Near Phippsburg in Rio Blanco County, Colorado — The American Mountains (Southwest)
People of the Shining Mountains
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 25, 2016
1. People of the Shining Mountains Marker
They called themselves the Nuche, a Ute word that means “the people.” For generations they lived in “the shining mountains” of Colorado, southern Wyoming, northern New Mexico, and western Utah.
The Ute comprised seven distinct bands that intermarried, traded, and gathered regularly for hunts and ceremonies.
They obtained horses from the Spanish in the late 1600s and quickly became skilled horsemen. This allowed the Ute to expand their territory and maintain a stronghold in the Rocky Mountains for nearly 200 years.
Erected by Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Animals • Indigenous Peoples and Communities.
Location. 40° 12.061′ N, 107° 9.589′ W. Marker is near Phippsburg, Colorado, in Rio Blanco County. It is on Flat Tops Trail Scenic Byway (County Road 8) 7 miles east of County Road 19, on the right when traveling east. Marker is located at the Dunckley Pass Overlook in Routt National Forest. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Phippsburg CO 80469, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the Western Slope. It is also in the American Mountain West. Globally, it is in North America, the Rocky Mountains, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once Mexicos Alta California.
Other nearby markers. At least 2 other markers are within 10 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies
this page online
H.S. Poley, courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution
2. Marker detail: Ute Camp, circa mid-1800s
Imagine a Ute Camp in the White River Valley in the mid-1800s. Hide-covered lodges (tepees) filled the meadow with clusters of activity. Women cooked over open fires and gathered water from a nearby stream, as men returned on horseback from a day's hunt.
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 25, 2016
3. People of the Shining Mountains Marker
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 25, 2016
4. Dunckley Pass Overlook
Credits. This page was last revised on April 20, 2021. It was originally submitted on January 1, 2021, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 685 times since then and 47 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on January 2, 2021, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. 2, 3, 4. submitted on January 3, 2021, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
