Portal:Utah

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The Utah Portal

Utah (/ˈjuːtɑː/ YOO-tah, /ˈjuːtɔː/ ^ⓘ YOO-taw) is a landlocked state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to its northeast, Idaho to its north, and Nevada to its west. In comparison to all the U.S. states and territories, Utah, with a population of just over three million, is the 13th largest by area, the 30th most populous, and the 11th least densely populated. Urban development is mostly concentrated in two regions: the Wasatch Front in the north-central part of the state, which includes the state capital, Salt Lake City, and is home to roughly two-thirds of the population; and Washington County in the southwest, which has somewhat more than 180,000 residents. Most of the western half of Utah lies in the Great Basin.

Utah has been inhabited for thousands of years by various indigenous groups, such as the ancient Puebloans, the Navajo, and the Ute. The first Europeans to arrive - in the mid-16th century - were the Spanish. Because of the region's challenging geography and harsh climate, it only became a peripheral part of New Spain (and later of Mexico). Even while it was Mexican territory, many of the Utah region’s earliest European settlers were from the United States; notable among these were Mormons who were fleeing marginalization and persecution in the United States and arrived via the so-called Mormon Trail. In 1848, after the Mexican–American War, the region was annexed by the U.S., becoming part of the Utah Territory, which included what later became Colorado and Nevada. Disputes between the dominant Mormon community and the federal government delayed Utah's admission as a state: in 1896, after it agreed to outlaw polygamy, it was admitted as the 45th state.

People from Utah are known as Utahns. Slightly over half of all Utahns are Mormons, the vast majority of whom are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), which has its world headquarters in Salt Lake City; Utah is the only state where a majority of the population belongs to a single church. The LDS Church greatly influences Utahn culture, politics, and daily life, though since the 1990s the state has become more religiously diverse as well as secular. (Full article...)

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Zion Canyon from Angels Landing at sunset

Zion National Park is a national park of the United States located in southwestern Utah near the town of Springdale. Located at the junction of the Colorado Plateau, Great Basin, and Mojave Desert regions, the park has a unique geography and a variety of life zones that allow for unusual plant and animal diversity. Numerous plant species as well as 289 species of birds, 75 mammals (including 19 species of bat), and 32 reptiles inhabit the park's four life zones: desert, riparian, woodland, and coniferous forest. Zion National Park includes mountains, canyons, buttes, mesas, monoliths, rivers, slot canyons, and natural arches. The lowest point in the park is 3,666 ft (1,117 m) at Coalpits Wash and the highest peak is 8,726 ft (2,660 m) at Horse Ranch Mountain. A prominent feature of the 229-square-mile (590 km²) park is Zion Canyon, which is 15 miles (24 km) long and up to 2,640 ft (800 m) deep. The canyon walls are reddish and tan-colored Navajo Sandstone eroded by the North Fork of the Virgin River. The park attracted 5 million visitors in 2023.

Human habitation of the area started about 8,000 years ago with small family groups of Native Americans, one of which was the semi-nomadic Basketmaker Ancestral Puebloans (who used to be called Anasazi by early non-indigenous archeologists) (c. 300 CE). Subsequently, what has been called the Virgin Anasazi culture (c. 500) and the Parowan Fremont group developed as the Basketmakers settled in permanent communities. Both groups moved away by 1300 and were replaced by the Parrusits and several other Southern Paiute subtribes. Mormons came into the area in 1858 and settled there in the early 1860s. (Full article...)

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Credit: Scott Catron

The cauldron used for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah was moved from the top of the Olympic stadium and now anchors the Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Cauldron Park just south of Rice-Eccles Stadium. The flame is lit on special occasions, such as the opening weekend of the 2006 Winter Olympics.

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November 11, 1965 - United Airlines Flight 227 crashed while attempting to land at Salt Lake City Municipal Airport.
November 19, 1915 - Joe Hill, a radical songwriter, labor activist and member of the Industrial Workers of the World, is executed by firing squad for murder.

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Peek in 2007

Laurence Kim Peek (November 11, 1951 – December 19, 2009) was an American savant. Known as a "megasavant", he had an exceptional memory, but he also experienced social difficulties, possibly resulting from a developmental disability related to congenital brain abnormalities. He was the inspiration for the character Raymond Babbitt in the 1988 movie Rain Man. Although Peek was previously diagnosed with autism, he is now thought to have had FG syndrome. The Utah Film Center's Peek Award honors his legacy. (Full article...)

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SkyWest Airlines is an American regional airline headquartered in St. George, Utah. SkyWest operates and maintains aircraft used on flights that are scheduled, marketed and sold by four partner mainline airlines. The company is contracted by Alaska Airlines (as Alaska SkyWest), American Airlines (as American Eagle), Delta Air Lines (as Delta Connection), and United Airlines (as United Express). In all, it is the largest regional airline in North America when measured by fleet size, number of passengers carried, and number of destinations served.

SkyWest operates from 258 cities in the United States, Canada and Mexico with an extensive network of routes largely set up to connect passengers between smaller airports and the large hubs of its partner airlines. In total, SkyWest carried 38.6 million passengers in 2023. (Full article...)

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Rice-Eccles Stadium on the campus of the University of Utah

...that the surface at Rice-Eccles Stadium (pictured) is FieldTurf?
...that the Uinta Mountains are unusual for a mountain range because they run east to west?
...that Paul D. Boyer (born in Provo, Utah) is one of the laureates for the 1997 Nobel Prize in Chemistry?

