La Sal Mountains

La Sal Mountains
	The La Sal Mountains from Arches National Park seen from
Highest peak	Mount Peale ( 3877 m )
location	Utah (USA)
part of	Rocky mountains
Coordinates	38 ° 26 ′ N , 109 ° 14 ′ W Coordinates: 38 ° 26 ′ N , 109 ° 14 ′ W

The La Sal Mountains , also La Sal Range , are a mountain range in the southeast of the US state Utah in the counties of San Juan and Grand . The mountain range is in the Manti-La Sal National Forest . The highest point is Mount Peale, 3877 m high, along with nine other three-thousand-meter peaks. In August 1776, participants in the Dominguez Escalante expedition discovered the white, snow-capped peaks rising from the desert on the horizon. Since they could not imagine finding snow in this hot, inhospitable area, they took the white peaks for pure salt and named the mountain range Sierra de la Sal , meaning Salty Mountains . In 1899, the German researcher Carl Purpus led an expedition to the La Sal Mountains and researched the until then largely unknown cactus flora in this region.

Geography and geology

The La Sal Mountains are about 25 kilometers east of the city of Moab and are part of the Manti-La Sal National Forest on the Colorado Plateau . The Arches and Canyonlands National Park are nearby . The mountain range covers a relatively small area of around 25 km north-south and 10 km east-west and is most easily reached from the west via the La Sal Mountain Loop Road , which begins south of Moab. The mountain range consists of granite boulders, actually unusual for the Colorado Plateau. The mountain range represents a classic laccolithic formation, which is surrounded by thick layers of sedimentary rock . In contrast to the subalpine and alpine mountains, there are a number of spectacular rock towers in the arid, desert-like environment, such as Castle Rock, Fisher Towers, Onion Creek Towers, Priest, Adobe Mesa and The Palisade .

fauna and Flora

The slopes of the mighty Lakkolithen are forested and offer a cool contrast to the heat of the surrounding desert. In the lower altitudes, Utah junipers ( Juniperus osteosperma ) and ponderosa pines ( Pinus ponderosa ) grow , followed by American quivering poplars ( Populus tremuloides ), rocky mountain firs ( Abies lasiocarpa ), Engelmann spruces ( Picea engelmannii ) and finally alpine tundra in the highest regions. Live to larger mammals here mule deer ( Odocoileus hemionus ), elk ( Cervus canadensis ), moose ( Alces alces ), bighorn sheep ( Ovis canadensis ), Rocky Mountain goats ( Oreamnos americanus ), black bear ( Ursus americanus ) and Pumas ( Puma concolor ).

history

The first settlement took place at the end of the last Ice Age around 12,000–11,000 BC. From the north. The first widespread culture was the Clovis culture and after them the ancestors of the Na Dené Indians arrived. Between 1000 BC The Anasazi settled in the lower elevations of the region until 1300 AD . They grew corn there and used the higher areas in the mountains for hunting and gathering during the warm season. Later the Weeminuche Ute appeared , who made their living by wild plants and hunting deer and other large game in the mountains. Eventually the Navajo came to the mountains in search of food and medicinal plants. They called the La Sal Mountains the Five Mountains , although it is unclear which of the numerous peaks they were referring to.

The first Europeans were the Spaniards and named the mountains Sierra de la Sal (mountains of salt). The monks Silvestre Velez de Escalante and Francisco Atanasio Dominguez arrived in the area in 1776. They wrote in their diary that "there are salt stores nearby that ... are used by the yutas themselves". The first Anglo-American settlers were Mormons , who founded the Elk Mountain Mission on the site of today's Moab in 1855 , because they found water and wood there. It existed less than a year after Ute warriors living there destroyed their buildings and drove them over the Wasatch Mountains . Other settlers came in the late 1870s. Many of them were Mormons, but unlike the first group, they had no official mandate, but were looking for new living space. In addition, workers were from the mines and ranches from Colorado down. The cities of Old La Sal and Coyote were created at the foot of the mountains due to their location on the Colorado-Utah-Mail route . In addition, farms , ranches and mines were soon established here. The newly built Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad ran north of Moab through the region, allowing cattle, sheep, and farm produce to be brought to markets to the east and west. The first road was built in 1919 and it followed the route of the Old Spanish Trail , which ran from Santa Fe via Utah to Los Angeles .

In the long run, cattle breeding and logging proved to be more profitable than working in the mines. The Pittsburgh Cattle Company began raising cattle in the 1880s and soon had 20,000 animals grazing in the valleys. In 1895 the company was taken over by the La Sal Cattle Company . With growing logging and the high number of grazing cattle, there was a dramatic environmental impact . In 1906 President Theodore Roosevelt set up the approximately 641.30 km² La Sal National Forest Reserve , of which around one-sixth was in Colorado . Two years later, the nature park was merged into the Manti-La Sal National Forest . Although the forest administration monitored and regulated the mines and logging, there were problems of flooding and erosion between 1918 and 1920 . The Civilian Conservation Corps developed a project within four years that primarily aimed to stop the regular flooding and promote road construction. Under the supervision of the forest administration, it was finally possible to restore the ecological balance in the La Sal Mountains. Today the mountains are once again a resource for water, minerals and wood. In addition, the Forest Service provides leisure facilities.

Viewpoints

On the La Sal Mountain Loop Road from Moab, via Castle Valley, Geyser Pass and back, there are numerous viewpoints and junctions that lead to mountain lakes and back roads. For example, Oowah Lake , which is known for its wealth of trout , can be reached via the Geyser Pass Road . An eight kilometer gravel road leads to Warner Lake .