Ch43 — Systematic Index

How this file works: This index is built incrementally as each chapter passes through the pipeline. Entries point to the chapter and section where a topic is substantively discussed (not merely mentioned). When the manuscript is complete, section references will be converted to page numbers for the print edition.

Format: Topic — Ch##.§## (multiple references separated by semicolons)

Last incorporated: Ch01, Ch02, Ch03, Ch04, Ch06, Ch07 (2026-05-28)

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A

• Acre-foot, defined — Ch03.§3.8
• Alfisols — Ch01.§1.8
• Allosaurus fragilis — Ch02.§2.5
• Alluvial fans — Ch01.§1.11; Ch02.§2.10
• AMS (American Meteor Society) — Ch07.§7.4
• Andromeda Galaxy (M31) — Ch07.§7.2; Ch07.§7.4
• Anticline, San Rafael Swell — Ch01.§1.6; Ch02.§2.7
• Apparent magnitude — Ch07.§7.2
• Appropriation, water rights — Ch03.§3.9
• Aquifers, Colorado Plateau system — Ch03.§3.3
• Archaeoastronomy — Ch07.§7.6
• Aridisols — Ch01.§1.8
• Astronomical twilight — Ch07.§7.3
• Astrophotography — Ch07.§7.7
• Atmospheric pressure — Ch04.§4.2
• Avery Ditch — Ch03.§3.9
• Avian diversity — Ch06.§6.2

B

• Bald eagle, wintering — Ch06.§6.10
• Basin and Range Province — Ch01.§1.2
• Big game herds — Ch06.§6.8
• Bighorn sheep, desert — Ch06.§6.4; Ch06.§6.8
• Blackhawk Formation — Ch02.§2.6
• Blanchard, Paul J. (USGS hydrologist) — Ch03.§3.6
• BLM Sensitive Species — Ch06.§6.10
• Book Cliffs — Ch01.§1.2; Ch01.§1.3
• Bortle, John E. — Ch07.§7.1
• Bortle scale — Ch07.§7.1; Ch07.§7.4
• BSk (Köppen cold steppe) — Ch04.§4.1
• Buckhorn Conglomerate — Ch02.§2.6
• Buckhorn Draw — Ch01.§1.11
• Burrowing owl — Ch06.§6.10
• BWk (Köppen cold-arid) — Ch04.§4.1

C

• Canals, irrigation — Ch03.§3.8; Ch03.§3.9
• Carmel Formation — Ch02.§2.5
• Cassiopeia (circumpolar) — Ch07.§7.2
• Castle Dale — Ch01.§1.10; Ch03.§3.9
• Castle Valley climate — Ch04.§4.2; Ch04.§4.3; Ch04.§4.5
• Castlegate Sandstone — Ch02.§2.6
• CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps), water projects — Ch03.§3.8
• Cedar Mesa Formation — Ch02.§2.3
• Cedar Mountain Formation — Ch02.§2.6
• Celestial equator — Ch07.§7.2
• Cepheus (circumpolar) — Ch07.§7.2
• Chinle Formation — Ch02.§2.4
• Circumpolar stars — Ch07.§7.2
• Civil twilight — Ch07.§7.3
• Cleveland, town of — Ch03.§3.9
• Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry — Ch02.§2.5
• Climate change signals, observed — Ch04.§4.11
• Climate divisions, Utah (Division 6) — Ch04.§4.7
• Climate monitoring stations — Ch04.§4.10
• Climate normals, 30-year (1991–2020) — Ch04.§4.2
• Climate projections — Ch04.§4.12
• Clipper Canal — Ch03.§3.9
• Coal — Ch02.§2.6; Ch02.§2.11
• Coconino Sandstone — Ch02.§2.3
• Colorado pikeminnow (Ptychocheilus lucius) — Ch03.§3.10; Ch06.§6.5; Ch06.§6.6
• Colorado Plateau — Ch01.§1.2; Ch02.§2.1
• Colton Formation — Ch02.§2.8
• Conjunction, planetary — Ch07.§7.6
• Constellation guide, seasonal — Ch07.§7.2
• Continentality — Ch04.§4.2
• COOP (Cooperative Observer Program) — Ch04.§4.2
• Cooperative Wildlife Management Unit (CWMU) — Ch06.§6.11
• Copper mineralization — Ch02.§2.8; Ch02.§2.11
• CORS Network (geodetic control) — Ch01.§1.1
• Cottonwood Creek — Ch01.§1.4; Ch02.§2.10
• Cottonwood Creek WMA — Ch06.§6.11
• Cox, Spencer J., drought declaration — Ch03.§3.11
• Coyote — Ch06.§6.3; Ch06.§6.4
• Crepuscular activity — Ch06.§6.3
• Cross-bedding — Ch02.§2.3; Ch02.§2.5
• Csb (Köppen warm-summer Mediterranean) — Ch04.§4.1
• Curtis Formation — Ch02.§2.5
• Cutler Group — Ch02.§2.3
• CWMU — see Cooperative Wildlife Management Unit

