Marker Title (required): Where the Desert Meets the Mountains
Marker Text (required):
You are looking at the South Snake Range, located within Great Basin National Park.
Snake Range Geology
The geology of the Snake Range evolved over millions of years and is still changing. 550 million years ago a warm, shallow, inland sea covered the region. The exposed layers of quartzite, shale, and limestone that you can see throughout the park were deposited at that time.
The Snake Range mountains were formed by the stretching and thinning of the earth’s crust. This process began about 30 million years ago and is still happening today. During the last Ice Age, glaciers covered the Snake Range, carving their way through the mountains. These glaciers created the cirque separating Wheeler and Jefferson Davis peaks.
What’s in a Name?
Pe-up, Too-bur-rit, Williams Peak — present day Wheeler Peak has been known by several names. In 1855 Lt. Colonel Steptoe named the peak Jefferson Davis in honor of his superior. Within a few years, another engineer named it Union Peak, a reference to the growing conflict of the Civil War. Before that report was published, however, Lt. George Montague Wheeler summited the peak in 1869. He gave it the published, and thereafter official, name of Wheeler Peak.
County (required): White Pine
Marker Type (required): Other (describe below)
Other Marker Type (optional): Fiberglass sign
Is Marker Damaged? (required): No
Marker Number (If official State Marker from NV SHPO website above, otherwise leave blank): Not Listed
Other Damage Type (optional): Not listed
URL - Website (optional): Not listed
|