50 million years ago, Utah was a very different place. The Wasatch and Uinta Mountains were being formed; a bulge in south-central Utah was pushed up to become the canvas that wind and water would use to create a spectacular artwork of canyons, arches, castles, pillars and hoodoos. Today, this 2,000-square mile area is known as the San Rafael Swell. As public land, most of “The Swell”, as it’s known by locals, is managed by the Bureau of Land Management, or BLM.