Utah State Flag

Utah State Seal

Utah Location

Utah

Utah is a western state of the United States, in the Rocky Mountains region. Its capital is Salt Lake City. The state had a population of 2,389,039 in 2004 according to a Census Bureau estimate. The state is generally rugged and arid, and has spectacular natural scenery. It is a popular summer and winter tourist destination. Salt Lake City, the ski resorts in the Wasatch Range, and the national parks of the south are the most popular destinations. The name Utah is from the Southern Ute language and means "higher up." The Paiute, Navajo, and Goshute nations also inhabit portions of the state.

Salt Lake City, Utah is the headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS or Mormon Church), of which approximately 60% of the residents are members. The LDS Church has a strong cultural influence on the state and helped Utah to become one of just two states where gambling is illegal. Residents are called Utahns. Salt Lake City hosted the 2002 Winter Olympics, which gave a significant boost to the state's tourist industry (especially the ski resorts).

Geography

Utah is one of the Four Corners states, and is bordered by: Idaho (at 42°N) and Wyoming (at 41°N and 111°W) in the north, by Colorado (at 109°W) in the east, at a single point by New Mexico to the southeast (at the Four Corners Monument), by Arizona (at 37°N) in the south, and by Nevada (at 114°W) in the west. It covers an area of 84,899 square miles (219,887km²).

One of Utah's defining characteristics is the variety of its terrain. Running down the center of the state is the Wasatch Range, which rises to heights of about 12,000 feet or 3650 meters above sea level. Portions of these mountains receive 500+ inches (12.7+ meters) of snow a year and are home to world-renowned ski resorts, made popular by the light, fluffy snow which is considered good for skiing. In the northeastern section of the state, running east to west, are the Uinta Mountains, which rise to heights of 13,000 feet (3,962 meters) or more. The highest point in the state, Kings Peak, at an elevation of 13,526 feet (4,123 meters), lies within the Uinta Mountains. Popular recreational destinations within the mountains besides the ski resorts include Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area, Timpanogas Cave National Monument, Bear Lake, and Jordanelle, Strawberry, East Canyon, and Rockport reservoirs. The mountains are popular camping, rock-climbing, skiing, snowboarding, and hiking destinations.

At the base of the Wasatch Range is the Wasatch Front, a series of valleys and basins that are home to the most populous parts of the state. The major cities of Salt Lake City, Layton, Ogden, West Valley City, Sandy, West Jordan, Orem, and Provo are located within this region.

Western Utah is mostly arid desert with a basin and range geology. Small mountain ranges and rugged terrain punctuate the landscape. However, the Bonneville Salt Flats are an exception, being comparetively flat. Most of western Utah was once covered in Lake Bonneville. The Great Salt Lake and Utah Lake are the only two significant remains of this ancient freshwater lake which once covered most of the eastern Great Basin. West of the Great Salt Lake, stretching to the Nevada border, lies the Great Salt Lake Desert, the driest, most arid area in Utah.

Much of the scenic southern landscape is sandstone, more specifically Kayenta sandstone and Navajo sandstone. The Colorado River and its tributaries wind their way through the sandstone, creating some of the most striking and wild terrain in the world. Wind and rain have also scuplted the soft sandstone over millions of years. Canyons, gullies, arches, pinnacles, buttes, bluffs, and mesas are the common sight throughout south-central and southeast Utah. This terrain is accentuated in protected parks such as Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, and Zion national parks, Cedar Breaks, Grand Staircase-Escalante, Hovenweep, and Natural Bridges national monuments, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (site of the popular tourist destination, Lake Powell), Dead Horse Point State Park, and Monument Valley, a popular photographic and filming site. Southwestern Utah is low in elevation and is the hottest spot in Utah. It is known as Dixie because early settlers mistakenly believed that cotton could grow there. Beaverdam Wash in far southwestern Utah is the lowest elevation in Utah, at an elevation of exactly 2,000 ft (610 m).

Eastern Utah is a high elevation area covered mostly by plateaus and basins. These areas are snowy, cold, and for the most part very barren. It has an economy mostly driven by mining and ranching. Much of eastern Utah is covered in the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation. The most popular destination within eastern Utah is Dinosaur National Monument.

Like most of the west and southwest states, the federal government owns much of the land in Utah. In Utah over seventy percent of the land is either BLM land or U.S. National Forest, park, U.S. National Monument, National Recreation Area or U.S. Wilderness Area area. Under Article IV, § 3, cl. 2 of the United States Constitution, the federal government has plenary and supreme—although concurrent—civil and criminal jurisdiction over these federal lands within the borders of each state.

