Tucked away
in a canyon so small that it took me three trips to find it, is a small microwave
tower with a big purpose.
This tower would take a microwave shot from Delta,
Utah, and then throw it over the mountains to a site on Ephraim Peak, quite
a distance (about 45 miles) away. From there, signals would proceed to near
Green River, Utah, also a great distance by microwave tower standards, and then
to near Moab, Utah, and across Colorado to form a secondary east-west leg of
the AT&T Microwave network.
Signals would get to Delta
from Scipio, or from
a tower at Clear Lake, southwest of Delta.
Scipio could get signals
from the network leading from Salt
Lake City Junction south, or from the Los Angeles area, or from Delta. Delta
shot signals west, finally terminating at Oakland California, or east, through
this tower.
A herd of deer was munching on the nearby sagebrush as I drove to the tower. The dead brush surrounding the tower reflects a range fire that hit this area two years ago. Predictably, it didn't touch this tower, which was built to withstand the cold war. This tower has now been idled, as well as the east-west circuit it once supported. The circuit roughly followed the route now taken by Interstate 70 (very roughly).
This view from the east shows
the horns that point at Ephraim Peak
Left-hand horns point at
Delta Utah. At least two circuits were always deployed.
Closeup of a damaged microwave
reflector.
Click Here to find out how you can help keep this website alive!