Page 22 - Demo

22 | January 2025
All photos courtesy Mountain Valley Stone and Delta Stone Products
Slippery Rock Gazette
Browns Canyon Sandstone
Building Sustainable Landscapes in Utah
Type of Stone: Sandstone Quarried from: Utah
When people in Park City, Utah imagine gold and silver, they’re probably thinking about Olympic medals awarded to ath- letes who live and train in this chic alpine town. But Park City has a deeper con- nection to precious metals, because it’s one of the state’s richest sources of gold, silver, copper, lead, and zinc.
In the 1800s, long before the gor- geous ski runs and slopeside real estate, Park City was a bustling mining district with hundreds of mines and a thriving industry.
Today, the mining tradition continues – not just for metals but for natural stone as well. A few miles beyond Park City, near the small town of Peoa, Utah, sits the Browns Canyon quarry, the source of robust sandstone seen frequently in Park City architecture and landscape design.
This sandstone is known geologically as the Nugget Sandstone, and it was once one of the world’s largest expanses of sand dunes. It formed during the age of dinosaurs, 145 million years ago, during the Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods.
Karin Kirk
Reprint Courtesy usenaturalstone.org Photos Courtesy Mountain Valley Stone Map and chart © Karin Kirk, 2024
The stone contains sand grains that trav- eled from landscapes as far away as the Appalachian region, carried west- ward by a transcontinental river system, then lofted by wind across a vast desert. Eventually, the sand dunes were covered by rising seas and buried by other sedi- ments, which helped transform the sand into layers of sandstone.
As the Rocky Mountains were uplifted, the sandstone was tilted and brought closer to the surface, providing a local building stone for the growing commu- nities nearby.
From Masons to Quarry Owners
The Browns Canyon quarry taps into quartz-rich sandstone, which has a con- sistent grain and ranges in color from a light, warm grey to richly-colored russet brown. The quarry is owned and oper- ated by the Mountain Valley Stone com- pany, which has its roots as a masonry company. RJ Masonry was the larg- est customer of the sandstone, and they developed a keen understanding for the stone and its market. When the owners of RJ Masonry, Robert John Hicken (RJ) and Paul Ballif, were offered the option to purchase the Mountain Valley Stone quarry, they took the leap.
With some organizational changes and infrastructure upgrades, Robert and Paul sought to leverage their experience to
Browns Canyon sandstone is quartz-rich and varies from a light, warm tan to a warm russet-brown. Customer base extends to Western U.S. and Canada.
serve the local mason market while also expanding their out-of-state customer base.
Their bet turned out to be correct. In 1999, the quarry area was roughly the size of an Olympic-sized swimming pool. Today, it is hundreds of feet deep and covers more than 150 acres, and the stone is distributed nationwide.
A Natural Stone for
Natural Landscapes
The Browns Canyon quarry pro- duces both light tan and red quartz-rich sandstone. Their most popular stone is the Browns Canyon Blond, which has developed a loyal following as a local- ly-sourced, durable material. Many of Mountain Valley Stone’s customers are located in the Western U.S. and Canada. The company works with homeowners, contractors, architects and designers, but their largest focus is masons and land- scapers. Naturally, a local stone suits the setting perfectly, helping landscapes and buildings appear at ease in their spectac- ular alpine setting.
The City Creek Center in Salt Lake City is a stunning example of using Browns Canyon stone to create a natu- ralized water feature, as a creek bounces down boulders and among aspen trees in the midst of a mixed-use urban develop- ment featuring retail shopping, dining, and offices, and apartments.
Utah White Limestone
The company added a second quarry near Gunnison, Utah, which is about 130 miles south of the Brown’s Canyon quarry. The Utah White Limestone is ivory white with a uniform texture and coloring, which presents as a smooth, white surface. The stone is well suited for contemporary designs. The Winter Ridge variation is a light, golden tan, blending effortlessly with the colors of the sur- rounding landscape.
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