• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

What Do We Have? A Study Unit of the Four Corners Country of the United States by Max Dicken, Ph.D. 1985-1986 Edited and adapted for CD-ROM by Woods Canyon Archaeological Consultants, Inc. YellowJacket, Colorado 2000 Part 1 Four Corners Country UTAH COLORADO ABAJO MOUNTAINS SAN JUAN MONTEZUMA CREEK MOUNTAINS DOLORES RIVER LA PLATA MOUNTAINS R E IV R S A IM N A UTE MTN MESA VERDE ER RIV PIEDRA RIVER COS MAN PROJECT AREA CHINLE WASH SAN JU AN RIVER LA PLATA RIVER CANYON de CHELLY CHUSKA N MOUNTAINS CHACO CANYON CHACO 0 20 40 km WASH ARIZONA NEW MEXICO CHAPTER 1 THE UNIQUE FOUR CORNERS COUNTRY The Four Corners Country of the southwestern United States is a unique region. Located where the state boundaries of Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico intersect (the only such point in the nation), this area is unusual in both its geography and history. People of the Four Corners live in the shadow of a history that extends thousands of years into the dim shadowy past, and also comes well into the 20th century. In the 1980s some elderly residents could still recall stories of covered wagons, clashes between Anglo settlers and Indians, and the changes from the open range livestock era to broad cultivated farmlands. What Do We have? tells this fascinating story. EXTENT OF THE UNIT This booklet considers from 30,000 to 40,000 square miles of the land surrounding the Four Corners survey marker as the Four Corners Country. Areas adjacent to this primary region will be studied also, since they influence the central localities. Although a long time span and large geographical area are covered lightly, the chief emphasis is on a smaller setting. Closely studied is the Dolores County, Colorado, area with its adjacent regions, especially the Great Sage Plain. Historically, the thousands of years of time are covered lightly, with only the cen- tury beginning at about 1875 receiving careful treatment. GEOGRAPHY OF THE FOUR CORNERS COUNTRY Distinctive geographical features dominate the region. Generally, a high altitude land, mountains reach into the thin air above 14,000 feet within the Colorado area. Lower alpine terrain rises in the corners of all four states. Some of the most scenic and spectacular places of the world are found there. Although much of the region-is arid or semi-arid, well-watered agricultural lands abound in addition to the moist forests and alpine highlands. Extensive pasture lands used by ranchers livestock and wildlife lie in all of the states. The canyons of the area are outstanding. Especially noted are those of the Utah section, including Canyonlands National Park. Other wonderful chasms and gorges exist in many different locations. They comprise some of the most exciting landscapes to be seen anywhere. The major river is the Colorado, flowing on the region’s western edge. An important tributary is the San Juan River. Others include the Dolores and its tributary the San Miguel, The Animas, La Plata, Mancos, the Dirty Devil (on the western side), the Rio Grande (at the eastern limits), and several others. Being a portion of the larger Colorado Plateau region, a dominant landform is plateaus, of course. One of the most prominent among the many is Mesa Verde— famed for the national park located there. The Anasazi cliff dwellings and other archaeological remains thus protected are of worldwide importance. Numerous lakes, both natural and man-made, dot the four-state area. Small and large, desert and moun- tain, they vary from remote high alpine Navajo Lake snuggled below Mount Wilson in Dolores County, Colorado, to fantastic Lake Powell on the Colorado River in Utah’s Canyonlands. McPhee Lake, newly created in 1985-1986, on the Dolores River is the second largest body of water in Colorado. THE HISTORY IS VARIED, TOO A small number of paleolithic hunters lived in the Four Corners Country long ago. They preyed upon now extinct huge beasts throughout the region for thousands of years B.C. When their food supply of great animals died out, the hunters disappeared with them. The Anasazi Indian civilization followed. That stone-age people developed a settled society that lasted for more than 13 centuries. Their cultural golden age was reached in the 12th and 13th centuries. The civilization collapsed rather suddenly, and by A.D. 1300 the Anasazi were gone from the central Four Corners region. During the 13th to 20th centuries the country was inhabited by several unlike Indian groups. Included were the mountain dwelling Utes, the Navajos of the deserts, the far-ranging Apaches widely scattered Paiute bands, and Hopi relatives and descendants of the ancient Anasazi. All of these diverse tribes developed lifeways suited to the different climates and conditions of their homeland. Spanish penetration of the area began in 1540, with Coronado’s exploring expedition. During the follow- ing centuries Spaniards colonized parts of the southeastern section of the region. The Old Spanish Trail