Moab Jigsaw Puzzles

A river crossing in the desert

For a few decades after 1829, the Moab area was a Colorado River crossing on the Old Spanish Trail. In April 1855, Latter-day Saint settlers founded the Elk Mountain Mission here and built a trading fort. After James Hunt was killed in an attack on September 23, 1855, the fort was abandoned. Settlers returned in the late 1870s, and residents settled on the name Moab in 1880. The town was incorporated on December 30, 1902, and a permanent bridge replaced the toll ferry across the river in 1911.

From uranium capital to red rock playground

Uranium and vanadium had been found nearby in the 1910s and 1920s, but the real boom came in the 1950s. After geologist Charles Steen found a rich ore deposit south of town, Moab became known as the Uranium Capital of the World. When the Cold War wound down, the boom faded. Visitors had already started to arrive, drawn by Arches, which became a national monument on April 12, 1929, and a national park on November 12, 1971. The film director John Ford shot Wagon Master near Moab in 1949, and the town later became known for jeep tours and mountain biking on the Slickrock Trail.

Five things you might not know about Moab

1. Arches National Park contains more than 2,000 natural sandstone arches.
2. Landscape Arch in Arches National Park spans 290 feet, making it the longest arch in the park.
3. Moab's population jumped from 1,274 in 1950 to 4,682 in 1960 during the uranium boom.
4. Canyonlands National Park was established on September 12, 1964, and the Green and Colorado rivers meet inside its 337,598 acres.
5. Dead Horse Point State Park sits at 5,900 feet, opened to the public in 1959 and was used as a location for the 1991 film Thelma & Louise.

Sources: Wikipedia: Moab, Utah · Wikipedia: Arches National Park · Wikipedia: Canyonlands National Park · Wikipedia: Dead Horse Point State Park