'Moab' is the biblical name of a bastard son of Lot (Bible)Lot and his firstborn daughter. The biblical Moab fathered the Moabite people that lived in a mountainous strip of land running along the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. This strip of land is also named Moab. It is uncertain how a city in Southeastern Utah came to use that name. The Daughters of the Utah Pioneers attribute the name to William Pierce, the first postmaster, believing that the biblical Moab and this part of Utah were both "the far country". . During the 1800s the area around what is now Moab served as the Colorado River crossing along the Old Spanish Trail (trade route)Old Spanish Trail. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day SaintsMormon settlers attempted to establish a trading fort at the river crossing called "Elk Mountain Mission" in 1855 to trade with travelers attempting to cross the river. Later that year and after repeated Indian attacks, the fort was abandoned. A new round of settlers established a permanent settlement in 1878. Moab was incorporated as a town on December 20, 1902. In 1883 the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad main line was constructed across eastern Utah. The rail line did not pass through Moab. Later other places to cross the Colorado were constructed, such as Lee's Ferry, Navajo Bridge and Boulder Dam. These changes shifted the trade routes away from Moab. Moab farmers and merchants had to adapt from trading with passing travelers to shipping their goods to distant markets. Soon Moab's origins as one of the few natural crossings of the Colorado River were forgotten. Nevertheless, the U.S. military deemed the bridge over the Colorado River at Moab important enough to place it under guard as late as World War II. Moab's economy was originally based on agriculture, but gradually shifted to mining. Uranium and vanadium were discovered in the area in the 1910s and 1920s. Potash and manganese came next and then oil and gas were discovered. In the 1950s Moab became the uranium Capital of the world after Geologist Charles Steen found uranium ore. In 1949 famed Western (genre)Western movie director John Ford was talked into using the area for the movie Wagon Master (film)Wagon Master. Ford had been using the area in Monument Valley around Mexican Hat, Utah, south of Moab, since he filmed Stagecoach (film)Stagecoach there 10-years earlier in 1939. A local Moab rancher went, found Ford, and persuaded him to come take a look at Moab. There have been numerous movies filmed in the area ever since, using the beauty of Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park as backdrops. They have included: Rio Grande (film)Rio Grande (1950), Warlock (1959 film)Warlock (1958), The Comancheros (1961), Cheyenne Autumn (1963), The Greatest Story Ever Told (1963), and parts of more recent films: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1988), Thelma and Louise (1990), City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's GoldCity Slickers II (1994), and Mission: Impossible II (2000). Since the 1970s tourism has played an increasing role in the local economy. Partly due to the John Ford movies, the area has become a favorite for photographers, Raftingrafters, hikers, and most recently Mountain bikingmountain bikers. Moab is also an increasingly popular destination for four-wheelers as well as for BASE jumpers, who are allowed to practice their sport. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moab%2C_Utah