This magnificent old cottonwood tree grows along the normally dry bed of Thompson Wash in the southern Book Cliffs region of Utah. All the canyons draining the southern Book Cliffs were home to pre-Columbian indigenous peoples who inhabited the canyons and mesas all across the Colorado Plateau region. Archeologists speculate that these people migrated north into this higher-elevation region as the climate dried and warmed around the 12th or 13th century AD. All evidence of habitation here vanished around the year 1300AD as it did across much of the Colorado Plateau. Due to the large number of rock art sites in this canyon, evidence would point towards large numbers of people either passing through this canyon on a regular basis or living here permanently. This panoramic photograph was captured with a 6x17 panorama format camera. All photos in these fine art photo galleries may be ordered as fine art framed prints or for stock photography usage.