Climate

Most of Utah is arid and high in elevation. Most of eastern and southern Utah receive 12 inches (300 mm) or less of precipitation per year, while many mountain areas receive more than 40 in (1000 mm) per year, with some areas receiving up to 60 in (1500 mm). Much of western Utah receives less than 10 in (250 mm), while the Wasatch Front receives approximately 15 in (380 mm). The Great Salt Lake Desert is especially dry, receiving less than 5 in (130 mm) a year. Snowfall is common in winter everywhere except the southern border and the Great Salt Lake Desert. Saint George averages about 3 in (7.5 cm) of snow per year, while Salt Lake City receives almost 60 in (150 cm) a year (amplified by the lake effect from the Great Salt Lake). Many mountain areas receive in excess of 350 in (900 cm) of snow in a year, while portions of the Wasatch Range receive up to 500 in (1,250 cm). Snowfall is common from late November through March in the lower elevations and from October through May in the mountains. The mountains often remain snow-covered into July. Fog and haze often caused by temperature inversions are common in the valleys and basins during winter, especially the Uinta Basin, just south of the Uinta Mountains.

During summer and fall, most of the precipitation is received from the monsoon coming from the south and consists of short, sporadic, and intense thunderstorms that can cause wildfires and flash floods. Most precipitation during the rest of the year is received from the Pacific Ocean. Spring is the wettest season across the north while late summer and early fall are the wettest times in the south and winter is the wettest season in most of the mountain areas.

Temperatures during the winter across much of Utah are below freezing. High temperatures average between 25° F (-4° C) and 50° F (10° C) across the state. Days below 0° F (-18° C) can be expected in many areas at least once a year, but they are usually short in duration and not terribly severe. Mountains to the north and east of the state serve as barriers to Arctic air. In the summer, high temperatures average between 85° F (29° C) and 100° F (38° C). Days over 100° F (38° C) can be expected in most areas below 5,000 ft (1,500 m) at least once per year, and are expected frequently in the south. The record high temperature in Utah was 117° F (47° C), recorded at Saint George on Friday, July 5, 1985, and the record low was -69° F (-56° C), recorded at Peter's Sink in the Bear River Mountains of northern Utah on Friday, February 1, 1985.

History

Early history

Native Americans have lived in Utah for several thousand years; most archeological evidence dates such habitation about 10,000 to 12,000 years ago. Some left petroglyphs and pictographs which exist throughout the state.

Francisco Vásquez de Coronado may have crossed into what is now southern Utah in 1540, when he was seeking the legendary Cibola.

A group led by two Roman Catholic priests—sometimes called the Dominguez-Escalante Expedition—left Santa Fe in 1776, hoping to find a route to the California coast. The expedition travelled as far north as Utah Lake and encountered the native residents.

Fur trappers—including Jim Bridger—explored some regions of Utah in the early 1800s. The city of Provo, Utah was named for one such man, Étienne Provost, who visited the area in 1825.

Mormon settlement

Mormon settlers first came to the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847. At the time, Utah was still Mexican territory. As a consequence of the Mexican-American War, the land became the territory of the United States upon the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, February 2, 1848. The Treaty was ratified by the United States Senate on March 10. In 1850 the Utah Territory was created with the Compromise of 1850, and Fillmore was designated the capital. In 1856, Salt Lake City replaced Fillmore as the territorial capital.

Disputes between the Mormon inhabitants, who had settled in the area in 1847 and were pushing for the establishment of the State of Deseret, and the US Government, intensified after Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints publicly admitted to the practice of polygamy among their members. The U.S. Government, which was reluctant to admit a state the size of the proposed Deseret into the union, opposed the polygamous practices of the Mormons.

After news of their polygamous practices spread, the members of the LDS Church were quickly viewed as un-American and rebellious. In 1857, after news of a false rebellion spread, the government sent troops in the "Utah expedition" to quell the supposed rebellion and to replace Brigham Young as territorial governor with Alfred Cumming. The resulting conflict is known as the Utah War.

As troops approached Salt Lake in Northern Utah, nervous Mormon settlers and Paiutes attacked and killed 120 immigrants from Missouri in Southern Utah. The attack became known as the Mountain Meadows Massacre. The Massacre became a point of contention between LDS leaders and the federal government for decades. Twenty years later one man, John D. Lee was executed for the massacre.

