Range Creek facts for kids

Range Creek is a small river in Emery County, Utah. It starts in the Book Cliffs mountains. A "tributary" is a smaller river or stream that flows into a larger one. Range Creek flows into the Green River, which then joins the mighty Colorado River. This creek has water flowing all year long.

Range Creek has been suggested to become a National Wild and Scenic River. This means it would be protected for its natural beauty and special features.

Near the creek, there's a special area of about 4,200 acres (that's like 3,200 football fields!). This area holds the ancient homes of the Fremont culture. These people lived there a very long time ago, between the years 200 and 1300 AD.

Who Were the Fremont People?

The Range Creek canyon became famous in 2020. It was known for having amazing and untouched archaeological sites. These sites include rock art and remains from the Fremont culture. The Fremont were an ancient group of people who lived in the Great Basin area. They lived at the same time as the Ancestral Pueblo culture, who lived to the south.

How Were the Ancient Sites Found?

For many years, the 4,200 acres along Range Creek were owned by a cattle rancher named Waldo Wilcox. He knew how special the ancient remains were. He protected them by putting up a gate and "no trespassing" signs. He kept the amazing discoveries a secret for a long time.

According to the Smithsonian (magazine), there were many incredible things found:

• Old pit houses, which were homes dug partly into the ground.
• Arrowheads, beads, pieces of pottery, and stone tools scattered everywhere.
• Human bones found under rock overhangs.
• Hundreds of strange human figures carved into the cliff walls.
• Pit houses that were still mostly in one piece.
• Storage buildings filled with corn cobs that were a thousand years old!

In 2001, Mr. Wilcox sold the land to a group called the Trust for Public Land. They later gave the land to the state of Utah. Mr. Wilcox kept the rights to any minerals or energy sources found underground.

Protecting and Studying the Past

Archaeologists from Utah created a plan to carefully protect and study the cultural treasures at Range Creek. Everyone was very interested because the site was so undisturbed. This meant it hadn't been changed much by modern people.

In 2009, the state of Utah gave the care of Range Creek to the University of Utah. Their archaeology team now manages the area.

Research done in 2006 showed that the land had 1,000-year-old villages of the Fremont people. These people were "highly mobile hunters and farmers." They lived mostly in Utah from about 200 AD to 1300 AD before they disappeared.

As of early 2020, the Natural History Museum of Utah at the University of Utah was managing the property. It is called the "Range Creek Field Station." A report from that time said that most of the sites found belong to the Fremont culture. These sites date from about 500 AD to 1350 AD.

Visiting Range Creek Today

The Range Creek property used to be open for day trips. Visitors could buy a pass online for a specific date. Only a limited number of passes were given out each day. People could only enter the site by walking or riding horses through the north gate. The area around the creek is part of a wilderness study area. This means no cars or machines are allowed inside.

You could camp outside the gate, but it was "primitive camping." This means there were no services like bathrooms or cell phone service in the canyon. Visitors needed to be aware of high summer temperatures and black bears. The road to the north gate was steep and rough. You needed a vehicle with high clearance, like a truck, and it was best to have 4-wheel drive, especially when it was wet. Some companies offered guided tours. The Range Creek Research Project was ongoing, but not during summer 2020.