The expedition that identified Utah's lowest point

      This is the Beaver Dam Wash in Arizona, Utah's lowest point is two miles north of here.

THE State of Utah prides itself on enjoying “Life Elevated.” Indeed, Utah has some of the highest average elevations of any state in the Union. Many know that the Beehive State’s highest point is Kings Peak at 13,528 feet above sea level. However, what is the lowest point in Utah?

Surprisingly, it is not St. George. However, the lowest point is in that corner of the State.

Travel some 325 air miles straight southwest from Kings Peak and ultimately drop 11,350 feet in elevation (about 2.15 miles) and you reach Beaver Dam Wash at the Utah-Arizona border. That’s the state’s basement at 2,178 feet above sea level.

(In contrast, St. George sits at 2,800 feet and Salt Lake City's Temple Square is at 4,327 feet above sea level.)

Just like Kings Peak, there are no cities or residences in the area of the Beaver Dam Wash. This is open wilderness. Littlefield, Arizona is the nearest town, about 10 air miles away, while St. George is almost 25 miles away as the bird flies. There is a ranch about six miles north – and some cattle sometimes roam the area -- but that’s it.

(The Beaver Dam Wash is also recognized for a wide variety of wildlife – desert plants, birds, lizards and mammals, etc.)

Before 2006, the majority of sources out there — Internet and books — listed Utah's lowest elevation all wrong. Some stated the low point was 2,350 feet above sea level and others even had it at an even 2,000 feet. The truth was about halfway in between.

It was a June 6, 2006 expedition by three Deseret News staffers who searched the area with a GPS and came up with the now accepted 2,178 foot elevation.

                  This is part of rugged road into the Beaver Dam Wash.

To reach the lowest point in the State, the trio had to drive five miles on a rugged dirt road and then hike two miles over trail-less terrain to the Arizona-Utah border, marked with a chainlink fence. After crossing back into Utah, they had to take dozens of measurements with a GPS in a myriad of low points until the lowest number was verified.

Hiking back to their vehicle was much more difficult than the trek in and far rougher than expected.

           Ravell Call surveys the water in the Arizona portion of the Beaver Dam Wash.

Not only is the Beaver Dam Wash Utah’s lowest place, but it sports an environment unlike anything else in the State. It is in the Mojave Desert, where Joshua trees, yucca, blackbrush, creosote and other desert plants thrive in a usually dry and scorching environment.

Looking east down into Utah's portion of the Beaver Dam Wash, where the State's lowest elevation is found.

The Deseret News consulted with Mark Eubank, chief meteorologist of KSL-TV, Ch. 5 at the time.

"In general, the lower the elevation, the hotter the temperature," Eubank said. "That is why Death Valley is the hottest place in North America — elevation near 200 feet below sea level. "There are no official temperature readings from Beaver Dam Wash, but I feel certain it averages hotter there than in St. George."

Eubank noted that Mesquite, Nev., to the southwest of Beaver Dam Wash, runs 2 to 5 degrees hotter than St. George most days.

Chris Gibson, meteorologist with the Salt Lake Office of the National Weather Service, agreed. "It (Beaver Dam Wash) probably is the hottest place in Utah," he said. He believed said temperatures usually drop 5.5 degrees Celsius for every 1,000 feet of altitude descended. On a hot, still day, he believes Utah's lowest point would be at least a couple of degrees warmer than St. George.

June 6, 2006 was a sunny hot day where Mesquite reached 106 degrees. By late morning in the Beaver Dam Wash, temperatures were already in the upper 90s. (One of the group’s thermometers measured 110 degree as they headed back to their vehicle.)

The 2,178-foot elevation is now the standard on Utah's official Highway Map.

While getting lost in the Wash was unlikely, especially when some power transmission lines go through the area and following them south would lead to the dirt road, there was no trail and following one’s footsteps back was next to impossible.

The 2,178-foot elevation is spotlighted too at the University of Utah's Natural History Museum. That figure came from this expedition in 2006, by three Deseret News staffers.

