ABSTRACTA growing body of work is illuminating the importance of dust as a component of soil development and biogeochemical cycling in alpine environments of the Rocky Mountains. Nonetheless, important questions remain about the dust system in this region due to a paucity of focused studies and direct measurements. This project involved deployment of modified marble dust traps in the alpine zone of the Uinta Mountains of Utah to trap modern atmospheric dust over a two year period. Results indicate that dust accumulation rates are similar to values previously reported for the Wind River Range of Wyoming, but less than values for south‐western Colorado, suggesting a south‐to‐north decrease in regional dust flux. The overall mean grain size of Uinta dust is similar to values reported by prior studies in Colorado, indicating a general uniformity in grain size distribution. Uinta dust is dominated by quartz, plagioclase, K‐feldspar, and illite with trace amounts of kaolinite, chlorite, and amphibole. In contrast, only quartz and K‐feldspar are present in the Uinta bedrock, confirming an exotic origin for the dust arriving in the alpine zone. Exotic mineralogies have also been reported in dust from other mountain ranges in the western United States, indicating that eolian delivery of allochthonous minerals is a widespread process. Geochemical analysis reveals that Bi, Na, P, Zn, Sn, Cu, Cd, Ba, Ni, W, Sb, Pb, and Tl in Uinta dust are elevated 10 to > 80‐times above their abundances in local bedrock. These results support reports of anthropogenic elemental enrichment in lake sediments from Colorado and Utah. Patterns of elemental loading suggest that certain elements are delivered by winds arriving from different directions, raising the possibility that some elements could be associated with unique source areas. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.