UTAH!
This section is about the place where I was an exchange student, Utah.
About Utah
Utah is a state in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States. The capital is Salt Lake City with a population of 200,000 people. The city is an industrial and banking center. It is Utah's largest city and the headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are located here. Their members are called Mormons. Mormons make up 70% of the population in Utah. For more information go to the Official Church Site. The industry is the biggest employer in Utah. Utah has computer manufacturers, construction machinery, and rocket propulsion systems as large factories. It also has a big food-processing industry. Utah has one of the highest rate of High School graduates and College attendants in the USA.
Nature
Utah has snow-covered mountains and beautiful canyons. If you are visiting in Utah you should go skiing in the winter, Utah sais about itself: "The greatest Snow on Earth". I went skiing in Utah and it was great. For snow conditions check out SKI UTAH on the Web. You also should visit the canyons and National Parks in Utah. The canyons and National Parks are mostly of red sandstone. The Great salt Lake is the largest natural lake west of the Mississippi River. The water in the Great Salt Lake is saltier than ocean water. Deserts cover 30% of Utah. Another 30% of Utah are covered by forests. In the forests are a lot of elk and deer, therefore Utah is a popular place to go hunting. Fishing is also very popular. Utah also has a beautiful lake, which is created by the Arizona Glen Canyon Dam, Lake Powell. You should check out this place also. Parts of the Grand Canyon are located in Utah, as well as the famous Monument Valley. Utah has rich mineral deposits. Petroleum and coal are the state's leading mineral products. Most of the oil wells are in the eastern part of the state. Coal is mined in central Utah. Utah ranks among the leading copper-producing states. In case you should visit Utah here is a cool place to stay in southern Utah right next to a National Park: Boulder View Inn.
History
Utah was found in 1847, when Mormon pioneers led by Brigham Young settled in the Utah region on their search for Zion. They called the region Deseret. This Mormon word means "honey bee", and it stands for hard work and industry. Utah's nickname is the Beehive State. The name Utah was founded in 1850 to remember the Ute Indians which lived there before the pioneers came. The first settlers fought several battles against these Indians. The name Utah comes from the origin of the Ute Indians, who were the Indians settling in Utah. Utah was admitted to the Union of the States as the 45th state on January 4, 1896.
People
More than four-fifths of Utah's people live in urban areas. That is, they live in or near cities and towns of 2,500 or more people. The rest of the people live in rural areas. About three-fourths of the people live the state's two metropolitan areas. For the populations of Utah's two metropolitan areas- Provo-Orem and Salt Lake City-Ogden.
Population: 1,727,784 (1990 census)
Rank among states: 35th
Density: 20 persons per sq. mi. (8 per sq. km), U.S. average 69 per sq. mi. (27 per sq. mi)
Distribution: 84 per cent urban, 16 per cent rural
Largest cities in Utah
| Salt Lake City |
159,963 |
| West Valley City |
86,976 |
| Provo |
86,835 |
| Sandy |
75,058 |
| Orem |
67,561 |
| Ogden |
63,909 |
Places to visit
Millions of tourists visit Utah every year. The state's forests, mountains, lakes, and rivers are excellent for boating, fishing, hunting, sightseeing, skiing, and swimming. One of Utah's most popular places to visit is the center of Mormonism - Temple Square in Salt Lake City. Three important Mormon church buildings stand in the square. These buildings are the majestic Mormon Temple, which took 40 years to construct; the Salt Lake Tabernacle, famous for its huge organ and choir; and the Visitor Center. The Mormon Temple is not open to the general public.
Beehive House, in Salt Lake City, is the restored home of Brigham Young. It was built in 1855.
Bonneville Salt Flats, near Wendover, are famous for automobile racing trials. The area has about 70 square miles (180 square kilometers) of flat salt beds that are hard as cement.
Great Salt Lake, near Salt Lake City, has water saltier than that of any ocean.
Monument Valley, in southeastern Utah, has red sandstone formations that rise 1,000 feet (300 meters). In the evening, a formation called the totem pole casts a shadow 35 miles (56 kilometers) long.
Ruins of Indian cliff dewllings line mountain ledges near Blanding, Bluff, Kanab, Moab, Parowan, Price, and Vernal. These cliff dwellings housed Indians who lived in the Utah region hundreds of years ago.
