When driving up Big Cottonwood Canyon to the town of Brighton, you are embarking on an 800-million-year journey through geologic time. The oldest rocks exposed in the canyon are found near its mouth and as your travel up canyon the strata get younger in age. The sedimentary sequence exposed in the canyon presents an interesting historical story of this part of the North American Tectonic plate.

This PowerPoint based lecture will discuss the rich geologic history of the canyon and explain how geologists decipher the geologic record contained in the sedimentary sequence exposed. It will discuss the mountain building process which also played an important role in the genesis of the rich ore deposits that were mined in the canyon between 1880 and 1920. This lecture will include a discussion of the sacrifices the early prospectors made but because of their early mining efforts, the stage was set for Brighton and Solitude Mountain resort to be located within the National Forest boundaries.

FREE and open to everyone!

Join us in-person at the fire station or remotely via zoom. Information to join remotely is below.

Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85706875225?pwd=RjBNWDR1Ny9IeTdkWXB0SEFZLzVRZz09

Meeting ID: 857 0687 5225

Passcode: 925072