How much do you really know about Moab?
1. Moab got its biblical name in 1880 when the first postmaster William Pierce chose it, believing that both the biblical Moab and this Utah valley were desert regions “beyond the promised land.”
2. In the 1950s, Moab became known as the “Uranium Capital of the World” after geologist Charles Steen discovered a massive uranium deposit, transforming the quiet farming town into a bustling industrial center.
3. The Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad built a special 30-mile railroad spur line to the Cane Creek potash mine in 1962, requiring a 7,059-foot tunnel through the canyon walls to transport potash to market.
4. Hollywood director John Ford put Moab on the map in 1949 when he filmed “Wagon Master” here, leading to the establishment of the world’s longest-running film commission.
5. More than 43 arches in Arches National Park have collapsed since 1977 as part of the natural lifecycle of Utah’s magnificent stone formations.
6. The failed Elk Mountain Mission of 1855 was the first attempted Mormon settlement in Moab, but hostile encounters with Ute tribes forced its abandonment after just four months.
7. Moab sits beneath some of the darkest night skies in the United States, making it a premier destination for stargazing and viewing the Milky Way with the naked eye.
8. The mysterious Upheaval Dome in nearby Canyonlands National Park is a geological anomaly where rocks that were once a mile underground are now visible on the surface.
9. Native peoples lived in the Moab area as early as 10,000 BC, leaving behind petroglyphs including one that appears to depict a woolly mammoth from the end of the Ice Age.