Before troops led by Albert Sidney Johnston entered the state, Brigham Young ordered all residents of Salt Lake City to evacuate southward to Utah Valley and sent out a force, known as the Nauvoo Legion, to delay the government's advance. Although wagons and supplies were burned, eventually the troops arrived and Young surrendered official control to Cumming, although most subsequent commentators claim Young retained true power in the territory. A steady stream of presidential-appointed governors quit the position, often citing unresponsiveness of their supposed territorial government. By agreement with Young, Johnston established Fort Floyd 40 miles away from Salt Lake City, to the southwest.

Salt Lake City was the last link of the transcontinental telegraph, completed in October of 1861. Brigham Young was among the first to send a message, along with Abraham Lincoln and other officials.

Due to the Civil War, federal troops were pulled out of Utah Territory, leaving the territory in LDS hands until Patrick E. Connor arrived with a regiment of California volunteers in 1862. Connor established Fort Douglas just three miles east of Salt Lake City, and encouraged his men to discover mineral deposits to bring more non-Mormons into the state. Minerals were discovered in Tooele County, and miners began to flock to the territory.

Beginning in 1865, Utah's Black Hawk War developed into the deadliest conflict in the territory's history. Chief Antonga Black Hawk surrendered in 1867, but fights continued to break out until additional federal troops were sent in to suppress the Ghost Dance of 1872. The war is unique among Indian Wars because it was a three way conflict, with mounted Timpanogos Utes led by Antonga Black Hawk exploiting the mutual distrust between federal and LDS authorities.

On May 10, 1869, the First Transcontinental Railroad was completed at Promontory Summit, north of the Great Salt Lake. The railroad brought increasing numbers of non-Mormons into the state, and several influential non-Mormon businessmen would make fortunes in the territory.

During the 1870s and 1880s a number of laws were set to punish polygamists, and in the 1890 Manifesto the LDS Church finally agreed to ban polygamy. When Utah applied for statehood again, it was accepted. One of the conditions to granting Utah's statehood was that a ban on polygamy be written into the Utah Constitution. This was a condition required of other western states that were also admitted later into the Union. Statehood of Utah was officially granted on January 4, 1896.

1900s

Beginning in the early 1900s, with the establishment of such national parks as Bryce Canyon National Park and Zion National Park, Utah began to become known for its natural beauty. Southern Utah became a popular filming spot for arid, rugged scenes, and such natural landmarks as Delicate Arch and "the Mittens" of Monument Valley are instantly recognizable to most national residents. During the 1950s, '60s, and '70s, with the construction of the Interstate highway system, accessibility to the southern scenic areas was made easier.

Beginning in 1939, with the establishment of Alta Ski Area, Utah has become world-renowned for its skiing. The dry, powdery snow of the Wasatch Range is considered some of the best skiing in the world. Salt Lake City won the bid for the 2002 Winter Olympics in 1995, and this has served as a great boost to the economy. The ski resorts have increased in popularity and many of the Olympic venues scattered across the Wasatch Front continue to be used for sporting events. This also spurred the development of the light-rail system in the Salt Lake Valley, known as TRAX, and the re-construction of the freeway system around the city.

During the late 1900s, the state has been growing quickly. The fastest-growing areas have been Utah County, western and southern Salt Lake County, eastern Tooele County, northern Davis County, northern Utah County, Summit County, and Iron and Washington counties in Southern Utah. Beginning in the late 1960s, the suburbs began to see phenomenal growth. Today, new communities are being constructed in Utah County (Eagle Mountain and Saratoga Springs) and old, previously tiny communities (such as Ivins, Herriman, and Cedar Hills) are seeing phenomonal growth. The fastest-growing city between 1990 and 2000 was Draper, located in southern Salt Lake County.

Law and Government

In large part due to the influence of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Utah is one of the most conservative and Republican states in the nation. Practicing Mormons comprise about 60% of the population of Utah according to recent studies (with others being of a Mormon background but not practicing), yet they control well over 90% of elected political offices in the state. The state has not voted for a Democrat for president since 1964. In 2004, Republican George W. Bush won every county in the state and Utah gave him his largest margin of victory of any state. He won the state's 5 electoral votes by an overwhelming margin of 46 percentage points with 71.5% of the vote.

Utah constitution

The constitution of Utah was enacted in 1895. Notably, the constitution outlawed polygamy and continued the territorial practice of women's suffrage.

