Four Corners

I am perched on a ledge at 7,000 feet on the underside of a cliff. There is an ancient cliff dwelling directly in front of me. My hands are touching it. It feels firm, architecturally secure, almost like it was constructed in modern times. I would not guess it dates back to the 12^th century. This dwelling, named Spruce Tree House, was discovered in 1888 by Richard Wetherill and Charles Mason (Spruce Tree House: Mesa Verde National Park Visitors Guide; Mesa Verde National Park, 1986). These men came upon the 114 room, eight kiva, Spruce Tree House while searching for their cattle that were lost in the area. The dwelling was marked by a large Douglas spruce tree that was growing from the front of the dwelling to the top of the mesa. It is believed that the men first penetrated the ruin by climbing down the tree.

Spruce Tree House is a human-made marvel that needed to be preserved. Mesa Verde National Park was established 18 years later, in 1906, to fulfill this need. This would mark the first time in our nation’s history that a national park was created to protect an historical, culturally important human-made structure. Spruce Tree House is the third largest cliff dwelling in Mesa Verde National Park. It was built by the Ancestral Puebloans’ between the years A.D. 1200 and 1276 and remains mostly preserved. However, the overhanging cliff is now tattooed with red coloring resembling paint. As I stood there, gazing up at the red coloring, I wondered if it was Ancestral Puebloan pictographs or a modern addition. The ranger on duty helped make the clarification. The red coloring is a fire retardant chemical sprayed on the overhanging cliff to hold back the forest fires that destroyed part of the park in 1996.

While navigating through the ruin with my classmates it was hard to believe that at one point this dwelling was home to as many as 100 people. The 114 rooms and eight kivas (ceremonial chambers) that were part of the original dwelling do not seem to be enough space. Spruce Tree House measures 216 feet at its greatest width and 89 feet at its greatest depth.

Dr. Jesse Walter Fewkes of the Smithsonian Institution contributed to the opening of the Spruce Tree House for visitation by the public. The site was excavated, fallen debris was removed, and walls were stabilized. The majority of the ruin is open for navigation except for a few sections towards the back. The restoration of the ruin even includes a reconstructed kiva that allows you to climb down a ladder and become part of an environment occupied so long ago. It is through the foresight of Fewkes and those who established Mesa Verde National Park that as a visitor to the area I now have the opportunity to navigate through this sandstone masterpiece.

Low impact trekking wasn’t my primary learning objective for the Plymouth State University students accompanying me on a travel study course to the Four Corners region of the U.S. However, as an environmental educator, treading lightly and responsibly is certainly an important message I want to convey to others. The Bioregional Outdoor Education Project staff of the Four Corners Outdoor School, our hosts for the course, helped set the stage at the beginning of our trip. They communicated and modeled a respectful environmental ethic in all our activities, especially with regards to low impact camping in a heavily used corridor along a river in a high desert environment. For instance, we picked up any wayward food scraps from our outdoor feasts so as not to attract ants to the most favorable camping sites for those following us down the San Juan River.

It wasn’t until we decided to hike the Devil’s Garden Trail in Arches National Park at the end of the trip, that I really became curious about the vulnerability of biological soil crusts- a new concept that surfaced in our trip out West- our river guides mentioned it. However, while in Arches, it’s hard to look at your feet and worry about conservation, when there are such spectacular, colorful vistas drawing the eyes upward. It was only on returning home that I finally had time to investigate biological soil crusts in more depth. Fortunately, the Visitor Guide to Arches National Park included an informative article which was a starting point for my research on the topic.

I was particularly intrigued about the collection of constituents making up the cryptobiotic soil- cyanobacteria, mosses, soil lichens, green algae, microfungi and bacteria (Arches National Park Visitor Guide, Vol.1, No.8, 205, Canyonlands Natural History Association, www.cnha.org, pg 6). Soil crust is estimated to cover almost 75 percent of the Colorado Plateau and is considered to be alive and ecologically important. Cyanobacteria is considered to be the most prevalent and important constituent. “When filaments of cyanobacteria are moistened, they advance through the soil, leaving sheaths of sticky mucilage on their trail. These gluey filaments bind to soil particles and, over time, can create an erosion-resistant surface,� (Arches National Park Visitor Guide, Vol.1, No.8, 205, Canyonlands Natural History Association, www.cnha.org, pg 6). This description of cyanobacteria reminded me of slugs leaving a trail of slime. I was intrigued to learn more about this aspect of biology; cyanobacteria had not been part of my earth science education. An inquiring mind requires interdisciplinary research.

