Text by Janell Tuttle photographs from the Utah State Historical Society Aerial of Alta and Snowbird Alta is nestled in the Wasatch Mountains of Little Cottonwood Canyon. When silver was discovered in 1864 people moved to the area and the area grew until the 1880s. At this time the value of silver declined and the population of the town decreased …
Alta: Mining & Skiing Center
Alta: a Photographic Exhibit Patricia Lyn Scott Utah History Encyclopedia, 1994 Situated at the upper end of Little Cottonwood Canyon, Alta is a community that has had two lives. Silver was discovered in the area in 1864, and by the following year the first verified mining claim was filed. The first settlement in the area—Central City—consisted of a sawmill along …