Kanab

Kanab, city, seat (1864) of Kane county, southwestern Utah, U.S., on Kanab Creek, at the foot of Vermilion Cliffs, just north of the Arizona line. Settlement was first made in 1864 around Fort Kanab (from a Paiute Indian word meaning “willow”) but was abandoned because of Indian attacks. In 1870 Mormon missionaries reoccupied the place, which developed as a trading centre for livestock, grain and alfalfa farming, and lumbering. The city has also become a tourist base for several nearby points of interest, including the north rim of the Grand Canyon (to the south in Arizona) and the Bryce Canyon and Zion national parks. Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park is to the west. The author Zane Grey lived briefly in Kanab, and the surrounding sand dunes, canyons, and flatlands provided the setting for his Riders of the Purple Sage (1912). Since the early 1930s many outdoor movies have been shot in the area; some movie-set towns remain, and Kanab has been called “Hollywood’s backyard.” Pop. (2000) 3,564; (2010) 4,312.