How do I find information about the Wasatch Mountains?
Need help identifying a flower along the White Pine trail? Want to know how this year’s snowpack in the Wasatch will impact reservoirs and available drinking water in the Salt Lake Valley? Or do you want to know which trails are the busiest in the Wasatch so you can choose a less well-traveled path for your Saturday hike? Our Central Wasatch Dashboard makes it easy to answer any questions you may have about the Wasatch Mountains. So let’s dive into what the Dashboard is and how to use it.
The Central Wasatch Dashboard is a tool that was created for the benefit of the public, land managers, policy makers, technical users, and anyone interested in Utah’s Wasatch Mountains. To learn about the current and historic environmental conditions of the Central Wasatch, explore Air Quality and Climate, Geology and Soils, Vegetation Communities, Water, Wildlife, and the Human Element.
Air Quality and Climate
The Central Wasatch Mountains rise above the densest population center in Utah, making them particularly susceptible to air quality fluctuations. Use the Air Quality page on our Dashboard to learn what air quality is, what affects it, and how it impacts the Wasatch Mountains. You’ll also find webcams here so you can see what the air quality will be like in a few different locations in the Central Wasatch.
The Weather tab provides a link to MesoWest, a website created to provide access to current and archived weather observations. There you can click on particular locations in the Central Wasatch to find all the weather-related data you could ask for.
On the Air Temperature tab you can search the average and historic air temperatures by location. You can also see the steady upward trajectory of average air temperature since the 1950s in the Central Wasatch.
Geology and Soils
How were the Wasatch Mountains formed? What are the geologic hazards in and around the Central Wasatch? If you’ve got a geology question, our Geology and Soils page has a geology answer, complete with integrated, interactive maps.
Vegetation Communities
Because the Wasatch Mountains rise more than 7,000 feet from the valley floor, the vegetation is wildly variable. Use our Vegetation Communities page to understand how vegetation changes with elevation as you hike, drive, or skin from river bottom to peak. You can also use this page to understand what impacts the vegetation in the Central Wasatch: insect damage, deforestation, invasive species, and fire. This is also a great place to find information on current fire conditions in the Wasatch. The Watershed History timeline shoes how forest disturbance led to watershed issues and eventually restoration and preservation efforts.
Water
Utah is the second driest state in the U.S., behind Nevada, and the only reason 2.6 million people are able to live along the Wasatch Front is because the tall mountains catch winter storms, trapping water in the greatest of all reservoirs: snow. Use the Water page on our dashboard to learn about streamflow, soil moisture, groundwater, reservoir storage, and just what the heck snow water equivalent (SWE) means. The page also includes an interactive map on evapotranspiration and water quality information.
Wildlife
Here the word wildlife encompasses both the flora and fauna of the Central Wasatch. Explore the animals tab to learn about this range’s mammals, birds, reptiles, fish, butterflies, snails, and amphibians (spoiler alert: we have high-elevation salamanders). Explore the plants tab to improve your skills in identifying flowering plants, trees, and shrubs.
The Human Element
This is where you will find data collected through the Central Wasatch Commission’s Visitor-Use Study, conducted by Utah State University from 2021–2023. The purpose of the study was to find out how outdoor recreation use and its associated impacts can be quantified and monitored over time. While this information is helpful to policy makers and land managers, the interactive map is also a great resource for anyone wanting to know when and where to find more solitude in the Central Wasatch.
Tell Your Friends!
If you know anyone who loves the Wasatch and wants to know more about it, let them know about the Central Wasatch Dashboard. The Dashboard is getting improved and updated all the time, so check back frequently to see what we’ve added. Soon we will include a Historical Hikes downloadable PDF on the Human Element page, for example. And please leave a comment below if there’s something you’d like to see on the Central Wasatch Dashboard!