Emerald Lake (Mount Timpanogos Wilderness)
lake in the Mount Timpanogos Wilderness in Utah County, Utah, United States
Emerald Lake is a small proglacial lake near the summit of Mount Timpanogos in the middle of the Mount Timpanogos Wilderness in the Wasatch Range in northeastern Utah County, Utah, United States.
Description
The lake is northeast of the summit of Mount Timpanogos, at the base of the almost vertical northeast face of the mountain, with an elevation of 10,397 feet (3,169 m). The now mostly vanished and completely buried Timpanogos Glacier left behind a terminal moraine which now impounds the lake. The runoff from the rock glacier feeds the lake and colors it blue. The lake is accessible by hiking, the Mount Timpanogos Trail (also known as the Aspen Grove Trail) from Aspen Grove being the fastest way to reach it. The lake is 6.9 miles (11.1 km) from the trailhead, or about two-thirds of the way up to the summit.
During summer weekends the Timpanogos Emergency Response Team (TERT) of the county sheriff's office stations volunteers at a camp near Emerald Lake to assist with emergency incidents that frequently occur on the mountain.
According to some versions of The Legend of Timpanogos, Emerald Lake is the immortalization of Red Eagle, after he fell to his death from the peak of Mount Timpanogos.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Emerald Lake (Mount Timpanogos Wilderness)” is lake in the Mount Timpanogos Wilderness in Utah County, Utah, United States. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Emerald, Lake and Mount, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “lake in the Mount Timpanogos Wilderness in Utah County, Utah, United States” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 19, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5370461. VIAF identifies the subject as 315149246. Authority coordinates are 40.393, -111.640. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Emerald Lake (Mount Timpanogos Wilderness)”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Emerald Lake (Mount Timpanogos Wilderness) primary sources, Emerald Lake (Mount Timpanogos Wilderness) archive and Emerald research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Emerald Lake (Mount Timpanogos Wilderness)”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Emerald Lake (Mount Timpanogos Wilderness)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.