Cyanobacteria are microscopic, photosynthesizing organisms, rich in chemical diversity, and some forms were once classified as blue green algae. Motile species have some microbiologists referring to them as ‘gliding bacteria’ for their peculiar locomotion habits. Photosynthetic pigments can impart a host of different colors-yellow, red, violet, green, deep blue and blue-green…â€? Cyanobacteria may be single-celled or colonial and are among the easiest microfossils to recognize, being larger than other bacteria. Some have remained the same for billions of years. Cyanobacteria also have the useful trait of being able to capture nitrogen from the air and can then convert it to a form plants can use. So, cyanobacteria serve as a fertilizer in this way- “a useful trait in an ecosystem notoriously poor in nitrogenâ€?. The sticky sheaths described above also bind to calcium, potassium, and manganese making these nutrients available to plants in a useable form. “When wet, the sheaths will expand to ten times their dry size, enabling the soil crust to retain more moisture.â€? So, biological crusts provide stable soil, nutrients, and moisture. The term biological soil crust, also called cryptobiotic crust, emphasizes that these areas are “formed by living organisms and their by-products, creating a crust of soil particles bound together by organic materials,â€? (soilcrust.org).

Back to trekking in the high desert in Arches National Park, when wayward foot steps trod upon the sheaths, they can be destroyed and the cyanobacteria as part of a delicate microsystem cease to function. So, the once ‘biological’ crust is no longer fulfilling its vital roles. Pieces break off and are blown away by the wind. Loose sand covers the remaining biological crust blocking sunlight and photosynthesis stops. It is really important to stay on marked trails, walk on solid rock, or in drainages so as not to impact the biological crusts. The motto while in Arches is don’t ‘bust the crust’. Reminding hikers to leave no trace while exploring the Colorado Plateau takes on a special meaning and requires a new kind of vigilance in watching where one walks.

For most of us New Englanders, biological soil crusts are a novelty as they are a feature of arid environments. The closest connection we can make is with fragile, above timberline, alpine terrains that harbor rare plants- one of the reasons that the White Mountain National Forest doesn’t allow geo-caching in it’s boundaries.

I have seen media headlines, ‘Are We Loving Our Parks to Death?’ I wondered if raising awareness about biological soil crusts figured into any VERP studies. VERP which stands for Visitor Experience and Resource Protection is a new focus for our public parks. Arches National Park has been part of a VERP study, in the last few years, which looks at visitor impacts as well as visitor perceptions; asking visitors what number of people seen on the trail is an “acceptable number� before they begin to feel crowded. They are shown computer-generated photos of the trail, each with an increasing number of people on them. The results help park managers make decisions. Reading about VERP reminded me of a new policy I’d heard about being instituted in the White Mountain National Forest; group sizes larger than 10 are discouraged from hiking trails, to help maintain a quality experience for all. Were certain visitor policies being universally shared across our public lands? How much attention was being paid to biological soil crusts. I did discover Soilcrust.org, a website dedicated to the topic.

I lived in Arizona from ’83-’87 and had never heard of biological soil crusts. So, I wondered when the term was coined, who did the research, and how it was conducted. Could I find and line up a scientist at Arches or in the area who could inform my next group of students to the region about this important concept. I personally wanted a closer glimpse into the world of cryptosoils so I could become a more informed, passionate advocate for protecting these fragile systems.

