The Wasatch Fault

The Wasatch Fault runs along the Wasatch Mountains from Malad City in Idaho to Fayette, down South in Utah. It is actually a few different faults that run together instead of just one fault. The mountain range was created from the faults by being pushed up over millions of years. As earthquakes have happened, it has shaped the mountain range over time. The Mountain range (and the fault) is right in the middle, with the basin and range to the West and the Colorado Plateau to the East. Geologists have found evidence of underground earthquakes that have broken up the ground, which pointed them to where the fault would be. By digging in certain areas and gathering data when eruptions do occur, they have figured out where the fault runs and have been able to create reliable maps. They have come to the conclusion that there are about 10 different faults that run along that corridor, and they have each produced different-strength earthquakes at different times in the past.

The first thing that surprised me was that it showed earthquakes today at 3 different sites. I did not realize how much activity there is along the fault, even if we cannot feel it. All of the locations do seem to run along the fault and stick close to the mountain range. The 3 that happened just today (July 3rd) were not right next to each other. One was way up North, while the other 2 further away from that in Idaho. Yesterday, there were 11 small earthquakes, and again, they were all over the state of Utah and Idaho, but sticking to the mountain range and not getting too far away from it. The pattern that occurred to me is that you cannot really be certain where the next earthquake will be, except that it will be along the fault line somewhere.

I had been told since I first moved to Utah that there was a big earthquake just ready to hit Utah any day now. I have been in Utah on and off for the last 30 years, and so I have buried that information in the back of my mind, as it really doesn’t feel like it pertains to me much anymore. At first, I was a little alarmed and thought I'd better have everything I need in my home just in case, but now I just feel I need to live my life, and if something happens, then I guess something happens. An earthquake is not something you can prevent, and so worrying about it is doing no one any good. Having said that, I know I do need to care about the possibility, as I do live in Provo close to the mountains, and so I should be somewhat prepared when it comes to natural disasters. I have the basic things stored in my house in case of an emergency that I can grab if I need to make a quick exit. I remember the earthquake in Magna a few years back, and I know they are still trying to clean up from that as it caused a lot of damage.

I live alone but with a few animals, and so to be prepared, I do have small carriers for my animals. I also have backpacks ready to go under my stairs that hold first aid items, flashlights, and astronaut blankets. I also have all my camping equipment in that area in 2 totes, so they are easy to grab. If there were an emergency, I could shove everything plus my animals in my car for a quick getaway. I even have all my important documents in a small fire safe that is the size of a briefcase and easy to grab and take with me. If I needed to hole up in my home, I have all those things accessible as well, on top of water and some food supplies. My kids are grown now, but when they were younger, we would have a designated meeting place close to their school and our home in case of an emergency where they could not get to us or we to them. Now that my kids live in other places, we share each other's locations on our phones, but I am sure that in case of a natural disaster, those services would not work. We all live close enough to each other that I could walk to check on them if necessary.

I think in the long run, I am pretty on top of all of it, as I know where the shut-offs to my home are and have some items prepared in case I need to flee or shelter indoors. There is really only so much you can do without creating a panic or giving yourself ulcers worrying. I have gone through several trainings while working for Alpine School District that have helped me be a little more prepared, and I think common sense will help along the way as well.

[Written for GEOG 3200 class UVU Summer 2023]
aB . All Right Reserved . 2025

Amazon Rainforest Risks: The Tipping Point

    I had to choose a documentary to watch, and so I chose the Amazon Rainforest Risks: The Tipping Point. I am very interested in climate change, and from the list of documentaries available, this one caught my eye. I have known about the rainforest and that climate change is affecting it, but I had no idea to what degree. I enjoy watching documentaries and watching a lot of them on my own already, and so I really liked this one. It was very educational, informative, and easy to follow. 

    One of the key terms from the reading this week is global connection. Global connection is when people/things come together from all over the globe to work together. I really like how the documentary brought scientists together from all different countries and backgrounds to gather data on the rainforest. They all know the challenges that the rainforest is up against, and they want to work together to discover and help fix those challenges. They know that this crisis is not just confined to the Amazon, but it affects us all globally.

    The second key term I thought of was global environmental change. This means the changes in the environment that affect the entire globe. This documentary was all about climate change and how it was impacting the Amazon. Because 25% of the medication in the world is made from something found in the Amazon, it affects a lot of people if the rainforest disappears. Our entire ecosystem also relies on the Amazon to balance the carbon dioxide in the world. The entire Earth relies on the Amazon for this, and most people don’t even realize that.

