RETURN TO THE SINKS PHOTO
The Sinks, in Logan Canyon, northern Utah are the coldest place in Utah and one of the coldest places in the lower 48 states. The lowest recorded temperature at Middle Sink was minus 69.3 degrees (Rogers Pass, Montana has reached minus 70 degrees).
Why does it get so cold here? The Sinks are bowls located at 7600 feet elevation. On a windless night, with an inversion, cold air flows over the edge into the bowls and it just keeps getting colder and colder in the bottom.
The Sinks have a reverse tree line. At the top of the bowls the trees are normal, but ten feet below they look stunted, and a little lower they are the size of bushes. At the bottom, they can't grow at all.
Even in summer, The Sinks never go more than four days without a freeze, so the growing season is just four days long.