D

• Dakota Sandstone — Ch02.§2.6
• DarkSky International (formerly International Dark-Sky Association) — Ch07.§7.7
• Dark-sky quality — Ch04.§4.9; Ch07.§7.1
• Desert pavements — Ch01.§1.10; Ch02.§2.10
• Diel activity pattern — Ch06.§6.3
• Dinosaurs — see Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry; Allosaurus fragilis
• Dissolved solids — Ch03.§3.6
• Diurnal temperature range — Ch04.§4.3
• Doelling, Hellmut H. — Ch01.§1.6; Ch02.§2.1
• Draco (circumpolar) — Ch07.§7.2
• Drainage basins — Ch01.§1.4
• Drought — Ch03.§3.11; Ch04.§4.7
• Drought indices — Ch04.§4.7
• Dsb (Köppen humid continental) — Ch04.§4.1
• Dunes, sand — Ch01.§1.10; Ch02.§2.10
• DWR — see Utah Division of Wildlife Resources

E

• East Mountain (highest point) — Ch01.§1.3; Ch01.§1.5
• eBird — Ch06.§6.2; Ch06.§6.12
• Ecliptic — Ch07.§7.2
• Elephant Canyon Formation — Ch02.§2.3
• Elevation gradient — Ch01.§1.5
• Elk, Wasatch Plateau herd — Ch06.§6.7; Ch06.§6.8
• Emery, town of — Ch02.§2.6
• Emery County, boundaries — Ch01.§1.1
• Emery County Project (USBR) — Ch03.§3.8
• Emery Sandstone Member — Ch02.§2.6
• Emery Water Conservancy District — Ch03.§3.8
• Endangered species — Ch03.§3.10; Ch06.§6.6
• Endangered Species Act (ESA, 1973) — Ch06.§6.6
• Endemic species — Ch06.§6.4
• ENSO (El Niño-Southern Oscillation) — Ch04.§4.8
• Entisols — Ch01.§1.8
• Entrada Sandstone — Ch02.§2.5
• Eolian processes — Ch01.§1.10; Ch02.§2.5
• Erosion — Ch02.§2.9
• ESA — see Endangered Species Act
• Evaporites — Ch02.§2.3
• Evapotranspiration — Ch04.§4.6
• Expansive soils — Ch02.§2.12
• Extreme precipitation records — Ch04.§4.4
• Extreme temperature records — Ch04.§4.4

F

• Farallon Plate subduction — Ch02.§2.7
• Ferron, town of — Ch01.§1.10; Ch02.§2.6
• Ferron Creek — Ch01.§1.4; Ch02.§2.10
• Ferron Sandstone Member — Ch02.§2.6
• Ferron Thrust — Ch01.§1.6
• Flagstaff Limestone — Ch02.§2.8
• Flash floods — Ch02.§2.12; Ch03.§3.7
• Flooding — Ch03.§3.7
• Fremont cottonwood (Populus fremontii) — Ch01.§1.4; Ch06.§6.5
• Frogs, leopard — Ch06.§6.4; Ch06.§6.6
• Frost-free period (growing season) — Ch04.§4.4

G

• GDD — see Growing Degree Days
• Geary, Edward A. (historian) — Ch03.§3.9
• Gegenschein — Ch07.§7.5
• Geminid meteor shower — Ch07.§7.4
• Generalist species — Ch06.§6.4
• Gilluly, James (USGS geologist) — Ch02.§2.3
• GIS datasets — Ch01.§1.12
• Glen Canyon Group — Ch02.§2.5
• Globe at Night — Ch07.§7.7
• Goblin Valley State Park — Ch02.§2.5; Ch07.§7.7
• Goblin Valley International Dark Sky Park (2016) — Ch07.§7.7
• Golden eagle — Ch06.§6.7; Ch06.§6.9
• Gray Canyon — Ch01.§1.4; Ch02.§2.9
• Great conjunction (Jupiter–Saturn, December 21 2020) — Ch07.§7.6
• Green River (river) — Ch01.§1.4; Ch02.§2.9; Ch03.§3.1
• Green River (town) — Ch01.§1.10; Ch03.§3.1
• Green River Formation — Ch02.§2.8
• Groundwater — Ch03.§3.3; Ch03.§3.4
• Growing Degree Days (GDD) — Ch04.§4.4
• Growing season — see Frost-free period

