Box Elder Canyon is a canyon located within the western slopes of the Wellsville Mountains, a branch of the Wasatch Range of the Rocky Mountains in Utah, in the Western United States. It was created by a prehistoric river, which flowed as a tributary into the main pool of ancient Lake Bonneville, emerging east of present-day Brigham City, Utah. The western or lower mouth of Box Elder Canyon is located approximately 56 miles north of Salt Lake City, Utah, via Interstate 15 and U.S. 91. The joint national highway routes of U.S. 89 and U.S. 91 join together at 1100 South Main Street to the west, and enter Box Elder Canyon two miles east of downtown Brigham City.
Map of Box Elder Canyon, Brigham City, UT 84302, USA
In addition to U.S. 89 and 91, Box Elder Canyon also contains Box Elder Creek, which flows westward from Mantua Reservoir, a moderately-sized water impoundment created in 1961 through the construction of an earthen-fill dam at the upper mouth of the canyon, adjacent to the small farming community of Mantua, Utah (pronounced by locals as "Man-a-way")[1]. From Mantua, U.S.89 and 91 enters Dry Canyon for three miles before the combined routes reach their apex at Sardine Summit (5,981 feet). From there, the highway enters a mountain valley known as Dry Lake, before traversing Wellsville Canyon (often mistakenly called "Sardine Canyon") prior to entering the Cache Valley at Wellsville, Utah.