Looking at the Wasatch Front in Utah Valley

Much of the western part of Utah is in what is called the "Basin and Range Province." Here is a short description of that area of the United States and part of Mexico.

The Basin and Range Province is a vast physiographic region covering much of the inland Western United States and northwestern Mexico. It is defined by unique basin and range topography, characterized by abrupt changes in elevation, alternating between narrow faulted mountain chains and flat arid valleys or basins. The physiography of the province is the result of tectonic extension that began around 17 million years ago in the early Miocene epoch.

The numerous ranges within the province in the United States are collectively referred to as the "Great Basin Ranges", although many are not actually in the Great Basin. Major ranges include the Snake Range, the Panamint Range, the White Mountains, the Sandia Mountains, and the Tetons. The highest point fully within the province is White Mountain Peak in California, while the lowest point is the Badwater Basin in Death Valley at −282 feet (−86 m). The province's climate is arid, with numerous ecoregions. Most North American deserts are located within it.

The Wasatch Front is a metropolitan region that runs from the city of Nephi on the South to Brigham City on the north. This photo is on the east side of Provo in the southern part of the Wasatch Front in Utah Valley. The mountains in the photo are part of the Wasatch Mountains and form the front as the east side of the long valleys that are the basins of the Basin and Range Province. This physiography is more pronounced to the west of Utah Valley into Utah's Western Desert.