    The third key term I found was vulnerability. The reading this week states that climate change will affect people differently as it is not distributed equally around the planet. The people who live on the banks of the Amazon River will be affected differently than those of us living in the United States, for example. As the Amazon rainforest dries up and diminishes, it will produce less fruit for the people living there to harvest, sell, and eat. This will affect them a whole lot more than us further away. Their risk is a lot higher than ours, as it will directly affect their livelihood. It will be a lot harder for them to recover from changes to their livelihood than for us in the United States.

    The takeaway from this documentary to me is that no matter where we live on the planet, climate change will affect us one way or another. It could be close to home, like those living along the banks of the Amazon River, or it could be that it will affect our air quality in Utah with a decrease in carbon dioxide. The global connections that climate change creates are large and far-reaching; no one is immune to the ever-changing world we live in. I need to do my part to be part of the solution and not the problem. I need to make sure that I am not contributing to the greenhouse gases in excess, but instead try to lower my carbon footprint.

Link to short documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwsI3JyO-t0  

[Written for GEOG 130G class UVU Spring 2022]
aB . All Right Reserved . 2025

Indigenous Groups of Utah

The Northern Ute

    The Ute tribe believed in animal-people that were here before humans were created. Once humans were created, they kept the stories alive of their predecessors and how these animal-people kept the world balanced. Because of these stories that have been passed down for generations, the Ute people have a very close connection to the Earth and everything on and around it. The Ute people believe that they were created by Sinauf, who was half man and half wolf, and their God. They told the story of how they became his beloved people by remaining in his bag for the entire journey to their homeland, while other people jumped out and formed other tribes. Because they had been patient and had waited, he gave them the beautiful high mountains to live in. They made the eastern Great Basin and the western Rocky Mountains their home for many generations.

    The Ute territory went from Fillmore in Utah to Colorado Springs in Colorado and from Baggs in Wyoming to Abiquiu in New Mexico. They would usually erect their villages close to the waterways so that they could fish and have water to drink. The mountains are where they could hide from enemies, as they were very knowledgeable of the area and could easily disappear. Ute families were very independent and took care of themselves. There could be a village leader of some sort, but most families just took care of their own needs. Men were the hunters and made weapons and everything they needed to survive. Women were the gatherers and would take care of the shelter and food needs of their family. Ute families traveled depending on the seasons and would live in the mountains in the summer and in the valleys in the winter. Many families would gather together while the men would hunt for large game to prepare for wintertime. After the hunt, they would gather socially, as that was very important for their way of life. They would also gather together socially for marriages or other celebrations, and some would travel quite a way to make it to those social gatherings. While there was not one leader among the Ute people, they all believed they originated from the same God, and so they all shared a similar language, lifestyle, and traditions. They would form smaller bands of families, again without a leader, and would usually stick closer together to that group than to other groups. The Uintah group should sound familiar, as they lived mainly East of Utah Lake and by the Green and Colorado River systems. Another group close to Utah Lake is the Tumpanawach band, who would later be called the Timpanogos Utes by the settlers. This was a large band of Utes, as they had plenty of food in the area because of the lake and the mountains.

    The Ute people believed in healing and usually had a medicine man who would be available when someone became ill. They believed that whatever was possessing the person was making them sick and that they could cure the person with singing, dancing, spiritual objects, and medicine created by the medicine man. Each generation before them had used these same methods, and so they just passed on what they had learned, and the next generation would continue their traditions and would consult a medicine man when necessary.

    In the early 1600s, they acquired horses from the Europeans, and that was a game-changer for them as they could now travel further, longer, and faster. With the horses also came the Spanish, who were looking for the city of gold. As more Europeans came and invaded the land, there soon began to be skirmishes between the Natives and the invaders, which led to a treaty in 1670. Since the Ute tribes were now suspicious of any newcomers, they would not welcome anyone and be friendly, but instead they would steal from them and take whatever supplies they wanted. Skirmishes between other Native tribes were now also common as they were all fighting for land, opportunities to plunder from the newcomers, horses, and power. The Ute and Spanish formed another treaty in 1749, as the Ute were threatened by the Comanche tribes in the area, and so they figured they could help each other out by being allies. The Utes helped the Spanish travel more inland to explore and map the area. 

