SELF GUIDED FIELD TRIP

ENSIGN PEAK GEOLOGICAL STUDY

HENRY ASSENS
Geology 1110-1115
Chris Johnson

The Ensign Peak is quite possibly the most historically significant peak
in the entire Wasatch Range. Nevertheless, the area present as well relevant
geological landscape, emphasized by the presence of elements such as an
earth flow type of landslide at the top of the peak and a small fault scarp in
the valley profile. The hill slope side is covert of dirt and clay type elements
all over the ground as well as conglomerate type of rocks disposed on a very
small cirque type of landform facing the southeastern side of the area. This
research paper will discuss these geological elements in more details.
The Ensign peak is a Peak close to the downtown of Salt Lake City,
going up to 5,414 ft. As a new comer in the city, this was the first place I
visited and my first hike ever at the same time. Ensign peak significantly
represents the resourceful historical background of Salt Lake City (atlas of
Utah (1981); Richard D. Poll, ed. Utah's History (1978); Dale L. Morgan, The
Great Salt Lake (1986)). The engraved stones present all around the peaks
trail testify of the settlement of the Mormons pioneers and the survey of the
valley they achieved by laying out a general plan for their settlement. From
this point the Peak was decided to set up an ensign leading later to the
name of the peak as well as its existence as a benchmark point for the all
city (Hiking the Wasatch, John Veranth, 1988, Salt Lake City, ISBN 978-087480-628-1). As the trail start, we can observe an example of those
engraved stones in a small plaza with plaques and 9 stone stools symbolizing
the 9 pioneers who first climbed the peak in 1847. Throughout the years, the
peak received a lot of attention from the community and religious leaders

because of its historical importance. However, the peak represents as well

the geological potential of this area. Indeed, the Wasatch Range is the
product of 20 million years of faulting (Atlas of Utah (1981)). volcanic activity
and glaciation giving to the landform its uniqueness and diversity.
Once I left the small plaza I automatically encounter small rocks, dirt
and fragments of red colored soils. Most of the small rocks that I encountered
were in fact sedimentary rocks (breccia or conglomerate), with a couple of
fragments of limestone and sandstone. By observing the size and the
mineralogy of the red soil fragment I could determine the nature of the read
soil as being red clay element composed of phyllosilicate minerals testifying
of the variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure and the
rock. The presence of clay also emphasizes the idea of a long process
chemical weathering of rocks around the area. Indeed, clay minerals typically
form over long periods of strong weathering. Therefore, the abundance of the
rock fragments embodying the same characteristic of the bigger rocks that I
would later observe at the top of the hill also emphasize the idea of a
weathering. At the same time it explained the presence of dirt and rocks
pieces at the bottom of the peak due to a strong erosion process, mixed with
rain action and width effect, breaking the rocks from the top hill and moving
it successively to the bottom of the formation.
Approximately a hundred feet further, I was standing in the middle of a
small valley placed in between two elevations reminding me of an alluvium

colluvium type of elevation. From the valley I could barely see the city due to
the trees and the hill itself. Around me I could see huge block of
conglomerate rock with coarse grained mineral that could be over sixty mm.
when looking around I could observe the landscape of the south east side of
the hill where I was standing. The overall aspect of the landform at this point
reminded me a fluvial cirque kind of landform and the trail would represent
in this case the traces of the water circuit in the cirque. On the other hand,
the idea of a alluvium colluvium kind of landform also crossed my mind and
by observing the configuration of the land itself, the tributary form of the trail
let me conclude that water may indeed had shaped the valley. This idea
would then eventually bring me to the conclusion that the debris I recover at
the bottom of the hill might represent a remaining of small alluvial fan
transformed by human action in the area. The high elevation surrounding the
small valley could then constitute colluvium kind of land form and by looking
further east I could see an elevation reminding me of an eventual loess kind
of deposition. The rounded shape of the formation and the composition made
of silt, clay and sand emphasized this idea. When looking later from the top
of the peak, Many slopes at this point were covered with thick deposit of
landslide debris exactly as colluvium (U.S. Geological Survey Professional
Paper, Volume 1620 page 30). At the juncture the peak and the one I was
standing another large landslide of colluvium was visible obscuring the
underlying bedrock. Nevertheless, the absence of a potential stream on this

side of the formation made me question the exact nature of this part of the
land.
Once the peak was reached, the view of the city was amazing. I also
noticed an elevation of limestone on the right side of the peak, forming a
small arte going from this point and further back to the north east of the
formation. The peak itself was built on a solid rock formation that looked as
well as a mix of conglomerate rocks, limestone and the same red (brown)
clay that I faced when I was starting the trail. From the hill top I could
observe the effect of the erosion on the rock since even the rock bed where
the peak is built seemed to be attacked by the width and the rain. By looking
further down the configuration of the hill that was until there pretty rounded,
took a rough slope shaped as a fault scarp after which I could see the eroded
rock that felt to the foothill. From this point by relating the different
information gathered since the beginning of the trail I could try to give a
hypothesis on the way the peak was formed. For instance, the clay and
mostly the sedimentary rocks gathered at the beginning were mostly
conglomerate with a good percentage of igneous rock thus emphasizing the
action of lithe faction, compaction and time, Plus the observation of the
erosion effect on the rocks let me guessed that the area was once cover of a
soft layer of rock. These softer rocks from the crust slowly got uplifted and
broken into huge fault blocks by extensional stresses that continued to
stretch the earths crust and by the time created this area that is also
connected to the rest of the Wasatch Range. Sediments shed from the

ranges are slowly filling the intervening wide, flat basins that are visible from
the Peak. After I had looked at a couple of sedimentary rocks present as well
all around the area, I continue the trail to the eastern side of the formation
where ended on the top of the loess formation. I was still not sure due to the
absence of a potential stream. By going further down on the trail, I reached a
small road hidden in the wood following the upstream of the valley. The way
the road was going through the valley was reminding me the shape of a
glacier tributary coming from the city creek canyon (Geologic Guide to the
Central Wasatch Front Canyons, Salt Lake County, Utah). The road was going
from the foothill of the peak range to the inside of the Wasatch Range.
Nevertheless, the shape of the all area and the movement of the rocks let
me conclude that pluvial interaction on this area was strong enough to lead
to the creation of a potential water stream down the valley.
The Ensign Peak is a small part of a bigger area that constitutes the
pure richness of the Utah landscape subdivision. From the rising of the softer
part of rock that later broke down by withering action mixed with pluvial
modification of the land and accumulation of sediment. The several
landforms observable are summarizing the actions of natural element such
as weathering that happened repetitively during millions and millions of
years; giving us this specific natural beauty. Analyzing the elements resulting
from these changes helped us, establishing a hypothesis toward the way this
phenomenon happened and the element they created as to understand

Mother Nature process. Geologist has a saying but rocks remember (Neil
Armstrong).

Work cited

Atlas of Utah (1981); Richard D. Poll, ed. Utah's History (1978); Dale L.
Morgan, The Great Salt Lake (1986).

U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper, Volume 1620 page 30

Hiking the Wasatch, John Veranth, 1988, Salt Lake City, ISBN 978-087480-628-1

Physical Geography - Juanico, Meliton - Google Books.

Books.google.com. Retrieved 2014-05-15.

Geologic Guide to the Central Wasatch Front Canyons, Salt Lake

County, Utah

View of the scarp at the top of the peak

View from one of the stone on the peak trail

The elevation on the right similar to loess with the pluvial track in the middle

Picture from the second excursion presenting the down view of the cirque

Red clay material

View from the peak to the city