Trolley Square, in Salt Lake City, is a colorful center of restaurants and shops in a remodeled trolley service area. The square is a state historic site.
National parks, monuments, and forests. Utah has five national parks- Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, and Zion. The state shares Dinosaur and Hovenweep national monuments with Colorado. Other Utah national monuments are Cedar Breaks, Natural Bridges, Rainbow Bridge, and Timpanogos Cave. The Golden Spike National Historic Site is at Promontory. Utah shares the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area with Arizona. Three national forests lie entirely within Utah- Dixie, Fishlake, and Uinta. Utah shares six national forests with bordering states. Ashley and Wasatch are shared with Wyoming, Cache and Sawtooth with Idaho, Caribou with Idaho and Wyoming, and Manti-La Sal with Colorado. The Lone Peak National Wilderness Area is in Uinta and Wasatch national forests.
State parks. Utah has 44 state parks. For information on these parks, write to Director, State Park and Recreation Commission, 1636 W. North Temple, Salt Lake City, UT 84116-3156.
Statistics
Important dates in Utah
1776 - Silvestre Velez de Escalante and Francisco Atanasio Dominguez made the first far- reaching exploration of the Utah region.
1824 - Jim Bridger probably was the first white person to see Great Salt Lake.
1847 - Brigham Young and the first Mormon pioneers arrived in the Great Salt Lake region.
1848 - The United States won the Utah area from Mexico.
1849 - The Mormons created the State of Deseret, and adopted their first constitution.
1850 - Congress established the Utah Territory.
1860 - The pony express crossed Utah.
1861 - Telegraph lines met at Salt Lake City, providing the first transcontinental telegraph service.
1869 - The first transcontinental railroad system was completed at Promontory.
1890 - Mormons in Utah were advised by their church to give up polygamy. Polygamy was prohibited after 1904.
1896 - Utah became the 45th state on January 4.
1913 - The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation completed the Strawberry River reservoir, the state's first large reclamation project.
1952 - Rich uranium deposits were found near Moab.
1959 - Utah became an important missile-producing state.
1964 - Flaming Gorge and Glen Canyon dams were completed.
1967 - Construction began on the Central Utah Project, a program to provide water for Utah's major growth areas.
1974 - Oil companies invested millions of dollars to lease federally owned oil-shale land in Utah.
General Information
Statehood: Jan. 4, 1896, the 45th state.
State abbreviations: Ut. (traditional); UT (postal).
State motto: Industry.
State song: "Utah, We Love Thee." Words and music by Evan Stephans.
Land and climate
Area: 84,899 sq. Mi. (219,889 sq. km), including 2,826 sq. mi. (7,320 sq. km) of inland water.
Elevation: Highest-Kings Peak, 13,528 ft. (4,123 m) above sea level. Lowest-Beaverdam Creek in Washington County, 2,000 ft. (610 m) above sea level.
Record high temperature: 116 degrees F (47 degrees C) at St. George on June 28, 1892.
Record low temperature: -50 degrees F (-46 degrees C) at Woodruff on Feb. 6, 1899, and in Utah County on Jan. 5, 1913.
Average July temperature: 73 degrees F (23 degrees C).
Average January temperature: 25 degrees F (-4 degrees C).
Average yearly precipitation: 12 in. (30 cm).
Economy
Chief products
Agriculture: beef, cattle, milk.
Manufacturing: transportation, equipment, food, products, scientific instruments, printed materials, machinery.
Mining: petroleum, coal, natural gas.
Government
State government
Governor: 4-year term
State senators: 29; 4-year terms
State representatives: 75; 2-year terms
Counties: 29
Federal government
United States senators: 2
United States representatives: 3
Electoral votes: 5
Sources of Information
Tourism: Utah Travel Council, Council Hall, Capitol Hill, Salt Lake City, UT 84114
Economy: Department of Community and Economic Development, 324 S. State Street, Suite 200, Salt Lake City, UT 84111
Government: House of Representatives, State Capitol, Salt Lake City, UT 84114
History:Division of State History, 300 Rio Grande, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
Information on the Web: Travel and Tourism information at Utah.com
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