Uplift formed in the Late Cretaceous by large-scale folding.[5] Aspen Mountain is composed of Miocene deposits.[6]

[edit] Access

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Aspen Mountain can be accessed via a number of routes. From Rock Springs, access starts from Blairtown/Flaming Gorge Road, and begins on a road known as Little Bitter Creek Road. Aspen Mountain can also be accessed via county highway 4-27, which begins on Wyoming Highway 430. From the south, the mountain can be accessed via US 191. The roads are usually in good condition year round, weather permitting. Travel is still possible during winter months, but a four wheel drive vehicle is recommended. The road on the mountain itself is known as "Radar Tower Road." Most of the mountain is not off limits, except for various radio towers with fences and the long range radar station, which features no trespassing signs and a fence around its perimeter. The radar site is also manned 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with up to two employees watching the site at a time. In the winter, their only means of travel is often via Snowcats.

[edit] Radio and television stations

The eastern half of the mountain contains most of the TV and FM transmitters.
The eastern half of the mountain contains most of the TV and FM transmitters.
The FAA radar station at the highest point on Aspen Mountain.
The FAA radar station at the highest point on Aspen Mountain.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Sweetwater County Homeland Security
  2. ^ Sweetwater Amateur Radio Club repeaters
  3. ^ The Utah VHF Society
  4. ^ Alan Caroll: Green River, Department of Geology & Geophysics, University of Wisconsin-Madison
  5. ^ Selena Mederos, Basil Tikoff1 and Viki Bankey: Geometry, timing, and continuity of the Rock Springs uplift, Wyoming, and Douglas Creek arch, Colorado, Rocky Mountain Geology, Volume 40, Number 2, p. 167-191, December 2005 Abstract
  6. ^ Map of Bedrock Geology of the Green River Basin and Great Divide Basin, Wyoming, Green River Basin Water Plan
  7. ^ FCC Query for KQSW
  8. ^ FCC Query for KSIT
  9. ^ FCC Query for KGWR-TV
  10. ^ FCC Query for K26DK
  11. ^ FCC Query for K45IA
  12. ^ KXI34 Coverage map (NOAA)

[edit] Gallery

The All-Hazards NOAA weather station KXI34 radio tower.

The road in the winter is often impassable without a four wheel drive vehicle.

The west central radio towers, mostly used by local and state companies.

The far western side of the mountain houses radio towers owned by telephone companies such as Qwest.

Arrowhead Springs, Wyoming, with Aspen Mountain to the south.

[edit] External links