Driving down US 191, just north of Moab (the largest town in southeast Utah), red arches of Entrada sandstone began to emerge in the distance. The sun was midway over the red sandstone cliffs along the northern edge of Moab. It was 8:00 am and music was blasting on the rental Suburban stereo as our sport utility vehicle full of Plymouth State University student’s winds up the steep mountain road, past the ranger station, and up several steeper mountain sections. Dark shadows were still cast on some areas of the road where the sun had not quite made it up over the sculptured red rocks. The Suburban automatically shifted gears as we passed the sandy desert terrain that expanded as far as the eyes could see on both sides of the road. A perfectly upright column loomed in front of us as we passed the sections of the park known as Park Avenue and Courthouse Towers. These sections are comprised of monolithic spires and ridges of rock standing isolated in otherwise mostly flat, desert terrain. They have been featured in many films, including Thelma and Louise. As we continued on our geological journey, we crossed over a switchback that led us through an “open, undulating landscape of petrified sand dunes and eroded pinnacles� (www.americansouthwest.net), until we entered the Windows Section of the park.

The Windows Section was the first major location of arches and other geological formations that we could view from the road, including Double Arch, Cove Arch, and Balanced Rock. As we continued down the road, we passed a vantage point for the viewing of the Delicate Arch, the most famous arch in the park, and the Utah state symbol. When you visit Utah, look closely at the license plates, and you will see this arch displayed on the Utah Centennial plates.

The often snow capped blue La Sal Mountains near the Colorado border became more distinct as they stood out drastically from the brilliantly colored features of the Fiery Furnace as we continued up the road. The Fiery Furnace is “an intricate maze of eroded red and cream-colored ridges with narrow gullies between them� (www.americansouthwest.net). A few minutes later, we arrived at the trailhead.

When we began the 6 mile loop trail I had no idea that it would lead us to 8 major arches, including Landscape Arch, the longest arch in the world. My head was not filled with any preconceived notions because, before our Plymouth State University sponsored trip, I had never heard of Arches National Park. I had never seen any pictures, websites, or postcards. The Grand Canyon and Yosemite were the only national parks I had been familiar with and that is because I have been to the Grand Canyon and Yosemite is popular for rock climbing, which is one of my interests. I live on the East coast and state parks are what I grew up learning about. The idea of national parks was foreign to me. Since visiting Arches National Park I have expanded my interest in learning about these parks and what they were created to protect. National parks are no longer foreign to me because I was able to visit both Mesa Verde National Park and Arches National Park during my trip.

It is astonishing to me that the trail I hiked with the rest of the group was only a portion of 73,000 scenic acres of the most prestigious geological formations in the world. Our group spent almost an entire day hiking, observing, and learning about the natural sandstone arches. This amount of time was adequate considering my present knowledge of geology and the fact that I wouldn’t be able to actually study the arches like many of the geologists that travel to the park. As an avid bicycle rider, I would like to return to the area to bike the road that navigates through the park. I would like to ride with my father who has never traveled to a national park or seen anything as naturally brilliant as the arches that I witnessed in the park.

History is all around us, but rarely can you view such extraordinary geological features depicting millions of years of natural time-driven changes in one place. This place is Arches National Park, just north of Moab, Utah. –Matt Stanton

Having lived in Arizona, I certainly was familiar with the relative large size of the Navajo Reservation (27,000 square miles- the largest Native American Reservation in the U.S.) compared to the much smaller Hopi Reservation (6000 square miles).  However, I knew virtually nothing about the Ute Reservations until visiting the Four Corners Outdoor School. We drove by signs in southern Utah designating that we were passing through the ‘Ute Reservation’.

I wondered why the Ute reservation lands weren’t contiguous?  I learned the story is complicated; there are three groups of Utes:  1) the Northern Ute who live on the Uintah-Ouray Reservation near Fort Duchesne in northeastern Utah; 2) the Southern Ute who live in the southwestern corner of Colorado near Ignacio; and 3) the Ute Mountain Ute who live near Towaoc, Colorado, and also small sections of Utah and New Mexico (http://www.cpluhna.nau.edu/People/ute_indians.htm). The White Mesa Community of Utah, near Blanding, is part of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, but is largely autonomous.  The Northern Ute are the largest tribe and the largest reservation in Utah. The largest section of the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation is situated in the southwestern portion of Colorado and the northwestern portion of New Mexico, just to the northeast of the much larger Navajo Reservation and bordering Mesa Verde.  In addition to the above described Ute Mountain Ute tribal reservation lands, there are individually owned lands or allotments, as well as US Government lands utilized for school purposes, all in southeast Utah near Blanding.  Also the tribe holds fee patent title to seven tracts of land located in Utah and Colorado.  These differing designations makes it difficult to draw clean boundaries around the reservation (www.eere.energy.gov/tribalenergy/guide/pdfs/ute_mountain_ute.pdf).