    In 1820, with the Mexican revolt, the Utes became excellent fur traders, which would be very profitable for them. One Ute native stood out at this time, Wakara, as he would make many trips on horseback to trade for fur and horses. He became very wealthy from this adventure. This new influx of European goods would prove to be disastrous for the natives, as they would become very dependent on this and abandon their way of living on the land and taking care of themselves. More settlers came and built homes on their lands, and they were driven away from the fertile parts to the areas where it would be harder to survive. The government started to give its land away and create reservations where they could live without interfering with the new influx of white settlers coming West. As the fur trade died down, the natives found themselves driven from their homes, unable to sustain themselves the way they had before, and white men living on their land telling them what to do. They tried to fight back by stealing cattle and horses, but by now they were outnumbered and outgunned. The government assigned them reservations to live on and demanded that they give up their homes. Another Ute leader rose up, named Black Hawk, who would try to fight against this injustice once again, but also failed, as the influx of Mormons in Utah was too great for them to handle. In 1850, they decided to live on the reservations with the promise that the Federal Government would provide them with teachings on how to adapt to this new lifestyle. After lots of negotiations and false promises by the government, the remaining Ute people would move onto a reservation with other Native Americans and would be labeled the Uintah Band. They found themselves far away from their beloved mountains, as their reservation was in the middle of nowhere. This was land that settlers had not wanted because they could not plant anything there.

    The Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, hopefully, would right a lot of wrongs that had happened to the native population over the years. The Ute leaders at the time accepted the act and were happy that they once again could be in control of their own destiny. Many more challenges would come their way as they moved forward with hope. The great depression and World War II would throw a lot of kinks into their plans for a long time. Today, the Native Americans who still live on the reservation have schools their kids can attend, they have social gatherings just like their ancestors did with dances and spiritual rituals, and they have established a Native American church in their midst. Each tribe is represented in a council that helps make sure the people have what they need. They get to govern themselves and even though they are now fully acclimated to the American way of life with modern conveniences they still feel like they are a chosen people who were put on this earth by the God Sinauf and they make sure to keep telling the next generations about where the Ute people came from and what an incredible connection they have to the Earth and everything on it.

[Written for GEOG 3200 class UVU Summer 2023]
aB . All Right Reserved . 2025

Words of Worship: How Cultish Changed the Way I See Influence

This post discusses key ideas and examples from Cultish by Amanda Montell. While it doesn’t reveal every detail, it may shift your perspective before you read the book yourself.

In February of this year, I read Cultish by Amanda Montell. My daughter recommended it to me, and it completely reframed how I think about language, persuasion, and power. I went in expecting a deep dive into religious cults, and while those are definitely covered, the book goes way beyond that. Montell explores how cult-like language permeates everything from multi-marketing schemes to the fitness community. She reveals how words can be used to manipulate, isolate, and control individuals.

While reading, I was struck by the many groups I had never considered to be “cultish” that started to fit the mold that Montell was describing. The book is filled with examples that are both fascinating and terrifying. Charismatic leaders and corporate brands use language to build loyalty, suppress dissent, and create a sense of belonging that can be hard to escape.

“Language doesn’t work to manipulate people into believing things they don’t want to believe; instead, it gives them license to believe ideas they’re already open to.”

Cultish language doesn’t force belief, it nurtures it. It’s the subtle but powerful distinction that certain slogans, phrases, and speech patterns can feel so familiar and persuasive.

Montell’s arguments are well researched and very compelling, making Cultish especially powerful. The book is not just great for academics but also for your book club, as it is conversational, witty, and deeply thought-provoking. I found myself reexamining everything from corporate slogans to influencer catchphrases with a more critical eye. Why do people get drawn into extreme belief systems, or why do some brands or communities just feel off? This book covers those questions and more. It is not just about cults but about the culture, language, and subtle ways we are shaped by the words around us.

Published: June 15, 2021
Read: February 18, 2025

aB . All Rights Reserved . 2025

Film Industry in Utah

One of my favorite movies was partially filmed in Utah. Anytime I see this movie, it reminds me of many trips I have taken South to Arches National Park. I love the familiar red rock at the beginning of the Indiana Jones movie, The Last Crusade, as the scout troop makes their way past the balancing rock and down to the double arch. I have hiked in that area multiple times, and I love how well-known and iconic that scenery is to those from Utah. Anyone driving along the scenic route in Arches passes the balancing rock and will instantly recognize it as such, and will usually remind everyone around them that this was where they filmed the opening for The Last Crusade.

On top of Indiana Jones, more than 900 other films have been filmed in Utah. Some very popular ones, such as Footloose, Independence Day, High School Musical, Galaxy Quest, The Sandlot, and many more. Filmmakers are drawn to Utah as we provide them an incentive if they use local crews, talent, and locations. Directors can get a very large tax credit if they come to Utah to make their movies. The Governor’s office has even established a Film Commission that helps attract newcomers to film in Utah, and they have sent scouts all over the place to find the best locations to film. They can also put directors in touch with the copious amounts of talent that Utah has to offer.

