The Redrock Chronicles: Saving Wild Utah (review)

Abstract

provides a glimpseinto southern Utah—a unique region thathas historically received little attention.T. H. Watkins has a deep emotional bondwith this area of Utah, and he communi-cates his passion and love of this regionin the introduction. He also foreshadowswhat is to come in the remaining partsof the book (physical and cultural charac-teristics). Moreover, he mentions what heperceives as a major environmental prob-lem: the fact that much of the wildernessof southern Utah is not under federal pro-tection, and this is discussed in the thirdportion of this book.‘‘Part I: The Place’’ describes the geo-logic and geomorphic setting of southernUtah, the land at the heart of the Colo-rado Plateau. Watkins provides a vivid de-scription of the geologic history of the re-gion. He discusses the various types ofrocks and vegetation that can be found insouthern Utah and focuses on some of themore prominent geomorphic features suchas the Escalante River’s canyon countryand the Dirty Devil River. While Watkins isintimately familiar with lithospheric struc-ture, he occasionally struggles to ade-quately define geological and geomorpho-logical jargon such as laccolith, crenelatedmassif, and anticline. His use of jargon(mostly terms from basic physical geogra-phy and earth science courses) most likelystems from his self-education on the ge-ology of the area. These terms and land-forms lay the foundation for appreciatingthe book’s photographs.‘‘Part II: People’’ is a bit longer and de-scribes the various inhabitants of southernUtah, beginning with Native Americansand ending in the ∞ΩΩ≠s. Watkins be-gins by focusing on the Anasazi ruins andpetroglyphs found throughout southernUtah and on how archeologists have beenputting their story together. In addition,he then retells the Anasazi story as re-counted by Dan Katchongva, a Hopi elder.The Anazazi story leads up to Watkins’ dis-cussion of Spanish and European contactin Utah. Watkins outlines the Spanish in-fluence in southern Utah by telling thestories of several Spanish explorers andpriests. Finally, Watkins examines theMormons as they moved southward fromthe vicinity of Salt Lake City. Many Mor-mon settlers regarded southern Utah ashot, dry, and infertile and were thereforereluctant to move south. Yet some Mor-mons did eventually set up small villagesin canyon country such as Green River,Caineville, and Kanab. These villages con-tributed to the strong Mormon landscapetraditions, such as wide streets and wardhouses, in this part of the state.Economic issues are also highlighted inthis section of the book. In the ∞Ω∑≠s, largeamounts of uranium were discovered nearMoab and Muddy Creek, and mining activ-ity brought an economic boom to this area.The resulting increase in population cre-