Watch Gigantic And Interesting Soaring Landscapes Awaiting You

Of all the states in western United States...Utah is the most unique with Southern Utah deserts and Northern Utah forests. Salt Lake City is situated neatly along the Wasatch Front mountains, which are an outcrop of the Rocky Mountain range. Probably the most popular part of Western United States is the Rocky Mountains, the insurmountable undeniable intimidating mountain range. At least to the first pioneering fur traders and mountain men.

Sunset over horizon in Southern Utah  Photo by Ignacio Pales

 Luckily we are in the twenty-first century and we have many modern conveniences that pioneers didn’t have in the mid-nineteenth century. Since at least before Eisenhower put into creation the U.S. highway infrastructure, traveling into the westward boundaries of United States was much more difficult if not impossible. Of course people have traveled into the eastern regions, but on horse or by foot.

 Lewis and Clark made the trek, and many others like Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett. Even before that Spanish explorers like Captain Garcia-Lopez Cardenas in 1541. Even before that there were Native American tribes that traversed and lived in the deserts of Utah, namely Ute, Goshute, Shoshone and the Western Shoshone, including Navajo and Paiute. The southern regions of Utah desert have many unique petroglyphs that ancient civilizations left for their posterity. 

Petroglyphs on rock surface  Photo by Dziana Hasanbekava

Petroglyphs are essentially rock carvings in caves or on rock surfaces. In Utah the native tribes left many petroglyphs throughout the southern deserts. Utah is full of culture and history long before any European settlers set their eyes on the vast expanses that today we call Utah. In honor and or recognition the state is named after the Utes who dwelled in the vicinity of Utah.  So why go into so much about the history? I think it should be celebrated and talked about for it is a rich history and a unique one at that. The sights, the petroglyphs, the terrain and overall region is a boon to the common traveler that has wanderlust in their hearts.

 Nowadays we have cars and not only that we have four-wheeling off-road trucks and vehicles that are made for such exploration and we must not waste our opportunity to see and experience such uniqueness such as the State of Utah. Apart from the mighty-five National Parks which at times might feel overcrowded with visitors from around the world, let alone from neighboring states and Utah residents. Utah has an amazing amount of state parks, which are and usually are less crowded and interesting to see for anyone of any age.

Albion Basin in Little Cottonwood Canyon      Photo by M Outdoors

 As a matter of fact, the State of Utah has forty-three state parks, which everyone has some rich historical and cultural significance. The virtual beauty you might see in a picture of nature in Utah on your computer screen, is ten times if not a hundred times more grand in-person. Approximately a third of Utah land was once under water, so the red rock cliffs and desert ground was once the bottom of Lake Bonneville and the cliffs were once teaming with underwater life. 

Untouched and undeveloped land for eons of time, where dinosaurs roamed and lived out their lives, now  this land is still here and still awaiting visitors from near and far to come see. 

Southern Utah landscape  Photo by Shahid Tanweer