H

• Hanging gardens — Ch03.§3.5
• Hardiness zone — see Plant hardiness zone
• Hawks, migrating (broad-winged, Swainson’s) — Ch06.§6.7
• Hermosa Group — Ch02.§2.3
• Hintze, Lehi F. — Ch01.§1.2; Ch02.§2.3
• Hogbacks — Ch01.§1.7; Ch02.§2.7
• Honaker Trail Formation — Ch02.§2.3
• Hoodoos — Ch02.§2.5
• HUC-12 watersheds — Ch01.§1.4
• Huntington, town of — Ch02.§2.6; Ch03.§3.9
• Huntington Canyon (SR-31) — Ch02.§2.10; Ch02.§2.12
• Huntington Creek — Ch01.§1.4; Ch02.§2.10
• Huntington North Dam — Ch03.§3.8
• Hydroclimatic teleconnections — Ch04.§4.8
• Hypsometry — Ch01.§1.5

I

• IDA — see DarkSky International
• Inceptisols — Ch01.§1.8
• Indicator species — Ch06.§6.6
• iNaturalist — Ch06.§6.12
• International Dark Sky Park (IDSP) — Ch07.§7.7
• Inversion (temperature inversion) — Ch04.§4.3
• Invertebrate diversity — Ch06.§6.6
• Irrigation — Ch03.§3.8; Ch03.§3.9

J

• Joes Valley Reservoir — Ch02.§2.10; Ch03.§3.8
• Jupiter, opposition / great conjunction — Ch07.§7.6
• Jurassic National Monument — Ch02.§2.5

K

• Kaibab Limestone — Ch02.§2.3
• Karst systems — Ch01.§1.9
• Kayenta Formation — Ch02.§2.5
• Kerogen — Ch02.§2.8
• Köppen, Wladimir — Ch04.§4.1
• Köppen climate classification — Ch04.§4.1
• Kowallis, Bart J. — Ch01.§1.2; Ch02.§2.3
• Kyba, Christopher (light-pollution research) — Ch07.§7.7

L

• Laccolithic intrusions — Ch02.§2.8
• Lake Uinta — Ch02.§2.8
• Landslides — Ch02.§2.10; Ch02.§2.12
• Lapse rate — Ch04.§4.3
• Laramide Orogeny — Ch01.§1.6; Ch02.§2.7
• Lawton, Timothy F. — Ch02.§2.7
• Leadville Formation (karst) — Ch01.§1.9
• Leopard frog — Ch06.§6.4; Ch06.§6.6
• LiDAR — Ch01.§1.9; Ch01.§1.12
• Light pollution — Ch04.§4.9; Ch07.§7.7
• Lightning risk — Ch04.§4.6
• Limiting magnitude — Ch07.§7.4
• Little Wild Horse Canyon — Ch01.§1.4; Ch02.§2.9; Ch02.§2.12
• Loess — Ch01.§1.10
• Lucy’s warbler — Ch06.§6.5

M

• Mammalian communities, Emery County — Ch06.§6.1
• Mancos Shale — Ch02.§2.6; Ch02.§2.12
• Mars, opposition — Ch07.§7.6
• Mesaverde Group — Ch02.§2.6
• Meteor showers — Ch07.§7.4
• Microclimate — Ch04.§4.8
• Migration corridor — Ch06.§6.7
• Milky Way — Ch07.§7.5
• Moenkopi Formation — Ch02.§2.4
• Molen/Peterson ditches — Ch03.§3.9
• Mollisols — Ch01.§1.8
• Monocline — Ch01.§1.6; Ch02.§2.7
• Monsoon (North American) — Ch04.§4.5
• Moonlight cycles — Ch07.§7.3
• Moose, reintroduced — Ch06.§6.7
• Morrison Formation — Ch02.§2.5
• Mountain lion — Ch06.§6.3; Ch06.§6.9
• Muddy Creek — Ch01.§1.4; Ch03.§3.3
• Mule deer — Ch06.§6.3; Ch06.§6.7; Ch06.§6.8

