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Show Ute Lands To the European intruders, the Ute land seemed very large. To the People of the Ute bands, the land was sufficient. The land held many things: sources of food, clothing, and weapons, places of refuge from raiding neighbors. The land held places of sanctuary from summer heat and of shelter from winter cold, meeting grounds for councils and ceremonies, and sacred spots for the healing of the sick. The Ute relationship with the land and their love for it tied their culture closely to the earth and its abundance. Resources The land which the Ute People called theirs was about 225,000 square miles. From Fillmore, Utah, to Colorado Springs, Colorado, on the east is about 500 miles. All of the distance between these two towns was Ute land. From Baggs, Wyoming, to Abiquiu, New Mexico, is nearly 450 miles; this, too, was Ute land. And some Ute groups ranged even farther west, east, and south to hunt. (See Map p. 18) These 225,000 square miles contain a varied landscape which ranges from great mountain parks to arid flat lands, and from ragged canyons to high plateaus. In the north are the Central Rockies, a tangle of mountain chains, narrow passes, rock-pockets, and fast moving streams. In the south are rolling hills that level out into semi-arid mesas and desert country on the west, and into flat plains on the east. The west is the bleak alkaline Great Salt Desert of western Utah. The east is the grassland plains of eastern Colorado and western Kansas. There are many lakes and rivers throughout this land. The Ute People did not use them for transportation purposes, but did use them as a major source for food â€" both the fish and plant life within them and the game which congregated around them. The Ute People, therefore, located their major campsites on the waterways. Deserts border great mountains. The deserts are harsh and barren, but the Ute People learned to use even these lands. They yielded foods, they offered relief from the cold, and they put distances between the People and their enemies. |