Cisco is a ghost town just south
of I-70. Its elevation is approximately 4350 ft
(1325m). For those headed from I-70 to Moab via
Highway 128, take either exit 204 or 214 - both
will take you through Cisco. Just follow the signs
to Moab, and get your camera ready - just like desert
weather, the scenery will shift and change about
every 10 minutes!
A bit of history: Cisco was settled in about 1887
by John Martin, a surveyor. It served as a supply
center for ore and coal mining and shipping. It
also provided water for steam engines during that
time period. Hotels, stores, restaurants, and cattle
and sheep ranches sprouted up in the area; occasionally
today you may run across cattle in the road -- so
keep your eyes peeled!
At the turn of the century, oil and natural gas
were discovered in Cisco. At the same time, uranium,
vanadium and radium were found in the mineral carnotite,
a substance plentiful in the area. Radium mines
sprung up all over southeastern Utah, and Cisco
boomed. Eventually vanadium replaced radium as the
hot prospect du jour (vanadium enhanced steelmaking
- much of the ore was shipped to Pittsburgh).
During the Cold War years, uranium became desirable.
The substance was plentiful in abandoned radium
and vanadium mines, and the Manhattan Project stepped
in to mine the area once again. The Manhattan Project
was replaced by the Atomic Energy Commission, which
proposed lucrative offers to geologists and prospectors
who could locate uranium deposits.
In the early 50's, geologist Charles Steen
settled in Cisco to seek his claim - and he found
it! He is credited with landing the country's first
big uranium strike in an area southeast of Moab.
However, in the 60's, the Atomic Energy Commission's
demand for uranium dwindled. By 1970, the AEC stopped
purchasing it altogether. (Steen eventually moved
to Longmont, CO). The combination of the fall of
the mining industry, plus the completion of I-70
(diverting traffic from the area) resulted in Cisco's
demise.
What's in a name: word 'round
the campfire is that "Cisco" is derived
from an Indian word for a type of fish; In Spanish,
"cisco" means coal dust, whereas "meter
cisco" means 'to create a disturbance'. |
