Aquarius Plateau, Utah

Mountain lake on the Aquarius Plateau. Photo © 1999 Ray Wheeler

One of the high plateaus of central and southern Utah, the Aquarius Plateau rises 6000 feet above the colorful canyon country of Capitol Reef National Park and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument to a high point of 11,328 feet atop Bluebell Knoll.  The extensive highlands of the plateau include rich forests of aspen, spruce, and fir as well as subalpine grasslands and scattered wet meadows. The plateau's northeastern corner, known as Boulder Top or Boulder Mountain, is a glaciated tableland above 11,000 feet dotted with numerous lakes, a rarity on the Plateau. At middle elevations ponderosa pine forests and montane chaparral are common biotic communities, while pinyon-juniper woodlands cover the base of the plateau from 5000 feet to about 6000 feet.

The highlands of the Aquarius Plateau are managed by the United States Forest Service as a part of the Dixie National Forest. Sheep and cattle grazing occurs on much of the plateau. Logging of the plateau's ponderosa pine and spruce-fir forests has increased in intensity over the last 25 years, resulting in widespread habitat fragmentation.

Paleobotany and Paleoclimate of the Southern Colorado Plateau. The biota of the Colorado Plateau during the middle (50,000-27,500 B.P.) and late (27,500-14,000 B.P.) Wisconsin time periods was dramatically different from that seen today. Differences were primarily a result of major climate changes associated with the last major glacial period. This site examines the environment of the southern plateau during this time. Adapted by R. Scott Anderson from his journal article.

Where have all the grasslands gone? Numerous ecological studies across the Southwest have documented the decline in herbaceous vegetation (grasses and non-woody flowering plants) while forests thicken and brush invades. Documenting the changes in the Jemez Mountains of northern New Mexico, ecologist Craig Allen considers the evidence that these patterns are tied to changes in land use history, primarily livestock grazing and fire suppression.

Dixon, H. 1935. Ecological studies on the high plateaus of Utah. Botanical Gazette 97: 272-320.

Flint, R.F., Denny, C.S. 1958. Quaternary geology of Boulder Mountain, Aquarius Plateau, Utah. United States Geological Survey Bulletin 1061-D. USGS, Washington, D.C.