Triple Junction of Landscapes
Silver Reef lies at the center of a triple junction of the three great ecosystems or provinces of the American Southwest: the Colorado Plateau, Mojave Desert and Great Basin. Influences from these three regions are responsible for creating the spectacular landscapes around Silver Reef, along with the unique geology that has helped with the creation of silver ore that brought miners here in the 1870s.
Location
The sequence of maps below shows the regions covered by all three provinces in relation to Silver Reef. The yellow circle roughly points out the transition zone between the provinces and how it influences the landscapes within that zone.
Learn More
When visiting the area around Silver Reef, seeing the beautiful landscapes all around you is like looking at a completed jigsaw puzzle. Learning more about this triple junction will help you understand and appreciate where all the pieces to the puzzle came from.
Here are ways to learn more:
- Read about it on the BackRoadsWest.com website
- Utah Geological Survey
- Utah Geological Association
- Watch the videos below:
About Southwest Utah’s Triple Junction
This video presentation explains how and why the scenery was formed in Southwest Utah, around the city of St. George. Click image below to watch:
Where to Find the Scenery
This video tour shows where to find the scenery that was mentioned in the first video that shows the influences of those three regions. The tour is split into two videos. Below is part 1 of 2. Scroll down to see part 2.
Where to Find the Scenery, Part 2 of 2
This is a continuation of the video above.
