Editor,
When the interstate highway was trying to get through Weber Canyon, there was no easy way to go around the formidable Devil’s Gate. I was reviewing some old articles of the Utah Highway Commission and found a picture of Devil’s Gate with a paragraph: “Following the Weber River drainage is the best route to the Great Salt Lake basin."
It was the route Brigham Young was following until he arrived at Devil’s Gate, a narrow impassable section of rocky quartz. He had to go south to Parley’s Canyon over the mountain to Salt Lake City. To me, that reads that Salt Lake City would be the dominate city in Utah. I would conclude that Devil’s Gate was one of the most influential rock formations on the Mormon trail. It is not a point of extinction, but it appears to be hidden and forgotten.
