Little Cottonwood Canyon is a steep glacial canyon in the Wasatch Range east of Salt Lake Valley, shaped by an alpine glacier during the last ice age and underlain by a granitic intrusion that helped define its landscape and history. Stone quarried near the canyon mouth was used to build the Salt Lake Temple. The canyon is also important for rare plants in Albion Basin, introduced mountain goats, and a protected watershed that supplies drinking water to much of Salt Lake County. Alta and Snowbird have made it a major skiing destination, while its granite-like walls and boulders have also made it one of Utah’s leading climbing areas.