One of the more interesting aspects of the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation, is the Ute Mountain Tribal Park, overshadowed by the more famous Mesa Verde National Park, but which “has been selected by National Geographic Traveler as one of “80 World Destinations for Travel in the 21st Century”, one of only 9 places in the United States to receive this special designation,â€? (http://swcolo.org/Tourism/Archaeology/utemtn.html.) The Park is approximately 125,000 acres is size, including a 25 mile long stretch of the Mancos River, and contains more archaeological sites than adjacent, more famous Mesa Verde. The Tribal Park must be explored with a Ute guide.  (http://www.eere.energy.gov/tribalenergy/title26/ute_mtn_summary.html).  We wondered about the nature and extent of the ruins just outside Mesa Verde and the number of tourists that took the trouble to visit the latter.

We noticed as we drove through the four states that some of the ‘Ute’ reservations seemed more prosperous, like those that allowed gambling.  There are also cultural as well as economic differences among the Utes.  The Southern Ute of  Colorado are the wealthiest of the tribes and have financial assets approaching $2 billion from gambling (Sky Ute Casino), tourism, oil & gas, real estate leases, and other off-reservation financial and business investments (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ute_Tribe).  The Utes in Utah are not allowed to have gambling.  I never thought about the origin of the word Utah, derived from the name Ute, until I visited southeastern Utah and saw the signs for the Ute Reservations.  –Mary  Ann McGarry, instructor

Related items

• Sleeping Ute, Sacred Ute!
• Treasuring Butler Wash Petroglyphs
• Research and Reflections on Visiting Arches for the first time
• Animal Encounters on the Four Corners trip
• Value in defining the Colorado Plateau

Standing outside at the Four Corners Outdoor School base camp outside of Monticello, UT, one can see the Sleeping Ute off in the distance.  The Sleeping Ute mountain range resembles a person laying down.  Features that can be made out are a head, arms crossed over the chest, hips and legs.  Ute legend tells of a Great Warrior God who helped to fight against the “evil ones�.  During the fight the warrior and the evil ones’ feet pushed into the land and formed the mountains and valleys of the area.  The warrior was wounded during this fight and while resting, fell into a deep sleep.  The warrior’s blood is believed to have become the “living water� of the rivers and when the Warrior God is happy with the people, rain clouds come from the God’s pocket.  The Warrior God does not have a specific gender in many versions of the legend.  The seasons were also thought to be due to the changing of the God’s blanket.  The light green blanket indicates spring, dark green is summer, yellow and red is fall, and white is winter.  When there is fog or clouds over the mountain, it is an indication of the changing of the “blanket� or season. (http://www.utemountainute.com/legends.htm). 

 The Sleeping Ute is the common name for the Ute Mountains.  They are a cluster of peaks approximately 5 by 12 miles in length and stand apart from other mountain ranges.  This area once was, and still is, a sacred place to the Ute Indians, and after much trading of land, is now wholly contained within their reservation.  The range can be seen up to 50 miles away, but is best seen from 15-25 miles away.  The range is formed of Tertiary igneous rocks pushing through layers of Navajo Sandstone, Entrada Sandstone, the Summerville Formation, and Junction Creek Sandstone.  Weathering of the softer layers has given the mountain range its distinctive features.  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ute_Mountain).  This is just one of many examples where the geology of landforms plays a large role in both the history and legends of the Native American people. –Alyssa Langley 

Related items

• Wondering About the Varying Sizes of Native American Reservations in the Four Corners Region
• Treasuring Butler Wash Petroglyphs
• Research and Reflections on Visiting Arches for the first time
• Animal Encounters on the Four Corners trip
• Value in defining the Colorado Plateau

One of the neatest parts of the Four Corners trip was seeing the petroglyphs at Butler Wash.  Butler Wash is a side canyon off of the San Juan River, whose cliff faces are covered in petroglyphs.  The panel which we stopped at is perhaps the most famous of these petroglyphs and can only be reached by rafting down the river or a long hike.  The panel of petroglyphs is over 200 ft long and approximately 30 feet above ground level (http://www.coconino.edu/apetersen/_art221/rockart.htm).  The majority of the petroglyphs at Butler Wash are from the Basketmaker II-III Period (100 BC-700 AD), but there are a few others that are most likely from the Navajo people (http://mc2.vicnet.net.au/home/vhra/web/butler.html). 

