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Journal of Undergraduate Research

Keywords

Grand County, out-migration, unemployment, rural amenities

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Geography

Abstract

Inter-Mountain West counties who historically have tied their economic livelihood to the exploitation of primary resources have been susceptible to cycles of boom and bust. The history of Grand County, Utah, depicts this precise paradigm. In the 1950’s, when a young Texan discovered uranium in the resource rich Colorado Plateau, north of Moab, economic prosperity and a population explosion came the way of Grand County. Mines in the county processed 95% of all uranium ores for the nation. The population reached 10,000 people, and wealth flowed from the pits of this rich resource. The market lulled soon thereafter, and intermittent cycles of economic prosperity and depression have persisted. The last boost to the economy came in the 70’s when the energy boom created increased jobs in the mining sector. This short-lived prosperity only lasted until the early 80’s when primary commodity prices felt, creating an inevitable bust to natural resource based economies. The result was rampant unemployment and a mass exodus from mining communities.

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