Moab () is the largest city in and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

of Grand County in eastern

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

in the western

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, known for its dramatic scenery. The population was 5,366 at the 2020 census. Moab attracts many tourists annually, mostly visitors to the nearby

Arches An arch is a curved vertical structure span (engineering), spanning an open space underneath it. Arches may support the load above them, or they may perform a purely decorative role. As a decorative element, the arch dates back to the 4th mill ...

and Canyonlands National Parks. The town is a popular base for mountain bikers who ride the extensive network of trails including the Slickrock Trail, and for off-roaders who come for the annual Moab Jeep Safari. Moab is home to one of the nine regional campuses of

Utah State University Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public university, public land grant colleges, land-grant research university with its main campus in Logan, Utah, United States. Founded in 1888 under the Morrill Land-Grant Acts as Utah's federal ...

History

Early years

Residents named the town Moab in 1880; in the Bible this term refers to an area of land located on the eastern side of the Jordan River. Some historians believe the city in Utah came to use this name because of William Andrew Peirce, the first postmaster, believing that the biblical Moab and this part of Utah were both "the far country". However, others believe the name has Paiute origins, referring to the word ''moapa'', meaning "mosquito". Some of the area's early residents attempted to change the city's name, because in the Christian Bible, Moabites are demeaned as incestuous and idolatrous (but note, Ruth was a Moabite). One petition in 1890 had 59 signatures and requested a name change to "Vina". Another effort attempted to change the name to "Uvadalia". Both attempts failed. During the period between 1829 and the early 1850s, the area around what is now Moab served as the

Colorado River The Colorado River () is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The river, the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), 5th longest in the United St ...

crossing along the Old Spanish Trail. Latter-day Saint settlers attempted to establish a trading fort at the river crossing called the Elk Mountain Mission in April 1855 to trade with travellers attempting to cross the river. Forty men were called on this mission. There were repeated Indian attacks, including one on September 23, 1855, in which James Hunt, companion to Peter Stubbs, was shot and killed by a Native American. After this last attack, the fort was abandoned. A new group of settlers from Rich County, led by Randolph Hockaday Stewart, established a permanent settlement in 1878 under the direction of Brigham Young. Moab was incorporated as a town on December 20, 1902. In 1883 the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad main line was constructed across eastern Utah. The rail line did not pass through Moab, instead passing through the towns of Thompson Springs and

Cisco Cisco Systems, Inc. (using the trademark Cisco) is an American multinational digital communications technology conglomerate corporation headquartered in San Jose, California. Cisco develops, manufactures, and sells networking hardware, s ...

, to the north. Later, other places to cross the Colorado were constructed, such as Lee's Ferry, Navajo Bridge and Boulder Dam. These changes shifted the trade routes away from Moab. Moab farmers and merchants had to adapt from trading with passing travelers to shipping their goods to distant markets. Soon Moab's origins as one of the few natural crossings of the Colorado River were forgotten. Nevertheless, the U.S. military deemed the bridge over the Colorado River at Moab important enough to place it under guard as late as

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In 1943, a former Civilian Conservation Corps camp outside Moab was used as a Citizen Isolation Center to confine Japanese American internees labeled "troublemakers" by authorities in the

War Relocation Authority The War Relocation Authority (WRA) was a United States government agency established to handle the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. It also operated the Fort Ontario Emergency Refugee Shelter in Oswego, New York, which was t ...

, the government body responsible for overseeing the wartime incarceration program. The Moab Isolation Center for "noncompliant" Japanese Americans was created in response to growing resistance to WRA policies within the camps; a December 1942 clash between guards and inmates known as the " Manzanar Riot", in which two were killed and ten injured, was the final push. On January 11, 1943, the sixteen men who had initiated the two-day protests were transferred to Moab from the town jails where they were booked (without charges or access to hearings) after the riot. Having closed just fifteen months prior, all 18 military-style structures of the CCC camp were in good condition, and the site was converted to its new use with minimal renovation.Burton, Jeffery. ''Confinement and Ethnicity: An Overview of World War II Japanese American Relocation Sites'' (National Park Service, 2011) p. 325. 150 military police guarded the camp, and director Raymond Best and head of security Francis Frederick presided over administration. On February 18, thirteen transfers from Gila River, Arizona, were brought to Moab, and six days later, ten more arrived from Manzanar. An additional fifteen Tule Lake inmates were transferred on April 2. Most of these new arrivals were removed from the general camp population because of their resistance to the WRA's attempts to determine the loyalty of incarcerated Japanese Americans, met largely with confusion and anger because of a lack of explanation as to how and why internees would be assessed. The Moab Isolation Center remained open until April 27, when most of its inmates were bused to the larger and more secure Leupp Isolation Center. (Five men, serving sentences in the Grand County Jail after protesting conditions in Moab, were transported to Leupp in a five-by-six-foot box on the back of a truck. Their separate transfer was arranged by Francis Frederick, who had also handed down their prison sentences, using a law he later rescinded to charge them with unlawful assembly.) In 1994, the "Dalton Wells CCC Camp/Moab Relocation Center" was added to the National Register of Historic Places, and, although no marker exists on the site, an information plaque at the current site entrance and a photograph on display at the Dan O'Laurie Museum in Moab mention the former isolation center.