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Landscape Arch in Arches National Park

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The following are images from various Utah-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1"Welcome to Utah" sign (from Utah)
Image 2Sri Sri Radha Krishna (Hindu) Temple (from Utah)
Image 3Kolob Canyons at Zion National Park (from Utah)
Image 4Navajo homeland in Monument Valley (from History of Utah)
Image 5Children reading in Santa Clara, Utah, in 1940 (from Utah)
Image 6The Huntsman Cancer Institute on the campus of the University of Utah (U of U) in Salt Lake City (from Utah)
Image 7One out of every 14 flash memory chips in the world is produced in Lehi, Utah. (from Utah)
Image 8Brigham Young led the first Mormon pioneers to the Great Salt Lake. (from Utah)
Image 9Little Cottonwood Canyon (from Utah)
Image 10Map showing Utah in 1838 when it was part of Mexico, Britannica 7th edition (from Utah)
Image 11The Olympic cauldron is lit by the 'Miracle on Ice' 1980 U.S. men's ice hockey team at the opening ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City (from Utah)
Image 12The California gull is the Utah state bird. (from Utah)
Image 13Mining has been a large industry in Utah since it was first settled. The Bingham Canyon Mine in Salt Lake County is one of the largest open pit mines in the world. (from Utah)
Image 14Joshua trees, yuccas, and cholla cactus occupy the far southwest corner of the state in the Mojave Desert (from Utah)
Image 15Western black widow spider (from Utah)
Image 16Snow in Rose Park, Salt Lake City (from Utah)
Image 17The LDS Salt Lake Temple, the primary attraction in the city's Temple Square (from Utah)
Image 18Pariette Wetlands (from Utah)
Image 19Jake Garn (top-right), former Senator of Utah (1974–1993), and astronaut on Space Shuttle flight STS-51-D (from Utah)

Map of counties in Utah by racial plurality, per the 2020 US Census

Legend

Non-Hispanic White

60–70%

70–80%

80–90%

90%+

Native American

50–60%

(from Utah)

Image 21TRAX light rail serves Salt Lake County (from Utah)
Image 22FrontRunner commuter rail runs between Ogden and Provo via Salt Lake City (from Utah)
Image 23The Rocky Mountain elk is the Utah state mammal. (from Utah)
Image 24The Golden Spike where the First transcontinental railroad was completed in the U.S. on May 10, 1869, in Promontory, Utah (from Utah)
Image 25Hovenweep Castle, San Juan River basin (from History of Utah)
Image 26Fremont petroglyph, Dinosaur National Monument (from History of Utah)
Image 27Robbie Russell playing for Real Salt Lake (from Utah)
Image 28Location where the Mormons entered the Salt Lake Valley in 1847, now the This is the Place Monument and Deseret Village (from History of Utah)
Image 29American Fork Canyon (from Utah)
Image 30Deer Creek Reservoir (from Utah)
Image 31Pando, considered one of the heaviest and oldest organisms on Earth. (from Utah)
Image 32The Utah State Capitol, Salt Lake City (from Utah)
Image 33Utah county boundaries (from Utah)
Image 34The Eyring Science Center on the campus of Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah (from Utah)
Image 35Farms and ranches (from Utah)
Image 36Zion National Park (from History of Utah)
Image 37Arches National Park (from Utah)
Image 38Bonneville Salt Flats (from History of Utah)
Image 39Deseret Village recreates Utah pioneer life for tourists. (from Utah)
Image 40Köppen climate types of Utah, using 1991–2020 climate normals. (from Utah)
Image 41Bryce Canyon National Park Amphitheater (winter view) (from Utah)
Image 42Map showing Utah in 1838 when it was part of Mexico. From Britannica 7th edition. (from History of Utah)
Image 43Utah population density map (from Utah)
Image 44A sketch of Salt Lake City in 1860 (from Utah)
Image 45The Utah Jazz playing against the Houston Rockets (from Utah)
Image 46First Presbyterian Church in Salt Lake City (from Utah)
Image 47Utah State Route 12 through Red Canyon in Dixie National Forest (from Utah)
Image 48Downtown Salt Lake City in the early 20th century. (from History of Utah)
Image 49Salt Lake International Airport is the largest airport in Utah (from Utah)
Image 50The Wasatch Front region has seen large growth and development despite the economic downturn. Shown is the City Creek Center project, a development in downtown Salt Lake City with a price tag of $1.5–2.5 billion. (from Utah)
Image 51The boundaries of the provisional State of Deseret—as proposed in 1849—are shown with a dotted line. The Utah Territory as organized in 1850, is shown in blue with black outline. (from History of Utah)
Image 52The Scott Matheson Courthouse is the seat of the Utah Supreme Court. (from Utah)
Image 53Zion National Park in southern Utah is one of five national parks in the state. (from Utah)

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State facts

Nickname: The Beehive State
Capital and largest city: Salt Lake City
Total area: 219,887 km² (84,899 sq mi)
Population (2010 Census): 2,736,424
Date admitted to the Union: January 4, 1896

State symbols:

Animal: Rocky Mountain elk
Bird: California seagull
Fish: Bonneville cutthroat trout
Flower: Sego lily
Grass: Indian ricegrass
Insect: European honey bee
Tree: Quaking aspen
Fossil: Allosaurus
Gemstone: Topaz
Mineral: Copper
Motto: Industry
Rock: Coal
Snackfood: Green Jell-O
Song: "Utah, This Is the Place"

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