Escalante Desert
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Escalante Desert is found northwest of Cedar City, Utah. It lies mostly between Highway 56 and Highway 21 and north and west of Interstate 15 in Iron County. It is about 3,000 square miles (7,800 km²) in extent, and embraces most of Iron County.
The Highest parts of the desert around the periphery range from 5,700 feet (1,700 m) above sea level, slowly sloping down to an average of 5,080 feet (1,550 m) in Lund Flats a mile northwest of Lund and along the railroad tracks from Milford as they approach Lund. From this low point the land around the railroad climbs briefly up to 5090, then resumes dropping to 4,957 feet (1,511 m) above sea level by the time it reaches Milford.
This area averages 8 inches (200 mm) of rainfall per year.
In 2005 three fissures were discovered to have formed near Beryl Junction. The likely cause of the fissuring is believed to be the extraction of groundwater for irrigation.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Allan, Stuart (2005). California Road and Recreation Atlas. Benchmark Maps, p. 7 The West. ISBN 0-929591-80-1.
- William R. Lund, Southern Utah Office (December 21, 2005). Earth Fissures near Beryl Junction in the Escalante Desert.
 |
This Utah state location article is a stub. You can help by expanding it. |
