Deseret Peak

Description

The Stansbury Mountains start at the southern end of the Great Salt Lake and continue south. Deseret Peak is the highest point on the range. The summit is one of several other bumps along this point of the range. The summit itself is not very big, and there was at one time a shelter made from the rocks on the summit. The wind can be very strong at times. To the east, you get a great view of the Oquirrh Mountains. To the north you see the Great Salt Lake and the northern Wasatch Range. To the south and west, the expanse of the Great Basin and the various ranges on into Nevada. This is a designated wilderness area of 25,500 acres, and it is wild still despite the increasing recreational activity in the area. Bobcat, mountain lion, and deer frequet this area as well. The range was named after Capt. Howard Stansbury, who surveyed the Great Salt Lake in 1850. The Mormon pioneers who settled the Salt Lake Valley in 1847, named the area "Deseret". In the Book of Mormon, the word deseret means honeybee. Historians believe the the peak was named by a mormon pioneer as they worked to tame the surrounding country in the mid-eighteen hundreds.

Thanks to Eric Maughan for this description.