Utah is also home to some very diverse scenery, as we have deserts, mountains, salt flats, rivers, lakes, and all other types of backgrounds available. You can create all sorts of different movies this way, as we have it all here within the state. According to the Utah Film Commission, the industry has provided $463 million in spending while creating nearly 35,000 jobs and over $6 billion in film tourism over the last ten years.1 I read an article in the Deseret News from a few years back that describes the film industry in Utah and suggests that investment from locals can help the economy even more and have them take pride in their State.

I think some of the challenges for Utah with the increase of films being made here are that the weather in Utah can be very temperamental. We have extremely high heat in some places in the summer and extreme cold with snow in the winter. Another challenge will be for locals, as they will have to work around park or street closures when something is being filmed. The frustration that can be created could be a negative for those who live and work here. Overall, I think there are more positives than negatives, and I hope that Utah will continue to attract many filmmakers to use our beautiful scenery as their backdrop.

Sources:

Phillips, J. (2016, November 16). Utah has long been a great state for filming. Here's how to make it even better. Deseret News. https://www.deseret.com/2016/11/16/20600594/utah-has-long-been-a-great-state-for-filming-here-s-how-to-make-it-even-better/ [deseret.com]

Porter, E. (2023, May 17). Utah's growing film industry brings economic benefits to the state. BYU Daily Universe. https://universe.byu.edu/2023/05/17/utahs-growing-film-industry-brings-economic-benefits-to-the-state/

[Written for GEOG 3200 class UVU Summer 2023]
aB . All Right Reserved . 2025

Island of the People: World Medicine

When I think of indigenous people, I never really think about Canada, but more like New Mexico and the areas around there. It was very interesting to see a documentary about the indigenous people living much farther north. It was cool to see the island of Haida Gwaii represented on the Physical Geography map in the textbook so that I could really picture where it is located.

Maritime Polar winds reach the island of Haida Gwaii, which makes it cold and dry in the wintertime. They get a lot more moisture because of this, and that could be why a lot of herbs and trees can grow there that provide them with a lot of medicine and food.

European diseases such as smallpox devastated the Haida people. Before they came in the 1700s, there were over 8000 Haida people living in the area; now there are just over 500 left. The European settlers deliberately brought blankets with the smallpox virus on them since they believed the indigenous people to be less than human.

Because of migration into Canada from other nations, the indigenous people were relocated or moved to make way for the new settlers. They treated the indigenous people terribly, even though some of them had lived there for hundreds of years before them. NAFTA helped facilitate the great migration pattern that brought many new people to Canada.

The Haida people who are left are trying hard to keep some of their culture alive by teaching their language to the locals. They have an oral culture, and so many of the things like medicine and their history are only told from generation to generation and not written down. The Haida people teach the younger generation to keep their traditions alive.

Because of new technologies and energy production, the lands that the Haida people live on are in danger. They need to protect their land so that it can continue to grow medicine for them and future generations. The culture of the indigenous population teaches them to respect everything around them, including the land they live on. They thank the trees before they harvest a branch, and they do everything they can to protect their forests and lands from being taken advantage of. Since they rely directly on the Earth, that is one of their main priorities.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeQSrU--pNw

[Written for GEOG 130G class UVU Spring 2022]
aB . All Right Reserved . 2025

Geological Regions Road Trip

We are starting our road trip in the Basin and Range area of Utah. The mountains on this side of Utah are part of a desert landscape. Dust storms are prevalent, and when rain comes, it will flood everything and then carry rocks as debris with it downstream. The water will then evaporate or drain into the gravel and sand ground. Water covered most of it for a long time, and so fossils are found in abundance in the area. Magma rose through the rocks at one time, encasing many rocks. The area started to stretch, creating more basins and flat areas. Rock and sand eroded from the mountains and filled the basins below. Many of the mountain ranges contain minerals and ores that are mined.

Our first stop is the Kennecott Copper Mines. Copper was found in the Bingham Canyon in 1887, and so the mining began. To date, it is the largest artificially made excavation site in the world. Copper is created by volcanic activity. The mountain ranges in Utah were formed because of volcanic activity pushing up and creating all sorts of minerals in the mountain ranges.

Our second stop is at Little Sahara. Much of the sand is left by the Sevier River, which once flowed into Lake Bonneville about 15,000 years ago. Winds have picked up the sand and spread it around, creating large sand mountains. Many people consider all the sand to be a nuisance as it would cover the roads and fly around everywhere. A state park was created where the majority of the dunes are, and people often go there to ride their 4-wheelers and other motorized toys. The area is roughly 60,000 acres of sand.



