Founded in the late 1800s, MOAB was hardly a speck until the 1950s, when prospector Charlie Steen discovered uranium in the nearby hills. When the ensuing mining boom finally waned, the conservative hold of Moab's industrialists and landowners waned with it, and the town threw in its lot with tourism. In barely ten years, it has transformed itself into the Southwest's number one adventure-vacation destination.

Moab still isn't a large town - the population ... [More]