Utah Wildflowers and Weeds

Many of the photos in this group were taken on the foothills and in the canyons of the Wasatch Mountains, near Salt Lake City. In this region, the water that flows from the canyons never reaches the ocean. This is the Great Basin, and water goes no further than the Great Salt Lake. Housing developments have taken over many portions of these foothills, but in the places where they are undisturbed the dominant plants are maple and scrub oak, with a lot of sagebrush and smaller plants mixed in. The lake on the valley floor is just a little over 4200 ft. in elevation, but the benches (formed by prehistoric Lake Bonneville over 10,000 years ago) here on the foothills are at least 1000 ft. higher.

Most of the remaining photos were taken in South-Central Utah, on the foothills of Boulder Mountain, just across the valley from Thousand Lake Mountain. The Fremont River flows between the two mountains. These mountains are over 11,000 ft. high, but in the valley and on the foothills between them the elevation is just a little more than 7000 ft. Here, the dominant and most visible plants are pinyon and juniper trees, rather than the oak and maple seen further north. These small trees cover vast areas of the inland western states in what is known as a "Pygmy Forest". But many of the smaller plants are similar in both regions. There is lots of sagebrush here, too. Both regions are great habitat for mule deer, mountain lions, coyotes, rabbits, and other creatures.

These pictures are meant only to be views of some plants I have seen in my travels, and found to be interesting enough to take a photograph. I make no guarantee that I have identified the plants correctly. I have used names that I have been told, or have read in books. Enjoy the pictures, and have fun trying to make your own identifications. I would appreciate any comments or corrections.

by Sandra Bray
naturenotes@softcom.net

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