Episode 25: Utah's Forgotten National Park is Rich in History and the Unexplained

Historium Unearthia: Unearthing History's Lost and Untold Stories

In the heart of southeast Utah, water and gravity have sculpted one forgotten national park into a rugged landscape. Rich in human history and natural beauty, this vast and untamed terrain is also an epicenter of legend and lore. Have you ever heard of Canyonlands National Park?

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Credit:

For this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Bill Bentenson, Butch Cassidy’s great nephew and author of the book Butch Cassidy, My Uncle; David Weatherly, author, explorer, and investigator of strange phenomenon; and Clyde Denis, a professor at the University of New Hampshire who has explored, researched, and written extensively on the history and terrain of Canyonlands.

Sources:

Canyonlands; National Park Service; Retrieved October 2018.

Canyonlands National Park; Canyonlands Natural History Association; Retrieved October 2018.

Closing the road to Chesler Park: Why access to Canyonlands National Park remains limited; Denis, C.L.; Utah Historical Quarterly. 84: 328-346; 2016.

Canyonlands: The Story Behind the Scenery; Johnson, David; KC Publications; June 1, 1997.

Park History: Canyonlands National Park; National Parks Traveler; Retrieved October 2018.

Butch Cassidy, My Uncle; Bentenson, Bill; High Plains Press; May 1, 2012.

Lost Landscapes: Utah's Ghosts, Mysterious Creatures, and Aliens; Dunning, Linda; Cedar Fort; June 1, 2007.

Hypothesis: The pinnacles of the Chesler Park/graben region of Canyonlands National Park result from paleostream induration and inverted topographical relief; Denis, C.L.; In MacLean; J.S., Biek, R.F., and Huntoon, J.E editors; Geology of Utah’s Far South: Utah Geological Association Publication 43, p. 25-38; 2014.

The origins of Chesler Park: determining late 19th century snowfall records and occupations of inscription writers in Canyonlands N.P.; Denis, C.L.; Canyon Legacy 69, 2-9; 2010.