When you imagine a ripe, juicy peach, you might not picture it growing in a red rock canyon. Centuries ago, however, tribes in the Four Corners cultivated vast orchards of an heirloom variety called the Southwest peach. … [Reagan] Wytsalucy, a plant scientist with the Utah State University extension in San Juan County and a member of the Navajo Nation, said this peach was a vital part of the Indigenous diet and trade economy for hundreds of years. Accounts from Spanish missions describe sprawling orchards grown by Pueblo Indians as early as the 1630s. The Southwest peach is smaller and less sweet than what you find at the supermarket. Its flavor also varies based on which part of the region it’s from, she said. Some taste like melon. Others have a hint of cinnamon. Traditionally, Navajo people would dry peaches to preserve them for the following year, and one tree could feed a whole family.

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