The Utes Called the Grand Mesa Thigunawat, Which Means Home of the Departed Spirits

For centuries before Grand Junction was founded in 1881, the Grand Valley was home to the Ute people, who were forced out of the area that same year.

The Utes left behind a rich tradition of stories about this land, and many of them center on the Grand Mesa.”

Colorado’s Grand Mesa + the Thunderbirds

According to Ute legend, the Grand Mesa was home to giant eagles called the Bahaa-Nieche, better known today as Thunderbirds.

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The Thunderbirds were said to prey on Ute children, and the legend left its mark on the mesa itself.

Look east from Grand Junction or Palisade and you’ll see white, bird-shaped markings on the dark rock of the Grand Mesa’s face. In Ute tradition, that’s the Thunderbird.”

Colorado’s Grand Mesa + the Home of Departed Spirits

The Utes called the Grand Mesa Thigunawat, which means ‘Home of the Departed Spirits.’ They believed the souls of the dead traveled to the mesa to spend eternity there.

Some say they’re still up there.

Colorado’s Grand Mesa + the Great Serpent

The Grand Mesa’s lakes have a legend of their own. After a Thunderbird carried off a Ute chief’s child, the chief climbed to the nest, disguised as a tree, and threw the young Thunderbirds down to the ground, where a giant serpent devoured them.

When the Thunderbirds returned, they blamed the serpent. They seized it, carried it into the sky, and tore it apart, and where the pieces crashed down, they left the holes that became the Grand Mesa’s lakes.