Skip to Content

Logo

megalopolis, francisc ford coppola
a sunset glows over great salt lake and antelope island near salt lake city, utah, the remnants of ancient bonneville lake that once covered most of the state, reckoning with the west, land, delta
ALTA SERIAL

Trekking to Delta, Part One: Cosmic Rays

With the publication of this initial installment from “Trekking to Delta,” Alta Journal is pleased to begin a five-part serialization of this historical essay by acclaimed novelist Karen Tei Yamashita.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
alta, issue 29, cover, the true face of the west
CURRENT ISSUE

Issue 29: Reckoning with the West

Inside Alta Journal’s Issue 29.

jason foster, president and chief operating officer of destination crenshaw, crenshaw boulevard, los angeles, reckoning with the west, people
L.A. STORY

Crenshaw at the Crossroads

An ambitious civic project aims to revitalize a historic Black neighborhood—without forgetting its past.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
artist lava thomas
PUBLIC ART

Portrait of Phenomenal Women

Lava Thomas never backed down while creating her San Francisco monument to Maya Angelou.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

Latest from the California Book Club

Join the West Coast literary conversation every month.
reckoning with the west, people, alfred kroeber, kroeber hall, berkeley
MIXED LEGACY

The Unnaming of Kroeber Hall

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

READER MAIL

io caldera, 1983, michael carroll, iaaa, depicts the depression from a collapsed volcano on jupiters moon, ubehebe crater in death valley, reckoning with the west, culture, space, illustration
LUNAR LANDSCAPES

Why Paintings of Jupiter Look Like Death Valley

The real reason space looks like the American West.

THE MONDAY BOOK REVIEW

Sign-up for our weekly book review email.
reckoning with the west, culture, zorro, miguel bernardeau stars in zorro from amazon
SWORDPLAY

A New Zorro Takes On the Swashbuckling Hero

The masked avenger returns in an almost historically accurate, mostly fraught-free, and fun spin on a familiar story.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

EVENTS

Alta Live hosts interviews with magazine contributors, subjects, and California luminaries every Wednesday.

THE WEEKLY ALTA NEWSLETTER

New stories from California and the West sent to your inbox every Thursday.
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
oregon trail, land, reckoning with the west, between 1840 and 1869 500000 emigrants traveled west on the oregon trail, the route stretched from independence missouri to oregon city, western idaho
WAGON RUTS

Tracing the Storied—and Tragic—Oregon Trail

Uncovering a chain of destruction that culminated in the tragic killing of 19th-century missionary Narcissa Whitman, the first white woman to complete the overland journey west.

0 rver-timing: rtt; dur=2.16, retrans; dur=0, trailer-timestamp; dur=1728300265636