S C A V E N G E R H U N T

Welcome to Open Streets SLC! You have found the Nature on Main Scavenger Hunt.

Here, we ask you to identify an aspect of nature along Main Street and answer a question about it that relates to the natural history of the Wasatch Front. Stops are numbered north to south, but you can start anywhere. Answer as many questions as you like. At the end of the Scavenger Hunt, go to the City Creek Center activity hub to learn more and find fun activities!

Stop 4: Contours of our valley

The place you’re standing used to look much different. The downtown Salt Lake City we associate with office buildings, homes, parking lots, and TRAX trains didn’t exist. Instead, it was gently sloping terrain in the easternmost Great Basin Valley, covered with wild grasses, berries, weeds, and the occasional juniper tree.

Today, a topographical map with contours — the parallel lines representing elevations — still shows the valley’s natural shape. These elevations influence the weather and what trees and plants can grow. There are contours that run around the valley: 4,200 feet encircles the Great Salt Lake; 5,100 feet is the old Lake Bonneville Shoreline. The treeline in the Wasatch Mountains is between 10,000 and 11,000 feet.

The elevation contour you’re standing on helps define the center of Salt Lake Valley.