became a commercial route connecting Spanish settlements of New Mexico with those in California. The Trail passed the present site of Dove Creek. Various European explorers, fur trappers, traders, and pros- pectors traveled through and worked in the area during the passing years. THE LAND BECAME A LATE FRONTIER The Four Corners Country was remote from other European settlements. Protected by vast distances, rugged mountains, precipitous canyons, nearly impassable deserts, and dangerous hostile Indians, it was by-passed by the western frontier. When the American frontier was officially considered to be ended (about 1890), the Four Corners frontier was only beginning. A part of the “fill-in” after the frontier had jumped from the Great Plains to the Pacific coast, this region was first settled by miners and stockmen. The dust had scarcely settled from traders’ caravans along the Old Spanish Trail, when long-riding Texas cowboys began driving their thousands of longhorn cattle onto the lush grasslands of the Dove Creek country and throughout the Four Corners Country. They found a stockman’s paradise! Vast re aches of nutritious native grass provided free pasture for both summer and winter. The open range livestock era lasted about 40 years. In about 1914, the Dove Creek and adjacent ranges were opened to homesteaders by the federal government. Drynester farmers soon began fencing and cultivating the land. Although stock raising remained an important part of the economic life of the Four Corners area, the open range disappeared. Cattle drives and other parts of the old time cowboys’ lives had nearly ceased by the 1980s. The economy in the 1980s is varied. Residents work at jobs in agriculture (including livestock), minerals— including oil and gas, forest products, light industry, and tourism. Tourists were late in discovering the unique Four Corners region, just as the pioneers were. However, tourism is perhaps the largest industry during the 1980s. Worksheet for Chapter 1 The Unique Four Corners Country 1. The Four Corners Country is located where the state boundaries of ________________, Utah, ________________, and New Mexico intersect. 2. From __________ to __________ square miles of the land surrounding the Four Corners survey marker is considered the ______ _____________ ____________. 3. Closely studied is the ____________ County, _______________, area with its _______________ regions, especially the _________ _______ Plain. 4. Only the century beginning at about _____ receives careful ____________. 5. Mountains reach into the thin air ________ _________ feet within the ____________ area. 6. __________________ of the area are outstanding. 7. A major river is the ________________, on the region’s western edge. 8. Other rivers include the ______________, and its tributary, the San Miquel. 9. A dominant landform is _______________, of course. 10. Remote high alpine ____________ Lake is below Mount Wilson. Lake ____________ is on the Colorado River in Utah’s ________________. 11. Long ago, paleo hunters preyed upon now-extinct ________ __________. 12. The Anasazi cultural ____________ age was reached in the ______ and ______ centuries. By __________ the Anasazi were gone. 13. Later, the country was inhabited by several different __________ _______. 14. ______________ penetration of the area began in _______. 15. The ______ ______________ Trail passed the present site of Dove Creek. 16. When the American frontier was officially considered to be ended (about ______), the ______ ____________ frontier was only beginning. 17. The first non-Indian settlers in this region were __________ and ____________. 18. The open range ________________ era lasted about ______ years. 19. Farmers soon began ____________ and ________________ the land. 20. Name the creek that runs just west of Dove Creek: ___________ _______. 21. Name the river that lies east of Dove Creek: _____________ ________. Part 2 Saga of the Anasazi Worksheet for Chapter 2 Prehistoric Man in the Four Corners: Folsom Man, Basketmaker, Pueblo 1. Nothing but the great ___________ interested the early hunters. 2. However, the big ones were nearly _______ _________. 3. The ____________ was enough to make the patch of ________ grow well. 4. The women made fine ________ from bone for _____________. 5. The children helped with the _________, and learned to __________ and __________. 6. How pretty such ____________ _______________ would be on her arms. 7. She did not know that ______ ________________ _______ later another young girl would look wonderingly at the shiny ______________. 8. When they came into the area they brought ________, ________, and __________. 9. Summer clothing was ____________. 10. The outstanding craft was _____________: beautiful and useful _____________ of many shapes. 11. Dug into the ground about _________ feet, the _______ houses had above-ground walls and roofs, covered with __________. 12. From about 450 to 750 A.D. is the _________________ ____ _________.

Load more

  123

Copy Link