Utah
Utah is a western
state of the
United States, in the
Rocky Mountains region.
The name
Utah is from the Southern Ute language. The
Paiute and
Goshute nations also inhabit portions of the state. Residents are called Utahns.
Delicate Arch, Arches National Park, Utah
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 1800's. The city of
Provo, Utah was named for one such man, Étienne Provost, who visited the area in 1825.
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.
Utah's bid for statehood was accepted
January 4, 1896, after over forty years of initial request and struggles. The delay was largely due to disputes between the
Mormon inhabitants--who had settled in the area in 1847 and were pushing for the establishment of the
State of Deseret. The western half of Deseret was admitted to the Union after the discovery of
silver, but was split off from Utah as
Nevada in 1864. The US Government which was reluctant to admit a state the size of the proposed Deseret into the union, opposed the
polygamous practices of the Mormons taught by
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and observed that the region lacked the necessary 60,000 voters required for statehood. 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.
Law and government
See List of Utah Governors
The capital and largest city is
Salt Lake City.
Utah constitution
The
constitution of Utah was enacted in 1895. Among other things, the constitution outlawed
polygamy and continued the territorial practice of women's
suffrage.
In 2004, three proposed amendments
http://elections.utah.gov/ConstitutionalAmendments.htm were put on the Utah election
ballot, including the controversial
Amendment 3, which defines
marriage as between one man and one woman, as well as providing no legal recognition for other forms of
civil union. On
November 2, 2004, Amendment 3 was overwhelmingly approved by Utah's citizens.
Geography
Utah
Utah is one of the
Four Corners states and is bordered by
Idaho and
Wyoming in the north, by
Colorado in the east, by
New Mexico to the southeast across the Four Corners, by
Arizona in the south, and by
Nevada in the west. It covers an area of 84,899 sq miles (219,887 sq km).
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 11,500 feet. These mountains receive 500 or more inches 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 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. Other popular ski resorts lie at the very western edge of the Uintas. 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, 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 mitakenly belived 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.
See also List of Utah counties
Climate
Most of Utah is arid and high in elevation. Most of eastern and southern Utah receive 12 or less inches (30 or less cm) of precipitation per year, while many mountain areas receive more than 40 in (100 cm) per year. Much of western Utah recieves less than 10 in (25 cm), while the Wasatch Front receives approximately 15 in (38 cm). The Great Salt Lake Desert is especially dry, receiving less than 5 in (12 cm) a year. Snowfall is common in
Winter everywhere except the southwest. Saint George rarely recieves more than an inch or two 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 areas of the
Wasatch Range receive 500+ in (1,250+ cm) of snow in a year. Snowfall is common from
November to
March in the lower elevations and from
September to
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.
During
Summer and
Autumn 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 precpitation in the rest of the year is received from the
Pacific Ocean.
Spring is the wettest season and summer the driest season across Utah.
Temperatures during the winter across much of Utah are below freezing. High temperatures average between 25°F (-4°C) and 35°F (2°C) across most of the state, although in the south average high temperatures reach 45°F (7°C). Days below 0°F (-18°C) are common only in the mountains and high plateaus. In the summer high temperatures average between 85°F (29°C) and 95°F (35°C). Days over 100°F (38°C) can be expected in most areas a few times per year, and can be expected frequently in the south. The record high temperature in Utah was 117°F (47°C), recorded at Saint George on
July 5, 1985, and the record low was -69°F (-56°C) celsius, recorded at Peter's Sink in the
Bear River Mountains of northern Utah on
February 1, 1985.
Parks and monuments
The desert plateaus of Southern Utah contain five
U.S. National Parks:
U.S. National Monuments in Utah include:
In addition, Utah contains several notable
state parks and monuments:
Major roads and highways in Utah
Transportation
Utah's major highways are
Interstate 15, which runs the length of Utah, serving most of Utah's major cities, including Saint George,
Cedar City, and the Wasatch Front;
Interstate 70, which enters the state from Colorado and terminates at
I-15 in Cove Fort;
Interstate 80, which enters Nevada at
Wendover, on the west through Salt Lake City and eastward through
Evanston, Wyoming; and
Interstate 84, which runs southeast to northwest from
I-80 at Echo to the
Idaho border, staying merged with I-15 from
Tremonton to
Roy. A bus system run by the
Utah Transit Authority (UTA) serves much of the
Wasatch Front as well as
Tooele and
Grantsville and also has winter service to the ski resorts. Several other companies also provide bus service to the ski resorts. Local bus services also provide service to Saint George and
Logan. A light rail system known as
TRAX in the
Salt Lake Valley connects downtown Salt Lake City with
Sandy and the
University of Utah. A commuter rail is eventually planned to stretch from
Brigham City to
Payson, the approximate length of the Wasatch Front. The first section, from Ogden to Salt Lake City, is planned to be completed in 2007. The
Legacy Highway, a planned freeway paralleling I-15 from Brigham City to
Nephi, has stirred up vigorous controversy.
Demographics
Utah's Population density.
Utah's County Boundaries.
The population of Utah in
2000 was 2,233,169. In 2003, the population was estimated at 2,351,467 people, a growth of more than 120,000 since 2000
Much of the population lives in cities and towns along the
Wasatch Front, a metropolitan region that runs north-south with the Wasatch Mountains rising on the eastern side. The rest of the state is mostly rural or wilderness. Utah has the highest percentage of people adhering to one religious denomination than any other state in the nation.
The racial makeup of Utah is:
- 85.3% White non-Hispanic
- 9.0% Hispanic
- 2.1% Mixed race
- 1.7% Asian
- 1.3% American Indian
- 0.8% Black
The five largest ancestry groups in Utah are:
The religious affiliations of the people of Utah are:
- Mormon – 70%
- Protestant – 12%
- Roman Catholic – 6%
- Other Religions – 1%
- Non-Religious – 9%
The age distribution in Utah is:
- 9.4% under age 5
- 32.2% under age 18
- 8.5% 65 or older
The gender makeup of Utah is:
Important cities and towns
See: List of cities in Utah
25 Richest Places in Utah
Ranked by
per capita income
#
Alta, Utah $66,566
#
Park City, Utah $45,164
#
Mount Olympus, Utah $44,286
#
Granite, Utah $40,098
#
Summit Park, Utah $37,941
#
Little Cottonwood Creek Valley, Utah $37,669
#
Holladay, Utah $35,685
#
South Snyderville Basin, Utah $35,405
#
North Snyderville Basin, Utah $34,794
#
Brian Head, Utah $32,647
#
Ophir, Utah $29,906
#
Cache, Utah $27,083
#
Cottonwood West, Utah $27,023
#
Cottonwood Heights, Utah $26,935
#
Springdale, Utah $25,593
#
Woodland, Utah $25,392
#
East Millcreek, Utah $25,206
#
Woodland Hills, Utah $25,184
#
Kanarraville, Utah $24,773
#
Farmington, Utah $24,407
#
Fruit Heights, Utah $24,188
#
River Heights, Utah $24,068
#
Bountiful, Utah $23,967
#
Canyon Rim, Utah $23,587
#
Laketown, Utah $23,519
See complete list of Utah places
Colleges and universities
Cultural institutions and events
Professional sports teams
External links
Category:U.S. states
Category:States of the American West
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