Pipe Spring National Monument - Nature and Science

Each culture viewed the natural resources in this fragile environment differently. The Ancestral Puebloan, and later the Kaibab Paiute, cared for the resources. They roamed to collect plants and hunt animals, supplementing the crops they planted near water sources. This was their home and they appreciated all around them, living to the changing rhythm of the seasons.

Learning of the water source and lush grassland, Mormon pioneers moved in to claim the land and its resources. Built as fortified ranch house, Winsor Castle was a remote outpost, also serving many of the people traveling across the Arizona Strip. Once owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, few of the inhabitants viewed this place as home. Feelings of sacrifice and resignation existed, as they waited to be called to another location and task. Tired through day-to-day living and survival, few appreciated the stark beauty of this place. In their fight to tame this local environment, many of the natural resources were changed forever.

The natural beauty of this area still exists through breath-taking panoramas. Once a travel corridor to cultures of the past, today"s travelers still pass through on their way to the Grand Canyon to the south and other scenic parks to the north. Some never realize the wonderful hidden resources of Pipe Spring National Monument.

Environmental Factors
Natural Features