Later years

Moab's economy was originally based on agriculture, but gradually shifted to mining.

Uranium Uranium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Ura ...

and vanadium were discovered in the area in the 1910s and 1920s.

Potash Potash ( ) includes various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water- soluble form.

and

manganese Manganese is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese was first isolated in the 1770s. It is a transition m ...

came next, and then oil and gas were discovered. In the 1950s Moab became the so-called "Uranium Capital of the World" after geologist Charles Steen found a rich deposit of uranium ore south of the city. This discovery coincided with the advent of the era of

nuclear weapon A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear weapon), producing a nuclear exp ...

s and

nuclear power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced by ...

in the United States, and Moab's boom years began. The city population grew nearly 500% over the next few years, bringing the population to near 6,000 people. The explosion in population caused much construction of houses and schools. Charles Steen donated a great deal of money and land to create new houses and churches in Moab. With the winding down of the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

, Moab's uranium boom was over, and the city's population drastically declined. By the early 1980s a number of homes stood empty, and nearly all of the uranium mines had closed. In 1949, Western movie director

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), better known as John Ford, was an American film director and producer. He is regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers during the Golden Age of Hollywood, and w ...

was persuaded to use the area for the movie '' Wagon Master''. Ford had been using the area in Monument Valley around Mexican Hat, Utah, south of Moab, since he filmed ''

Stagecoach A stagecoach (also: stage coach, stage, road coach, ) is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by ...

'' there 10 years earlier in 1939. A local Moab rancher (George White) found Ford and persuaded him to come take a look at Moab. The Moab to Monument Valley Film Commission is a Moab City Department and holds the title of the longest running film commission in the world. Established in 1949, the commission has overseen the production of the many movies filmed near Moab. In recent years, Moab has experienced a surge of second-home owners. The relatively mild winters and enjoyable summers have attracted many people to build such homes throughout the area. In a situation mirroring that of other resort towns in the

American West The Western United States (also called the American West, the Western States, the Far West, the Western territories, and the West) is census regions United States Census Bureau As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the mea ...

, controversy has arisen over these new residents and their houses, which in many cases remain unoccupied for most of the year. Many Moab citizens are concerned that the town is seeing changes similar to those experienced in Vail and

Aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species in the Populus sect. Populus, of the ''Populus'' (poplar) genus. Species These species are called aspens: * ''Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China, south of ''P. tremula'') * ''Populus da ...

in neighboring

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

: skyrocketing property values, a rising cost of living, and corresponding effects on local low- and middle-income workers. File:Steen's $11 million dollar Uranium Reduction Co. Moab,Utah.jpg, Charlie Steen's $11 million Uranium Reduction Co. that became the Atlas Uranium Mill File:County-sponsored sign promoting manufacturing in Moab during the early 1970s.jpg, County-sponsored sign promoting manufacturing in Moab during the early 1970s File:Uranium Building, Moab.jpg, Uranium building's historic storefront, 2019 File:Lin Ottinger’s eccentric rock shop, Moab.jpg, A rock shop, 2019

Cultural events

Moab hosts several cultural events and festivals including the Moab Music Festival, LGBT Pride Festival, Folk Festival, Skinny Tire Festival, and others. The annual music festival occurs in September, and was founded in 1992 by several musicians from New York. The Moab Folk Festival features concerts by numerous folk musicians every November. Since 2011 Moab has hosted an

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

Pride festival. The first festival included a "visibility" march which drew more than 350 people; in its second year's festival had over 600 in attendance. The Skinny Tire Festival is a road bike festival that occurs in March each year and raises funds for cancer research and survivors. Additionally, Moab sponsors the Moab Art Walk at multiple venues throughout the year, highlighting local artists' work.

Geography

Moab is just south of the

, at an elevation of on the Colorado Plateau. It is west of the Utah/Colorado state line. Via U.S. Route 191, it is south of Interstate 70 at Crescent Junction, and it is north of Monticello. Via Utah State Route 128 it is southwest of

. The entrance to Arches National Park is north of Moab on US 191. Hurrah Pass is located on the trail between Moab and Chicken Corners. Kokopelli's Trail, a 142-mile mountain biking trail which begins near Loma, Colorado, ends in Moab. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , all land.

Climate

Moab has a semi-arid climate bordering on arid (

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''BSk'') characterized by hot summers and chilly winters, with precipitation evenly spread over the year (usually less than one inch per month). There are an average of 41 days with temperatures reaching , 109 days reaching , and 3.6 days per winter where the temperature remains at or below freezing. The highest temperature was on July 7, 1989. The lowest temperature was on January 22, 1930. Average annual precipitation in Moab is . There are an average of 55 days annually with measurable precipitation. The wettest year was 1983 with and the driest year was 1898 with . The most precipitation in one month was in July 1918. The most precipitation in 24 hours was on July 23, 1983. Average seasonal snowfall for 1981–2011 is . The most snow in a season was during 1914–15, and the snowiest month on average is December, with the record set in 1915 at .

