The Mountainous West: Explorations in Historical Geography

by Wyckoff, William; Dilsaver, Lary M.

• ISBN13: 9780803297593
• ISBN10: 0803297599
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1995-06-01
• Publisher: Univ of Nebraska Pr

Summary

Traditional interpretations of the American West have concentrated on the importance of its aridity to the region's cultural evolution and development. But the West is marked by a second fact of physical geography that distinguished it (from the experiences of settlers) from the east. As pioneers struggled with the climate west of the hundredth meridian, they were also confronted by mountains strewn across the region and offering their own set of limitations and opportunities. This volume focuses on these green islands of the Mountainous West that have witnessed patterns of settlement and development distinct from their lowland neighbors. In thirteen essays, the contributors address the mountains by means of five themes: the mountains as barriers to movement, islands of moisture, a zone of concentrated resources, an area of government control, and a restorative sanctuary. The focus ranges from California's Sierra Nevada to the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, Utah, and Montana.

Author Biography

William K. Wyckoff is an associate professor, Department of Earth Sciences, Montana State University. He is the author of The Developer’s Frontier: The Making of the Western New York Landscape and of articles in many journals, including The California Geographer, Social Science Journal, Geographical Review, and Journal of Historical Geography. Lary M. Dilsaver is a professor in the Department of Geology and Geography, University of South Alabama. The author, with William Tweed, of Challenge of the Big Trees: A Resource History of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, he has also written articles in journals such as Geographical Review, Annals of Tourism Research, and Yearbook of the Association of Pacific Coast Geographers.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. vii
Defining The Mountainous West	p. 1
Barriers	p. 61
""A Country Of Tremendous Mountains"" Opening the Colorado San Juans, 1870-1910	p. 92
Communication in The Colorado High Country	p. 114
Islands of Moisture	p. 139
Mountains and Moisture In the West	p. 141
Zones of Concentrated Resources	p. 167
Homesteading the pryor Mountains of Montana	p. 194
The Last Lumber Frontier?	p. 224
Areas of Government Control	p. 251
Federal Lands in the Mountainous West	p. 253
Restorative Sanctuary	p. 279
Resource Conflict In the High Sierra	p. 281
The Mountain-Valley Interface	p. 303
Lake Tahoe and The Sierra Nevada	p. 331
Colorado's San Luis Valley	p. 349
Mormons and Mountains	p. 368
Contributors	p. 397
Index	p. 399
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