N

• NAD 83 (horizontal datum) — Ch01.§1.1; Ch01.§1.12
• Naked-eye observation — Ch07.§7.4
• Narrowleaf willow (Salix exigua) — Ch01.§1.4; Ch06.§6.5
• National Natural Landmark designation — Ch02.§2.5
• National Weather Service (NWS) — Ch04.§4.6; Ch04.§4.10
• Native fishes, Green River — Ch06.§6.5
• Nautical twilight — Ch07.§7.3
• NAVD 88 (vertical datum) — Ch01.§1.1; Ch01.§1.12
• Navajo Sandstone — Ch02.§2.5
• NCEI (National Centers for Environmental Information) — Ch04.§4.2
• Nesting cliffs, raptor — Ch06.§6.7
• Nocturnal ecology — Ch06.§6.10; Ch07.§7.11
• NOIRLab — Ch07.§7.7
• North Ditch — Ch03.§3.9
• North Horn Formation — Ch02.§2.8; Ch02.§2.10
• NWS — see National Weather Service

O

• Oil and gas — Ch02.§2.3; Ch02.§2.11
• Oil shale — Ch02.§2.8; Ch02.§2.11
• Opposition (planetary) — Ch07.§7.6
• Orangeville — Ch03.§3.9
• Organ Rock Shale — Ch02.§2.3
• Orographic precipitation — Ch04.§4.5

P

• Paleozoic rocks — Ch02.§2.3
• Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) — Ch04.§4.7
• Pangaea — Ch02.§2.3
• Paradox Formation — Ch02.§2.3
• PDO (Pacific Decadal Oscillation) — Ch04.§4.8
• PDSI — see Palmer Drought Severity Index
• Permian Period — Ch02.§2.3
• Peterson, Joseph E. (paleontologist) — Ch02.§2.5
• Phenology, seasonal — Ch06.§6.11
• Physiographic provinces — Ch01.§1.2
• Plant hardiness zone (USDA) — Ch04.§4.4
• PLSS (Public Land Survey System) — Ch01.§1.1
• Precambrian basement — Ch02.§2.2
• Precipitation gradient — Ch04.§4.5
• Price River — Ch01.§1.4; Ch02.§2.6
• Pronghorn — Ch06.§6.8

Q

• Quaternary geology — Ch02.§2.10

R

• Radon gas — Ch02.§2.12
• Rain shadow — Ch04.§4.5
• Raptor migration — Ch06.§6.7
• Raven, common — Ch06.§6.4
• Razorback sucker (Xyrauchen texanus) — Ch03.§3.10; Ch06.§6.5; Ch06.§6.6
• Reptiles of the desert & canyonlands — Ch06.§6.3
• Reservoirs — Ch03.§3.8
• Return flows, irrigation — Ch03.§3.6
• Riparian obligate species — Ch06.§6.5
• Roberts Roost Flats — Ch01.§1.10
• Roll-front mineralization — Ch02.§2.4

S

• Salt Lake Meridian — Ch01.§1.1
• Salt loading — Ch03.§3.6
• San Rafael Group — Ch02.§2.5
• San Rafael Reef — Ch02.§2.7
• San Rafael River — Ch01.§1.4; Ch03.§3.2
• San Rafael Swell — Ch01.§1.7; Ch02.§2.7; Ch02.§2.9; Ch07.§7.1
• Seepage, canal — Ch03.§3.8
• SGCN (Species of Greatest Conservation Need) — Ch06.§6.10
• Shinarump Conglomerate — Ch02.§2.4; Ch02.§2.11
• Short Canyon Member — Ch02.§2.6
• Sidereal time — Ch07.§7.2
• Simonds, William Joe (historian) — Ch03.§3.8
• Sky Quality Meter (SQM) — Ch07.§7.4
• Skyglow — see Light pollution
• Slot canyons — Ch02.§2.9
• SNOTEL (Snow Telemetry) — Ch04.§4.5; Ch03.§3.11
  • Buck Flat SNOTEL — Ch04.§4.5
  • Mammoth-Cottonwood SNOTEL — Ch04.§4.5
  • Seeley Creek SNOTEL — Ch04.§4.5
• Snowfall & snow-water equivalent — Ch04.§4.3
• Snowpack — Ch03.§3.11; Ch04.§4.5
• Sodium adsorption ratio — Ch01.§1.8
• Soil orders — Ch01.§1.8
• Solar maxima/minima — Ch07.§7.10
• Space weather — Ch07.§7.10
• Specialist species — Ch06.§6.4
• Spencer, J. E. — Ch01.§1.2
• Springs — Ch03.§3.4; Ch03.§3.5
• Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) — Ch04.§4.7
• Star parties — Ch07.§7.7
• Star Point Sandstone — Ch02.§2.6
• Stokes, William Lee — Ch02.§2.6
• Stratigraphic column — Ch02.§2.1
• Sublimation — Ch03.§3.11; Ch04.§4.5
• Summerville Formation — Ch02.§2.5
• Swasey Diversion Dam — Ch03.§3.8
• Synodic period — Ch07.§7.6