Petroglyphs are pictures that have been etched into the rock, rather than painted on.  Several types of subject matter are etched on the rock.  Anthropomorphs are defined as a figure resembling a human being, Zoomorphs are animals or insect-like creatures, and then there are abstract and representational figures as well (http://www.coconino.edu/apetersen/_art221/rockart.htm).  The exact meanings of rock art are not known, but they are thought to have been used for rituals.  Many may have been for shamanistic rituals and these panels would include masks, headdresses, elaborate costumes, birds, animal spirit guides, and skeletons (http://www.coconino.edu/apetersen/_art221/rockart.htm). 

As we got off the boats, one of the first things our guide warned us about was to not go scaling the hill to get to the panel.  This “hill� is actually a burial ground from the ancient people and is sacred and should be treated as such.  We were also warned to not touch the panel, as the oils in our hands would degrade the etched petroglyphs.  As we climbed around the hill, up to the panel, several large petroglyphs came into view.  These seven anthropomorphs are not only found here, but in several other areas as well.  We were told that they most likely represented the deities of the ancestral people who lived in the area.  These deities were represented with large, triangular shaped bodies, with small circular heads.  Each of them had what appeared to be a head dress and large hands and feet.  Most of them had ornaments about their bodies as well.  There were many zoomorphs scattered about the panel as well.  They appeared to represent birds, big horn sheep, insects, and types of deer.  There were also several representations of what seemed to be corn; we thought perhaps this was special to the people because it was a large part of their diet.

The petroglyph panel was very impressive in itself, but there were other interesting historical aspects in the area as well.  As we came close to the panel, we could see several circular indentations in the side of the canyon wall.  Our guide explained that these were used by the Anasazi as ladders by which they got up to either their houses or granaries.  An interesting fact about them was that if one did not start off on the correct hand and foot, then they would get stuck half way up the wall, and most likely fall before they would be able to climb back down.  This was taken as a security measure to protect themselves and their food.  Another cool aspect of the Butler Wash area was that there were ancient shards of pottery strewn about the ground.  You are supposed to leave these for others to enjoy as well, but many people have taken them as souvenirs, so there are not as many left as there once was.  Still, we were able to find some large pieces and some decorative pieces, which we left in  place.  Some were painted and others had raised designs on their surfaces.  Overall the area was filled with ancient history that deeply deserves to be respected and preserved for future generations to learn from as well.  –Alyssa Langley

Related items

• Wondering About the Varying Sizes of Native American Reservations in the Four Corners Region
• Sleeping Ute, Sacred Ute!
• Research and Reflections on Visiting Arches for the first time
• Animal Encounters on the Four Corners trip
• Value in defining the Colorado Plateau

Arches National Park is 76,519 acres or 119 square miles long and lies in Utah. The park lies atop underground salt beds; basically a sea flowed into the region and eventually evaporated leaving behind the salt. The salt bed was eventually covered with an ocean that deposited sediments that accumulated and compressed to form sediemtnary rock. The salt beds were not stable under pressure and shifted and moved. Some sections of the rock were thrust upward into domes, while other sections dropped, and faults resulted, where arches could start to form. At one time the overlying layer of rock may have been more than a mile thick before erosional processes set to work. Fins are walls of more resistant rock that remain from differential erosion and arches form in fins. (http://www2.nature.nps.gov/geology/parks/arch/ ).

Landscape Arch, located in the park at Devils Garden, stretches over 300 feet in length and is one of the largest arches in North America. In 1973 it was decided that in order for a hole in the rock to be considered an arch it had to have an opening of at least three feet. Even if the opening is one inch high, as long as it is three feet long, it counts as an arch. (http://www2.nature.nps.gov/geology/parks/arch/).

