Wilkins Peak

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Wilkins Peak

Wilkins Peak, Sweetwater County, Wyoming
Elevation 7,650 feet (2,332 m)
Location Sweetwater County, Wyoming
Coordinates 41°29′47.44″N, 109°20′45.15″W[1]
Easiest route Access Road
The remains of the KUWZ tower still present in 2005
The remains of the KUWZ tower still present in 2005
The tower for KYCS 95.1 FM, Rock Springs, Wyoming
The tower for KYCS 95.1 FM, Rock Springs, Wyoming

Wilkins Peak is a small mountain located in Sweetwater County, Wyoming, between the cities of Green River and Rock Springs. It is primarily used for radio and television station transmitters, but it also serves radio needs of the FAA, EMS, and local businesses such as Questar Gas. In 2003, a tower on the peak was knocked down by a vehicle delivering propane to customers. The tower was owned by Wyoming Public Radio and was serving the local area with programming from National Public Radio. There are numerous access roads to the peak and it is not gated and open year round, weather permitting. Along with the radio uses, the mountain is also a popular location for mountain biking and hiking. The mountain contains geology typical of its location in southwestern Wyoming.

Contents

[edit] Geology

Along with other mountains in southwestern Wyoming, Wilkins Peak is part of the Green River Formation, a formation of the intermontane Lake Gosiute environment during the Eocene epoch. Similar to its neighboring Aspen Mountain, Wilkins Peak is part of the Rock Springs Uplift.[2] The Rock Springs Uplift itself formed in the Late Cretaceous period by large-scale folding.[3] Some of the largest oil shale and trona beds in the region are located on the mountain. Wilkins Peak also has its own distinct segment of the Green River Formation, which is known as the Wilkins Peak Formation.[4] [5] The peak itself is 7,650 feet (2,332 m) in elevation and is located 8.18 miles (13 km) from Rock Springs, Wyoming and 6.3 miles (10 km) from Green River, Wyoming.

[edit] Radio and television uses

Wilkins Peak holds radio towers for several FM radio and television stations. Stations include KYCS (95.1 FM) and its sister stations KFRZ and KZWB (97.9 FM). Several television translators transmit their signals from two small towers located in the center of Wilkins Peak. Additionally, the PBS television station K22BK and the religious television network TBN, known locally as K35CN, share two towers on the mountain.[6]

Wilkins Peak also has repeater towers for the Wyoming Highway Patrol and local police, fire, and EMS services. The emergency radio repeaters on the mountain are used in conjunction with other repeaters located on nearby Aspen Mountain and Mansface Hill.[7]

In September 2003, a commercial truck delivering propane to customers on the peak knocked down the then-existent KUWZ tower after the vehicle's brakes failed. The collapse of the tower knocked out power to the mountain for several hours, and while KUWZ borrowed space from neighboring towers for several months thereafter, the station ultimately relocated its transmitter to nearby Aspen Mountain.[8][9]

[edit] Accessing the peak

Wilkins Peak is not gated, and it can be reached via an unpaved road known as Wilkins Peak Road that starts on U.S. Route 191 southwest of Rock Springs, Wyoming. The mountain can also be accessed via another unpaved road that begins in the Scott's Bottom Nature Area in Green River, Wyoming. The peak is accessible year-round, weather permitting. The Green River access road is in worse shape than the Rock Springs side, and it has several road hazards such as steep grades, poor grading, and off-road vehicle traffic. Along with serving radio needs, the peak also is a popular hiking and mountain biking location in the area. There are many smaller roads and trails that spring from the peak that offer varied degrees of challenge.[10][11]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Wilkins Peak USGS Wilkins Peak Quad, Wyoming, Topographic Map (html). United States Geological Survey. Retrieved on 2008-04-18.
  2. ^ Alan Caroll: Green River, Department of Geology & Geophysics, University of Wisconsin-Madison
  3. ^ 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
  4. ^ Eugster, H.P.; Hardie, L.A. (1975). "Sedimentation in an ancient playa-lake complex; the Wilkins Peak Member of the Green River Formation of Wyoming". Bulletin of the Geological Society of America 86 (3): 319-334. 
  5. ^ Green River Formation (html). University of California Museum of Paleontology. Retrieved on 2008-04-19.
  6. ^ Rock Springs FCC TV Query (html). Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved on 2008-04-18.
  7. ^ WY Public Safety Mobile Communications Steering Committee Meeting (PDF). State of Wyoming, Wyolink (2002-12-20). Retrieved on 2008-04-18.
  8. ^ Kathy Gilbert (2003-09-17). Local WPR has bad gas (txt). The Green River Star. Retrieved on 2008-04-18.
  9. ^ Wilkins Peak Radio Tower Information and Pictures (html). Ubstudios.com. Retrieved on 2008-04-18.
  10. ^ Wade Liedtke. Wilkins Peak Trail (html). Retrieved on 2008-04-18.
  11. ^ Wade Liedtke. Ridgeline Trail (html). Retrieved on 2008-04-18.

[edit] External links

Wilkins Peak Gallery

Wilkins Peak as seen in 2002, prior to the KUWZ tower (farthest left) collapse

The towers for KFRZ/KZWB (farthest right) and the two TV stations, K22BK and K35CN (center).

The peak as seen from the east, in March of 2008

White Mountain from Wilkins Peak, looking north. Pilot Butte (left center) is on top of White Mountain.