A shortcut through some heavy brush got you somewhat out of the sun, but slowed the trek down significantly and required some zigzagging and bushwhacking.

While the Wash was up to a half-mile wide in spots, loose sand and gravel, marshes and thick brush made walking difficult there.

      Ray Boren back at his vehicle after a scorchingly hot hike into the Beaver Dam Wash.

 In retrospect, the trio agreed that visiting the Beaver Dam Wash in winter, early spring or late fall would have equaled a much more comfortable visit than late spring did.

That 2,178-foot figure has recently become the accepted standard of Utah’s lowest elevation. It is now listed not only on the official Utah State Highway map, but is also highlighted in a high-low comparison in the University of Utah’s Natural History Museum.

How do we know that the elevation the Deseret News came up with is accurate?

After returning from their expedition, one of the three D.N. staffers consulted with Mark Milligan, a geologist with the Utah Geological Survey. He found on detailed quadrangle maps of the area that the lowest spot in Utah would be bounded by 2,160-foot and 2,180-foot contour lines.

Lynn Arave stands on the Utah side of the fence separating the State from Arizona, inside the Beaver Dam Wash.The State's lowest elevation was found nearby the fence.

"The border is much closer to the 2,180 contour and thus agrees with an elevation of 2,178 feet," he wrote in an e-mail to the Deseret News.

Milligan also indicated that 2,178 is as close an estimate to the low elevation as is possible, because the Beaver Dam Wash is very prone to flooding and its elevation can change.

Despite the hot temperatures in the Beaver Dam Wash, it isn't completely waterless. Some year-round springs keep year-round water there. The water runs as a small stream above ground at the end of the dirt road into the Wash. Walking north in the Wash, the water disappears and goes underground.

Utah’s Kings Peak ranks as the seventh highest high point among the 50 states. However, for low points in the United States, Beaver Dam Wash ranks fourth among the “highest” of low points. Only Colorado (3,320 feet), Wyoming (3,099) and New Mexico (2,840) have higher "low" spot points. (Montana rates fifth-place with an 1,800-foot low point and 21 states have sea level as their lowest elevation.)

                                 The GPS that located Utah's lowest elevation.

-To travel to Utah's lowest point, you really need a truck or four-wheel drive vehicle, unless you want to walk an extra six miles along dirt roads in the desert. The road is simply not passable for cars because of several dips in the road that exceed a regular car's ground clearance.

To get there, drive to Littlefield, Ariz., on I-15 and take Exit 8; go north on the old highway that leads to Shivwits and back into Utah; go past the Beaver Dam, Ariz., community (elevation 1,860 feet) and cross the Utah-Arizona stateline.

Next, look for a dirt road that heads left (west), 0.8 mile past the state line. Follow this rugged road southwest and then straight south for almost five miles into the Beaver Dam Wash. You will cross two cattle guards and spot several "Mormon pioneer trail" signs posted along the way. Ignore any side roads and always head due west.

                   Ravell Call photographs the GPS after it located Utah's basement.

Park near some large overhead power lines in a loose gravel area, near the perennial water flowing through the Beaver Dam Wash.

Be certain to carry plenty of drinking water and do not hike in the afternoon on hot days. Starting elevation at the parking area is about 2,076 feet above sea level.

Begin walking northward and ideally stay on the west side of the wash, carefully picking your route, about two miles, to a barbed-wire fence you can't miss. Cross over the fence and find the lowest point from there. (The above ground stream water disappears just before the fence line.)

Be sure to keep to the west of the Wash to avoid some thick brush. Ideally, retrace your steps as much as possible. The power transmission lines on the far east side of the Wash show the general way back.

-Lynn Arave, a reporter at the time; Ravell Call, a photographer; and Ray Boren, an editor, were the three Deseret News staffers who visited the Beaver Dam Wash and identified Utah's lowest point in 2006.

-The original newspaper story on this expedition was published Sept. 3, 2006 in the Deseret News.

      Lynn Arave at the Arizona end of the Beaver Dam Wash. Note the water in the wash.