In 1991 a slab of rock about 60 feet long, 11 feet wide and 4 feet thick fell from the underside of Landscape Arch, leaving behind an even thinner ribbon of rock. Luckily no one was injured and excitingly a person photographed it when it was in the middle of falling (http://www.arches.national-park.com/info.htm#geo).

Over 200 species of vertebrates and hundreds of species of invertebrates inhabit the park. Only with a keen eye will one see any organisms because they have adapted to the high desert conditions which means they’re not too active during the heat of the day. I remember starting the a hike on the Devil’s Garden Trailhead in the Park and seeing many lizards jetting into the shade, trying to avoid the sun as much as possible. Most animals simply avoid the extremes by staying in burrows or in the shade of a tree during the day and venturing out to feed in the evening. For example, the kangaroo rat, well known for its ability to tolerate desert environments, retreats underground during the day. (http://www.arches.national-park.com/info.htm#geo).

There are more than 100 other plant species in the park, but the rock formations impressed me more than any plant communities. Mountain mahogany and cliff rose often grow alongside and take advantage of the moisture that the Pinon and Juniper roots have penetrated (http://www.arches.national-park.com/info.htm#geo).

The beautiful scenery was something I had never seen before; looking out over miles and miles of land, arches, and canyons is certainly something I will never forget. I felt like Indiana Johns in the Last Crusade (http://www.moabutah.com/Resources/Arches.php).  –Chris Matthews

Related items

• Wondering About the Varying Sizes of Native American Reservations in the Four Corners Region
• Sleeping Ute, Sacred Ute!
• Treasuring Butler Wash Petroglyphs
• Animal Encounters on the Four Corners trip
• Value in defining the Colorado Plateau

One of the main things I was looking forward to on this trip was encountering the wildlife of the West.  I thought it would be neat to experience different animals than we have in the East, as well as see if there were any differences between animals of the same species from the East and West.  We did come across several wildlife species and several domesticated ones as well. 

The first species we came across was in a domesticated setting, but does still roam free in some parts of the West.  The American Buffalo once played an enormous role in the lives of the native people of the West.  These tribes followed and lived by the herds that provided them with everything they needed to live on.  Once the white man came out West and discovered these majestic animals, things drastically changed.  Buffalo hunting became one of the main industries of the plains, often with kills of 250 animals a day.    Millions of buffalo once roamed the western plains, but by the late 1800’s only about 300 were left in the wild (http://www.fws.gov/species/species_accounts/bio_buff.html).  In 1894, buffalo hunting was made illegal and conservation efforts over the years have brought the number of buffalo up to about 200,000 (http://www.fws.gov/species/species_accounts/bio_buff.html).  However, these gentle giants will never again have total free roam over the land that once was theirs. 

Driving through Colorado, on our way to the base camp in Utah, we came across another of the West’s best known animals on the side of the road.  The Big Horn Sheep can be found all over the West, although its range changes seasonally.  This animal is best known for the attribute that gave them their name; their big curled horns.  The males use these horns when competing for territory or for females, in head butting contests that can last up to 20 hours! (http://www.nhptv.org/Natureworks/bighornsheep.htm).  They are also well known for their climbing and jumping abilities, which help them to live in areas that are unsuitable for most other species and to evade predators. 

Once on the San Juan River, we encountered many other animals, both wild and domesticated.  I say domesticated, but as the horses and the cattle we encountered basically have free range of the land, I would almost classify them as wild.  They were all along the river banks and we encountered many when we were on our hikes as well.  The wildlife we encountered was varied.  There were several species of birds that we saw on our first day on the river.  The first were a few Blue Herons, some Cliff Swallows, and we thought we saw a Willow Flycatcher.  The Southwestern Willow Flycatcher is an endangered species due to habitat destruction and large flood control dams (http://audubon2.org/webapp/watchlist/viewSpecies.jsp?id=217).  Due to its status, it is great if we actually did see one.  We also believe we saw a Bald Eagle soaring above us on the second day of the river trip.  It may have been a Golden Eagle, but whichever it may have been was definitely a sight to see.  As for other animals, there were many lizards running about the warm rocks along the sides of the river.  I do not know the species, but they were tiny.  There were also many chipmunks running in and out of holes as we passed them.  We came upon a funny site when I pointed out what I thought to be a large nest, and it turned out to be a large porcupine.  As we realized what it was, we saw another one in a neighboring tree, both of which appeared to be sunning themselves.  All along the river bank were beaver homes as well.  It was interesting to see them because when I think of a beaver, I think of a dam on a pond.  This is not the case with these beavers.  They burrow into the sides of the river beds and make their homes here.  Sometimes there were sticks around the entrances, but for the most part there were just concealed holes.  Our guide pointed out that the lack of dams is most likely due to the fact that the river is not constant in speed and depth.  We did not actually see any beavers, but between their homes and all the chewed logs, there were signs of them everywhere. 