We continue our road trip and head towards the Basin and Range Colorado Plateau Transition. This area has a little of the basin and range that is to the North of it, but it is also starting to look more like the Colorado Plateau that is to the East of it. You have enormous cliffs on one side and flat land on the other; the transition area is spectacular to see and explore.

Our third stop is in Frisco. This used to be an active mining community from 1879 to 1929. Silver was found, and a mine was created that would yield about $50 million in silver. At one point, it was the richest silver mine in the world. Volcanoes underground bring ore up towards the surface, which can then be mined. You would need to go into the ground to find the ore and bring it up, and then smelt it to create silver. Ore can also be found where a lot of seawater circulates. Cracks in the Earth’s crust can move the oar around as well. Since most of Utah was underwater for a long time, the ore could have made its way towards Frisco by way of water as well. Frisco is now just an awesome ghost town with abandoned homes and the mine.

Our fourth stop is at the Grand Wash in Capitol Reef National Park. Large cliffs extend above you as you hike down the wash. It is usually dry and accessible by car, but on some occasions it can be rained out quickly and sweep everything with it as water barrels down it. The walls of the wash are super flat and have been carved by the water that once occupied the entire area. Wind still whips through it and continues to flatten and smooth the rock. The large walls are created out of sandstone and show the different lines as they moved and shaped themselves over millions of years.



We next head more East towards the Colorado plateau, which is named for the river that runs through it. The entire area is full of Shale, siltstone, and sandstone layers with beautiful colors. These are younger rocks from the Pennsylvanian age and make up the most colorful part of Utah. The soil is very thin in this area, and there is sparse vegetation. Wind erodes the rocks, which allows water to seep in. The rocks are very porous and can be shaped easily. Most of what you see down there is from the last 6 million years.

Our fifth stop is Dead Horse Point. A small state park located on the edge of the plateau. Layers of sediment and dust blown by wind created layer upon layer of the mountains. Layers of mudstone, shale, and sandstone, together with petrified wood, volcanic ash, and uranium, make up the layers. The Colorado River runs right through it and has carved the path it takes now. The views are breathtaking as you can see for miles and enjoy all the wonderful colors.



Our sixth stop is Goblin Valley. Another small state park, but very cool. The goblins were formed through spheroidal weathering over millions of years. 170 million years ago, Goblin Valley was just a muddy tidal flat for an enormous sea. The waves and wind caused the creation of the hoodoos over time. You can climb on top of the structures and explore the many different shapes. It is a playground for kids and adults alike.



We are finally making our way back up and are now headed to the Middle Rocky Mountains. The mountain ranges were created after the Precambrian time, which included being folded and pushed up until we see what we have today. There is a lot of overlapping with 2 faults running along it all as well. There is a lot of volcanic material present in the mountain ranges. The rocks are erosion-resistant, and that is why the mountains have not changed much since and why they have remained so tall. Around 770 million years ago, the large continent of Rhodesia started to split right where the mountains are today. A lot of the ocean filled Utah, and the pressure of the plates caused the basin to sink and the mountains to rise. The Wasatch mountain range was forced up because of tectonic compression around 100 million years ago. Erosion over time created the gorges in the mountains where rivers could run freely and shape the mountains as they are today.

Our seventh stop on our trip takes us to the top of Mount Timpanogos. There are four different ways to get to the top of Mount Timpanogos, and all of them require you to be somewhat fit and be able to hike for a long time. It is the 2nd-highest mountain in the Wasatch Mountains. It is made of limestone and dolomite from the Pennsylvanian era. Many make it a bucket list item to hike to the top of Timp and look over both sides. The views are breathtaking.



And finally, our last and eighth stop is at Silver Lake Flats. This is actually a man-made lake in the middle of the mountain range. It is used for fishing and boating, and is a small paradise hidden away. It was built in 1971, and a dam was built to keep some of the water from running out of the canyon and flooding the Highland/Alpine area where people live. There are many natural springs in the mountains that need to be contained and redirected somewhat so that people can live in the valley area. The water helps the wildlife that live in the area. Utah has about 45 of those dams around the state to keep water in the mountains and away from the population below it. The lake holds fresh water and is a nice place to cool down when it gets hot in the summer.



I have been to every one of these locations except Frisco, but that one is still on my list of places to visit. The pictures in this essay are all from my adventures. After learning more about how Utah is divided into four distinct areas in the last two modules, I can see that this is reflected in all the places I have visited. This was a very fun and informative project that I enjoyed creating, as I looked back on places I had visited recently and long ago.

[Written for GEOG 3200 class UVU Summer 2023]
aB . 2025 . All Right Reserved