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 4,779 people, 1,936 households, and 1,169 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was 1,313.1 people per square mile (506.9/km²). There were 2,148 housing units at an average density of 590.2 per square mile (227.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 90.35%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 5.46% Native American, 0.36%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.29% Asian, 0.08%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 1.88% from other races, and 1.57% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 6.44% of the population. There were 1,936 households, out of which 30.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.4% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 12.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.6% were non-families. 31.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 3.10. In the city, the population was spread out, with 27.6% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 21.6% from 45 to 64, and 13.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.7 males. The median income for a household in the city was $32,620, and the median income for a family was $38,214. Males had a median income of $35,291 versus $21,339 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $16,228. About 12.0% of families and 15.7% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 19.1% of those under age 18 and 10.5% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The following public schools serve Moab area students: * Helen M. Knight Elementary School, Grades K-6 * Moab Charter School, Grades K-6 * Margaret L. Hopkin Middle School, Grades 7-8 * Grand County High School, Grades 9-12 Moab is home to a regional campus of

Media

* Films ** Films shot in the Moab area include: *** '' Wagon Master'' (1950) *** ''

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( or ) in the United States or the Río Bravo (del Norte) in Mexico (), also known as Tó Ba'áadi in Navajo language, Navajo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the Southwestern United States a ...

'' (1950) *** '' Warlock'' (1958) *** '' Rio Conchos'' (1964) *** '' Fade In'' (1968) *** '' Nightmare at Noon'' (1988) *** '' Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat'' (1988) *** ''

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade ''Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'' is a 1989 American action adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg from a screenplay by Jeffrey Boam, based on a story by George Lucas and Menno Meyjes. It is the third installment in the Indiana Jone ...

'' (1989) *** '' Lightning Jack'' (1994) *** '' Riders of the Purple Sage'' (1996) *** '' RocketMan'' (1997) *** '' Breakdown'' (1997) *** '' John Carter'' (2012) * Books ** Books set partially in Moab include: ***

Fall; or, Dodge in Hell ''Fall; or, Dodge in Hell'' is a 2019 speculative fiction novel by American author Neal Stephenson. The book explores mind-uploading to the Cloud, from the perspective of Richard "Dodge" Forthrast, a character introduced in Stephenson's 2011 ' ...

(2019) *** Desert Solitaire (1968) *** The Scholar of Moab (2011) *** The Man Who Quit Money (2012)

Infrastructure

Transportation

Prior to the construction of the

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

in 1883, Moab was a strategic place to cross the Colorado River. A toll ferry service across the river ended when a permanent bridge was built in 1911. This bridge was replaced with a new bridge in 1955, which was in turn replaced by another new bridge in 2010. The 1955 bridge was subsequently demolished. The highway that uses this bridge has been renumbered multiple times and is now numbered U.S. Route 191. Moab gained freight railroad access in 1962, when a spur railroad line (now the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...

's Cane Creek Subdivision) was built to serve the Cane Creek potash mine. Moab has never had passenger rail service, although the ''

California Zephyr The ''California Zephyr'' is a Amtrak Long Distance, long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago, Illinois, Chicago and the San Francisco Bay Area (at Emeryville station, Emeryville), via Omaha, Nebraska, Omaha, Denver, Sa ...

'' has advertised service to Moab in the past via stops at Thompson Springs (no longer a scheduled stop), Green River or

Grand Junction, Colorado Grand Junction is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality that is the county seat and largest city of Mesa County, Colorado, United States. Grand Junction's population was 65,560 at the 2020 United St ...

. Beginning on August 15, 2021, the excursion company Rocky Mountaineer began operating passenger rail service between Moab and

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, in the form of the ''Rockies to the Red Rocks''. Bus service is provided by Salt Lake Express. There are a number of locally owned shuttle services that provide transportation to Salt Lake City and Grand Junction, CO. Air service is available at Canyonlands Field, with daily nonstop flights to Denver International Airport via SkyWest Airlines/ United Express.

Notable people

* Robert Fulghum, author * Steven L. Peck, author and professor * Suelo,

simple living Simple living refers to practices that promote simplicity in one's lifestyle. Common practices of simple living include reducing the number of possessions one owns, depending less on technology and services, and spending less money. In addition t ...

adherent * Zane Taylor, former NFL football center for the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

References

External links

City of Moab official website

7.5' Moab Area topographic map
- Utah Geological Survey {{Authority control Populated places established in 1878 Cities in Utah Cities in Grand County, Utah County seats in Utah Mining communities in Utah Old Spanish Trail (trade route) 1878 establishments in Utah Territory