One of the animals I encountered that sticks out foremost in my mind was a hare.  I say this not because the hare was overly amazing or anything, but because it almost gave me a heart attack.  I knew hares were abundant in the area, but had not seen one until I was going to bed and it was dark out and I almost stepped on one as I was walking to my tent.  It took off in such a flash that I wasn’t sure what it was at first.  I figured it out once my heart came back down to earth.  There were also coyotes in the area.  We could hear them at night, but did not actually see any.  I’m sure there were many more intriguing animals along the river that we just did not run into, but I was thoroughly satisfied with the amount we were able to see.  –Alyssa Langley

Related items

• Wondering About the Varying Sizes of Native American Reservations in the Four Corners Region
• Sleeping Ute, Sacred Ute!
• Treasuring Butler Wash Petroglyphs
• Research and Reflections on Visiting Arches for the first time
• Value in defining the Colorado Plateau

Before embarking on our trip to the Four Corners region of the United States, the first task I assigned the participating students was to define the Colorado Plateau. I didn’t set many parameters. I was expecting the responses to could include information on the following: size, ecology, geology, and culture. My motive for the assignment was multifold. First I am an earth science educator and I wanted them to learn the classic definition of this landform. 

Geologically speaking, a plateau, also called a tableland (describing the characteristic shape), is a highland area, usually consisting of relatively flat open country if the uplift was recent in geologic history http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plateau.  Plateaus are like the progressively smaller features- mesas and buttes.  They all are formed when land has been uplifted by tectonic activity and then eroded by wind and water. Often the flat-topped, sheer-sided plateaus, are formed when the section of land that is uplifted is topped with a layer of particularly resistant, volcanic like rock, and underlain by softer rock.

Given the above definition, one would half-expect to be able to drive around the perimeter of the Colorado Plateau, and look down at the surrounding landscape below.  This is definitely not the case. I wanted the students to then learn the same lesson I had, the Colorado Plateau isn’t one really large, raised, layercake like formation that sits above the surrounding land. It contains many other smaller plateaus, mesas and buttes and, in fact, it is surrounded by higher bordering mountains.

In reading the students responses I thought more deeply about the value in defining this physiogeographic region. Not one student had written about the elevation of the Colorado Plateau. The Colorado Plateau is not of uniform elevation partly because it has been dissected by the Colorado River and its tributaries.  Therefore, the elevation varies from 2000 feet to approximately 13,000 feet, with a wide variety of flora and fauna, but mostly it is a high desert (Colorado Plateau And Its Borderlands, 2004 time Traveler Maps, 2nd ed., www.mapZ.com.) 

I now wonder after having visited the Colorado Plateau, to what degree the students recognize that the area is one of the least populated regions of the United States.  And why is this so?  Is it the dryness and lack of water?  Humans are known for engineereing solutions around this shortfall, and for the well researched story of the Bureau of Land Management and its dams in this region, one only has to read Cadillac Desert:  The American WEst and Its Disappearing Water by Mark Risner, 1993.).  Maybe the sparse population is due more to the lack of private land.  The region “hosts the greatest and most diverse collection of national parks and public lands on earth!” ((Colorado Plateau And Its Borderlands, 2004 time Traveler Maps, 2nd ed., www.mapZ.com.)  Given that so much of the land is federally owned or reservation land of one tribe or another, development is very limited in particular regions.

