Wilkins Peak
Wilkins Peak is a small mountain located in Sweetwater County, Wyoming, between the cities of Green River and Rock Springs. It is primarily used for radio and television station transmitters, but it also serves radio needs of the FAA, EMS, and local businesses such as Questar Gas. In 2003, a tower on the peak was knocked down by a vehicle delivering propane to customers. The tower was owned by Wyoming Public Radio and served the local area with programming from National Public Radio. There are numerous access roads to the peak. It is not gated and is open year-round, weather permitting. Along with radio, the mountain is also a popular location for mountain biking and hiking. The mountain's geology is typical for its location in southwestern Wyoming.
Geology
Along with other mountains in southwestern Wyoming, Wilkins Peak is part of the Green River Formation, a formation of the intermontane Lake Gosiute environment during the Eocene epoch. Similar to its neighboring Aspen Mountain, Wilkins Peak is part of the Rock Springs Uplift, and some of the largest oil shale and trona beds in the region are located near the mountain. The Rock Springs Uplift formed during the Laramide Orogeny. Wilkins Peak also has its own distinct segment of the Green River Formation, which is known as the Wilkins Peak Member.The peak itself is in elevation and is located from Rock Springs, Wyoming and from Green River, Wyoming. The peak displays evidence of an ancient Lake Gosiute, a large inland saliene lake that existed 50 million years ago. The peak is composed of repetitive layers of white dolomitic marlstone, greenish-gray mudstone, and oil shale.
Radio and television uses
Wilkins Peak holds radio towers for several FM radio and television stations. Stations include KYCS and its sister stations KFRZ and KZWB. Also on the mountain is the tower for the station KTME 89.5, which signed on the air in September 2010. KTME is an affiliate of Pilgrim Radio. The transmitter for KREO 93.5 is also on the peak. KLWR 101.9 FM, and KAWR 98.7 are also on Wilkins Peak, and carry programming from K-Love and Air1 respectively.Several television translators transmit or have transmitted their signals from two small towers located in the center of Wilkins Peak. The religious television network TBN had a translator known as K35CN, broadcasting from the mountain. Prior to 2009, K22BK, the local PBS television translator, carried its signal from Wilkins Peak. K22BK was moved across the interstate to White Mountain to the same tower as its digital counterpart. In late 2009, a new television station signed on the air from the peak. It was known as K33IX-D on channel 33 and carried programming from IBN Television. The station is currently off air. K35CN and K22BK have been off the air since the digital television transition in the year 2009.
FM translators
Among high-powered FM radio stations, Wilkins Peak is also currently host lower-powered FM translators. K205FE carries a Gospel format on 88.9 FM. K232CU rebroadcasts KLWR on 94.3 FM, and K285FG retransmits programming from AM station KUGR on 104.9 FM.Other radio related uses
Wilkins Peak also has repeater towers for local police, fire, and EMS services. The emergency radio repeaters on the mountain are used in conjunction with other repeaters located on nearby Aspen Mountain and Mansface Hill.In September 2003, a commercial truck delivering propane to customers on the peak knocked down the then-existent KUWZ tower after the vehicle's brakes failed. The collapse of the tower knocked out power to the mountain for several hours, and while KUWZ borrowed space from neighboring towers for several months thereafter, the station ultimately relocated its transmitter to nearby Aspen Mountain.