Reference articles on history, science, culture and more
Encyclopedia

House Range

Mountain range in Millard County, Utah, USA

Image credit is listed at the end of this article.

The House Range is a north-south trending mountain range in Millard County, of west-central Utah. The House Range was named in 1859 by James H. Simpson. It was named by Simpson because "...of its well-defined stratification and the resemblance of portions of its outline to domes, minarets, houses, and other structures."

01Geography

The House Range is bounded by Tule Valley to the west, Whirlwind Valley and Sevier Desert to the east, and trends with the Fish Springs Range to the north. The range has three notable passes: Skull Rock Pass (which US Highway 6/US Highway 50 travels through), Marjum Canyon (which the old US Highway 6 travels through), and Sand Pass (which the Weiss Highway passes through).

The highest point in the House Range is Swasey Peak, at 9,669 feet (2,947 m). Other notable peaks include Notch Peak, a frequent climbing and base-jumping hotspot, and the very square Tatow Knob.

It is also known for one of the tallest limestone cliffs in the world, Notch Peak.

"Spring Storm in the Great Basin", House Range and Tule Valley.
"Spring Storm in the Great Basin", House Range and Tule Valley.

02Geology

The geology of the House Range is dominated by gray Cambrian to Devonian carbonate rock which was intruded by a pink Jurassic granitoid in the central part of the range. In the Wheeler Amphitheater, away from the intrusion, the Lagerstätte that contains the well-preserved fauna is found in the Cambrian section of the range. Evidence of Lake Bonneville's presence is found both in shorelines and white marls at the base of the range. The main structural component to the range is a large basin-bounding fault on the west side.

Notch Peak, a notable limestone cliff in the southern part of the House Range, Utah.
Notch Peak, a notable limestone cliff in the southern part of the House Range, Utah.

03Fossils

The range is known for a fossil Lagerstätte (Wheeler Shale) of Cambrian age, which has an array of Burgess Shale type fauna, including Elrathia kingii, a trilobite that is one of Utah's most famous fossils.

Stratigraphy

The Swasey Limestone was deposited in the Bathyuriscus, Elrathina zone (contemporaneous with the Burgess Shale). This is overlain in turn by the Bolaspidella zone (uppermost Middle Cambrian) Wheeler Shale and Marjum Formation, then the Cedaria zone (lowermost Upper Cambrian) Weeks Formation.

Watch videos about House RangeExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article House Range, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

Images, from Wikimedia Commons:

Fathomly is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Wikimedia Foundation. Spotted a problem? Tell us.