Amendments

2004 was the first time that the state constitution was amended since its inception. Three amendments were put on the Utah election ballot: Amendment 1 would allow the state legislature to convene special sessions to impeach authority, Amendment 2 would allow state or public institutions of higher learning to acquire ownership interest in private businesses in exchange for intellectual property rights that are developed by those institutions, and Amendment 3 defined marriage as a civil union between one man and one woman and provided no legal recognition for other forms of civil unions.

All three amendments passed and went into effect on January 1, 2005.

Demographics

Important Cities and Towns

• Cedar City
• Logan
• Ogden
• Orem
• Park City
• Provo
• Salt Lake City
• Sandy
• St. George
• West Valley City

Education - Colleges and Universities

• Brigham Young University in Provo
• College of Eastern Utah in Price
• Dixie State College of Utah (formerly Dixie College) in Saint George
• LDS Business College in Salt Lake City
• Neumont University in South Jordan
• Salt Lake Community College in Salt Lake City
• Snow College in Ephraim
• Southern Utah University in Cedar City
• University of Utah in Salt Lake City
• Utah College of Massage Therapy in Salt Lake City
• Utah State University in Logan
• Utah Valley State College (formerly Utah Valley Community College) in Orem
• Weber State University in Ogden
• Westminster College in Salt Lake City

Transportation

Interstate 15 is the main interstate highway in the state, stretching from Arizona to Idaho and serving such cities as Saint George, Provo, Salt Lake City, and Ogden. Interstate 84 enters from Idaho at Snowville and merges with I-15 at Tremonton, staying merged until Roy. I-84 then heads southeast through the mountains, terminating at Interstate 80 at Echo. I-80 enters Nevada at Wendover and heads east through Salt Lake City, briefly merging with I-15 before climbing into the mountains and weaving through canyons and across plateaus into Wyoming just before reaching Evanston. Interstate 70 begins at Cove Fort and heads east through mostly uninhabited areas, providing access to many of southern Utah's recreation areas before entering Colorado. The stretch of I-70 between Salina and Green River is the longest stretch of interstate in the nation without any services.

A light rail system in the Salt Lake Valley known as TRAX provides access between downtown Salt Lake City and Sandy and the University of Utah. The Utah Transit Authority (UTA) operates a bus sytem stretching across the Wasatch Front and into Tooele, and also provides winter service to the ski resorts above Salt Lake City. Several bus companies provide access to the ski resorts in winter, and local bus services also serve Logan and Saint George. The Legacy Highway is a controversial freeway that is planned to eventually run down the entire length of the Wasatch Front. A commuter rail is planned to also eventually run the length of the Wasatch Front.

Professional Sports Teams

• Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association
• Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer
• Salt Lake Stingers of the Pacific Coast League
• Ogden Raptors of the Pioneer League
• Orem Owlz of the Pioneer League
• Utah Grizzlies of the ECHL
• Utah Blaze of the Arena Football League, to begin play in the 2006 season
  

Miscellaneous

• The continental meeting of the railroads happened at Promontory Summit, Utah
• Utah native Philo Farnsworth invented the electronic television in 1927
• Utah native John Moses Browning designed a number of popular firearms like the M2 .50 caliber machine gun and the Colt Model 1911 .45 semi-automatic handgun
• The 2002 Winter Olympics were hosted by Salt Lake City
• The USS Utah was named in honor of this state
• Utah ranks first in antidepressant use and personal bankruptcies per capita in the United States.

Utah State Symbols

• Animal - Rocky Mountain Elk
• Bird - California Seagull
• Fish - Bonneville Cutthroat Trout
• Flower - Sego Lily
• Grass - Indian ricegrass
• Insect - Honey Bee
• Tree - Blue Spruce
• Fossil - Allosaurus
• Gemstone - Topaz
• Mineral - Copper
• Motto - Industry
• Rock - Coal
• Ship(s) - USS Utah (BB-31)
• Song - Utah, This is the Place
  

Parks and Monuments

The desert plateaus of Southern Utah contain five U.S. National Parks:

Bryce Canyon National Park
Zion National Park
Canyonlands National Park
Arches National Park
Capitol Reef National Park

U.S. National Monuments in Utah include:

Cedar Breaks National Monument
Dinosaur National Monument
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
Rainbow Bridge National Monument
Timpanogos Cave National Monument

In addition, Utah contains several notable state parks and monuments:

Dead Horse Point State Park
Newspaper Rock State Historic Monument
Snow Canyon State Park
Goblin Valley State Park
Dead Horse Point State Park
Antelope Island State Park
This Is The Place Heritage Park