Chapter 6 Rocks Summary and Analysis

The West is full of rocks, as is to be expected from an area known for the Rocky Mountains. Abbey lists the names of many of the minerals to be found in Arches National Monument, including the remains left by Native Americans as they made arrowheads from obsidian, also known as Apache tears. The minerals of value were once gold, silver and lead, but for Abbey's time, uranium draws prospectors, miners and mining companies. This is due to the high prices that the Atomic Energy Commission offers for good ore and a $10,000 (about $58,000 in 2006 dollars) finder's bonus.

Two prospectors strike it rich, Charles Steen and Vernon Pick. However, most of the money is made in trading claims like commodities, through speculation and deception. Abbey observes that greed and easy money draw certain types of people to this kind of...