T

• T&E — see Threatened & Endangered species
• Taphonomy, Cleveland-Lloyd — Ch02.§2.5
• Tavaputs Plateau — Ch01.§1.2
• Telescope facilities, community — Ch07.§7.7
• Temperature inversion — see Inversion
• Temperature normals — Ch04.§4.1
• Temple Mountain — Ch01.§1.10
• Threatened & Endangered (T&E) species — Ch06.§6.6
• Thunderstorm frequency — Ch04.§4.6
• Tourism, night-sky — Ch07.§7.12
• Triassic Period — Ch02.§2.4
• Trophic level — Ch06.§6.9
• Twilight (civil / nautical / astronomical) — Ch07.§7.3

U

• UDWR — see Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
• Unconformities — Ch02.§2.4
• Ungulates — Ch06.§6.7
• Uranium — Ch02.§2.4; Ch02.§2.11; Ch02.§2.12
• Ursa Major (circumpolar) — Ch07.§7.2
• Ursa Minor (circumpolar) — Ch07.§7.2
• Utah Climate Division 6 — Ch04.§4.7
• Utah Code § 17-16-6 — Ch01.§1.1
• Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (UDWR / DWR) — Ch06.§6.11
• Utah Wildlife Action Plan (UWAP, 2015) — Ch06.§6.10

V

• Ventifacts — Ch01.§1.10
• Venus, transits of (1874, 1882) — Ch07.§7.6

W

• Warblers, riparian (Lucy’s, Wilson’s, yellow) — Ch06.§6.5
• Wasatch Formation — Ch02.§2.8
• Wasatch Plateau — Ch01.§1.3; Ch02.§2.10; Ch03.§3.1; Ch04.§4.5
• Water quality — Ch03.§3.6
• Water rights — Ch03.§3.9
• Water Watch, Utah — Ch06.§6.12
• Watersheds — Ch01.§1.4
• Weber Formation (karst) — Ch01.§1.9
• Western Interior Seaway — Ch02.§2.6
• White Rim Sandstone — Ch02.§2.3
• Wildlife Action Plan, Utah — see Utah Wildlife Action Plan
• Wildlife management — Ch06.§6.11
• Wildlife Management Area (WMA) — Ch06.§6.11
• Wind chill — Ch04.§4.3
• Wind climatology — Ch04.§4.5
• Wingate Sandstone — Ch02.§2.5
• WPA (Works Progress Administration), water projects — Ch03.§3.8

Y

• Yellow warbler — Ch06.§6.5

Z

• Zodiacal light — Ch07.§7.5

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Index Statistics

Statistic	Value
Total entries	273
Chapters incorporated	Ch01, Ch02, Ch03, Ch04, Ch06, Ch07
Letters represented	A–Z (X pending future chapters)
Net new in Batch 1 (Ch04 + Ch06 + Ch07)	+125 entries (148 baseline → 273 total)
Climate & weather entries (Ch04)	~35
Faunal entries (Ch06)	~50
Astronomy entries (Ch07)	~40
New letter sections opened	Y, Z

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Batch Plan

Batch	Chapters	Status	Date
Baseline	Ch01–Ch03	Complete	2026-03-27
Batch 1	Ch04, Ch06, Ch07	Complete	2026-05-28
Batch 2	Ch08–Ch13 (Part II — First Peoples)	Pending	tribal-consult sensitivity required
Batch 3	Ch14–Ch22 (Part III — Exploration & Settlement)	Pending	likely highest-density batch
Batch 4	Ch23–Ch29 (Part IV — Government & Community)	Pending
Batch 5	Ch30–Ch33 (Part V — Field Guide, first half)	Pending
Batch 6	Ch34–Ch36 (Part V — Field Guide, second half)	Pending
Batch 7	Ch37–Ch39 (Part VI — Reference Tools)	Pending
Batch 8	Ch40 + final pass (X-Y-Z complete, voice-consistency, engagement features)	Pending

Ch05 (Flora Zones) is deferred until its draft passes Phases 4–8 — see Ch41/Ch42 for the same convention.

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Next update: Batch 2 (Ch08–Ch13) once those chapters reach Phase 8 final and tribal-collaborative review can be coordinated.