Crystal Peak

An improbable peak at the north end of the Wah Wah Mountains in western Utah. From a distance in bright sunlight the peak appears completely white! It's composed of the Tunnel Spring Tuff, a large ash-flow tuff unit of early Tertiary age (about 35 million years). The extreme thickness here probably reflects filling of an ancient valley near the caldera vent. The insets are close-up views showing prominent cavernous weathering. For scale, the little green plants on the mountain slopes are full grown Utah junipers, like those in the foreground!