Of the various maps of the Colorado Plateau region I’ve studied, I’m always looking at the consistency of boundaries, scanning for topographic features which will show elevations and presence of vegetation, and noticing new, smaller features contained within the region.  I’ve also wondered what the region looks like from space, from satellite images.  This led me to the first five images and maps at the following site: http://rst.gsfc.nasa.gov/Sect6/Sect6_7.html, which point out that the Colorado Plateau is recognizable in satellite images which use color-coding to show sparsely vegetated areas and contrasting surrounding regions which border it- the Southern Rocky Mountains to the east, the Basin and Range to the West, and the Central Rocky Mountains to the north.  I use to live on the edge of the Mogollon Rim, south of Flagstaff, Arizona and the San Francisco Peaks, which in fact is a large escarpment  dropping off to the lower Sonoran desert region in southern Arizona.   A second true to color satellite image is found at the top of the page at http://www.cliffshade.com/colorado/colorado%5Fmon/.  The salmon pink color clearly marks the Colorado Plateau from the dark green forests and white snows that border it. –Mary Ann McGarry, instructor

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A plateau is defined as a large highland area of fairly level land separated from surrounding land by steep slopes. There are many famous plateaus in the world including the Bolivian Plateau in South America, Ethiopian Plateau in Ethiopia, Tibetan Plateau in China, Deccan Plateau in India, Anatolian Plateau in Turkey, and the Mato-Grosso Plateau in Brazil (http://www.edu.pe.ca/southernkings/plateaurh.htm).

One plateau that stands alone for its multi-cultures and spectacular geologic formations, is the Colorado Plateau in the Southwest, Four Corners region of the United States. The Four Corners region is the only place where four U.S. states, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona, come together at one point. The 130,000 square miles that encompass the plateau expand across “Northeastern and northern Arizona, the southern two thirds of western Colorado, northwestern New Mexico, central Utah, southern Utah, and the southern two thirds of eastern Utah� (http://freespace.virgin.net). The Colorado Plateau is a large basin area surrounded by highlands or mountains. There is evidence of isolated volcanic activity within the Plateau, but mostly the Plateau contains smaller plateaus, mesas, and buttes carved into the many layers of sedimentary rock that were deposited when the area was covered by inland, shallow seas.

The formation of the Colorado Plateau is unique. The distinctive land features that tattoo other provinces of the Western United States are not present here. Instead of being “thrust, stretched, and fractured� (http://cpluhna.nau.edu) into disjointed mountains and deep basins like its western counterparts (i.e. Rocky Mountains to the east and basin and range country to the west) the Colorado Plateau basically remained “structurally intact� and resisted the physical changes evident in the topography surrounding it (http://cpluhna.nau.edu). The Colorado Plateau floated along the western edge of the landmass that eventually formed the North American continent. When much of the rest of the western United States was rising as high as three miles above sea level due to volcanic eruptions and the movement and collision of tectonic plates, the Colorado plateau remained a distinctive, mostly undeformed piece of continental crust. The only remnants of tectonic forces in the Plateau are the “broad, dome- shaped uplifts, shallow basins, and folds� (http://cpluhna.nau.edu).  As the landmass or piece of crustal plate containing the Colorado Plateau journeyed northward from the South Pole region, water from rising seas imprinted the entire region with large amounts of sedimentary rock. The Colorado Plateau consists of highlands surrounding the Colorado River. The landforms of the Colorado Plateau are a mixture of soft and hard rock marked by deep canyons carved by the Colorado River and its tributaries.

Colorful, unrivaled physical features not only define the Colorado Plateau, but the region contains the “fossil remains of 12,000 years of human occupation, spanning the entire temporal range of human prehistoric development from the Paleo-Indian culture to the modern Pueblo Indiansâ€? (http://cpluhna.nau.edu). Embedded in the plateau are over 16,000 archaeological sites revealing the transformation of thousands of years of culture. These archeological sites extend throughout the region in the form of pueblos and cliff dwellings, and rock art such as pictographs (paintings) and petroglyphs (carvings). The distinct landforms of the Colorado Plateau, along with the ancient history and culture of the humans who inhabited it, are visible and preserved and the remaining multi-cultural communities tell an interesting story. –Matt Staton

Related items

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• Animal Encounters on the Four Corners trip