Moab Area Travel Council
P.O. Box 550
Moab, Utah 84532
Phone 435-259-1370/FAX 435-259-1376
Email:
mdelay@discovermoab.com
Website: www.discovermoab.com
Moab, Utah nestled in the red
rocks of Canyonlands Country is Utah’s Adventure Capitol. The scenery, the surroundings,
the activities, the history – it is all inviting,
and calling you to come see it!!!
Moab was first settled
in 1855 by Mormons who quickly abandoned their remote outpost
because they were frightened of the area’s Native
American population. It was resettled in 1876. Since that
time, the city and its people have carved an existence
as changing as the eroded desert around it. Today the primary
industry is tourism. The town, beautifully set near the
banks of the Colorado River, is the jumping off point for
recreational adventures of every kind. Moab is the gateway
to two of Utah’s five national
parks. Arches National Park has the world’s largest
concentration of natural stone arches gracing 73,000 acres,
including the State’s signature arch, Delicate Arch.
Canyonlands National Park is the largest
national park in the state, and its diversity staggers
the imagination. Thousand foot views down into river
canyons, or up, to red rock pinnacles, cliffs and spires
are truly awe-inspiring. The parks geological characteristics
have naturally sectioned it into three areas called:
Island in the Sky, the Needles and the Maze. Both parks
are open year round, with visitor centers located in
each park. Recreational activities in the park include
hiking, backpacking, sightseeing, photography, four wheel
driving (on designated roads only), technical rock climbing
(with a permit), mountain biking and road biking.
Like the arches in the park that
took so many years to form and tell a story of the
climatic changes so prevalent in the high desert, so
are the many stories that we find on the many rock
art sites on cliffs and boulders. People whose livelihood
was based on the harvesting of wild resources, and
later on of agriculture, populated this region. Petroglyphs
and pictographs left behind help to tell their stories.
Petroglyphs, are graphics pecked or abraded into the rock.
Pictographs are representations painted on the rocks in
one or more colors made from mineral pigments or plant
dyes. Panels of both types, and panels which exhibit both
styles, are found in the area, and plenty are accessible
to passenger vehicles or very short hikes. The area around
Moab also has many stone structures such as dwellings,
granaries (storage units) and kivas (ceremonial and community
structures.) Evidence of earlier use patterns consists
of temporary campsites, broken stone tools, potshards and
other implements. Some of these implements can be seen
at the Dan O’Laurie Museum in downtown Moab. Information
on the sites around Moab can be found in the Moab Area
Rock Art Auto Tour brochure available at the Travel Council
or Moab Information Center.
Going way back in history, there are sites around the
area that confirm the presence of prehistoric animals.
Dinosaurs that is!! Dinosaurs left both skeletons and an
equally intriguing reminder, their footprints, in what
was once swampy mud, and now is sandstone. Although the
tracks may be hard to spot, once you find them they provide
the impetus for plenty of imaginative speculation. A Sauropod
Dinosaur Track Site located 23 miles north of Moab is the
first sauropod(five-toed herbivore) tracks every reported
in Utah. Information on these and other sites is available
at the Moab Information Center.
The past and the present have come together with tours
of the national parks, coupled with activities within the
parks and those that view the past. Visitors see the geological
formations, prehistoric sites, and Indian writing from
the seats of their vehicles, bikes, canoes, kayaks, and
rafts. Hiking to these locations is extremely breathtaking
and an excellent way to really feel the mysteries left
of an earlier time. For more information about Moab and
the area go to www.discovermoab.com or call 800-635-6622
for a free color brochure. |