Capitol State Park is not only known as a fun place to visit but is also a place of great learning as well. For example, those who visit this area can learn of the history and culture of this area. This history is divided into a number of categories that would be of interest to most historical and cultural buffs.
For instance, the Capitol State Park area offers prehistoric learning opportunities about various groups such as the Fremont people who live throughout Utah and neighboring areas of Idaho, Colorado, and Nevada. These people most often lived in pit houses which were dug into the ground and covered with a brush roof. They also lived in dwellings called wickiups, which were brush and log huts and natural rockshelters.
The Fremont people were a social structure of small loosely organized bands of various families that lived together. These families were closely tied to nature, and were very flexible. They usually adapted quite easily to the changing environment around them.
The Fremont people, some of which lived in the vicinity of present-day Capitol Reef Utah Park, mostly hunted and gathered most of the foods which made up their diet. They grew crops as well, such as corn, beans, and squash, along the bottoms of the river. Native edible plants of this are included pinyon nuts, rice grass, and a variety of berries, nuts, bulbs, and tubers.
Corn was ground into a meal on a stone surface by using a hand-held grinding stone. In addition, food was stored in pottery jars and baskets called granaries, which were small masonry structures. These were hidden in small overhangs on narrow ledges.
The animals that were hunted by the Fremont people included the deer, bighorn sheep, and various species of rabbits, birds, fish and rodents. They were hunted using snares, nets, fishhooks, bow and arrow, and the atlatl (throwing stick).
Archeologists have found evidence of the existence of the Fremont people. One was that of a certain style of basketry. This is characterized by one rod and a bundle, which used materials such as willow, yucca, milkweed, and other native fibers. These people also created pottery, which mostly consisted of grayware, which where noticeable by their polished surface and pinched corrugated designs.
These were a fascinating bunch of people who lived in the Capitol State Park region at one time. Other people lived in this area, such as the Anasazi people. The Anasazi group actually stuck around for awhile, and had partook in similar practices as the Fremont people. There were some differences, however, and those who visit the Capitol Reef Park can learn of these differences.
Those who want to learn about the natural history of Capitol Reef Park as well have many opportunities to do so. For instance, they can visit the geological makeup of the Waterpocket fold, and how this particular geological structure came to be.
Other topics that come up in while learning of the geological make up of the Capitol State Park area include that of Cryptoobiotic Soil. These are living soil crusts which are largely made up of cynobacteria (blue-green algae) and also include various soil lichens. In addition, mosses, green algae, microfungi, and bacteria live in this soil as well.
Cynobacteria are thought of as one of the oldest growing life forms that have first played a role in shaping the Earth’s early land masses. Currently these organisms are found primarily in the Colorado Plateau, which covers parts of Utah, Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico.
So many interesting findings have been discovered within the Capitol Reef Park. All of these findings can be researched before person even plans to leave for Capitol Reef Park.