The
region was first explored for Spain by Franciscan friars Escalante and Dominguez
in 1776. In 1824 the famous American frontiersman Jim Bridger discovered the Great
Salt Lake.
Fleeing
religious persecution in the East and Midwest, the Mormons arrived in 1847 and
began to build Salt Lake City. The U.S. acquired the Utah region in the treaty
ending theMexican Warin 1848, and the first transcontinental railroad was completed
with the driving of a golden spike at Promontory Summit in 1869.
Mormon
difficulties with the federal government about polygamy did not end until the
Mormon Church renounced the practice in 1890, six years before Utah became a state.
Rich
in natural resources, Utah has long been a leading producer of copper, gold, silver,
lead, zinc, and molybdenum. Oil has also become a major product. Utah shares rich
oil shale deposits with Colorado and Wyoming. Utah also has large deposits of
low sulphur coal.
The
state's top agricultural commodities include cattle and calves, dairy products,
hay, greenhouse and nursery products, and hogs.
Utah's
traditional industries of agriculture and mining are complemented by increased
tourism and growing aerospace, biomedical, and computer-related businesses.
Utah
is a great vacationland with 11,000 mi of fishing streams and 147,000 acres of
lakes and reservoirs. Among the many tourist attractions are Arches, Bryce Canyon,
Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, and Zion National Parks; Cedar Breaks, Dinosaur, Hovenweep,
Natural Bridges, Rainbow Bridge, Timpanogos Cave, and Grand Staircase (Escalante)
National Monuments; the Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City; and Monument Valley.
Salt Lake City hosted the 2002 Winter Olympics.
Coming
Soon!
See
more on Utah: Encyclopedia: Utah Encyclopedia: Geography Encyclopedia:
Economy Encyclopedia: Government Encyclopedia: History Monthly Temperature
Extremes
Accredited
Colleges and Universities
Selected
famous natives and residents:
Maude Adams actress; Roseanne actress;
Frank Borzage film director and producer; John M. Browning inventor; Butch
Cassidy outlaw; Laraine Day actress; Bernard De Voto writer; Avard
Fairbanks sculptor; Philo Farnsworth television pioneer; Jake Garn senator;
John Gilbert actor; J. Willard Marriott restaurant and hotel chain founder;
Peter Skene Ogden fur trader and trapper; Merlin Olsen football player;
Donny Osmond, Marie Osmond singers; Ivy Baker Priest U.S. treasurer; Lee
Greene Richards painter; Leroy Robertson composer; Brent Scowcroft business
executive and consultant; Reed Smoot first Mormon elected to U.S. Senate;
Mack Swain actor; Everett Thorpe painter; Robert Walker actor; James
Woods actor; Brigham Young territory governor and religious leader; Loretta
Young actress.
Capital:
Salt Lake City
State
abbreviation/Postal code: Utah/UT
Governor:
Jon Huntsman, R (to Jan. 2009)
Lieut.
Governor: Gary Herbert, R (to Jan. 2009)
Senators:
Robert F. Bennett, R (to Jan. 2011); Orrin G. Hatch, R (to Jan. 2007)
U.S.
Representatives: 3
Treasurer:
Edward T. Alter, R. (Jan. 2009)
Atty.
General: Mark Shurtleff, R (to Jan. 2009)
Organized
as territory: Sept. 9, 1850
Entered
Union (rank): Jan. 4, 1896 (45)
Present
constitution adopted: 1896
Motto:
Industry
State
symbols: flower sego lily (1911) tree blue spruce (1933) bird California
gull (1955) emblem beehive (1959) song “Utah, We Love Thee”
(1953) gem topaz animal Rocky Mountain elk (1971) insect honeybee
(1983) grass Indian rice grass (1990) fossil allosaurus (1988) cooking
pot dutch oven (1997) fish Bonneville cutthroat trout (1997) fruit cherry
(1997) mineral copper rock coal (1991)
Nickname:
Beehive State
Origin
of name: From the Ute tribe, meaning “people of the mountains”
10
largest cities (2003 est.): Salt Lake City, 179,894; West Valley City, 111,687;
Provo, 105,410; Sandy, 89,319; Orem, 87,599; West Jordan, 84,701; Ogden, 78,293;
Layton, 60,769; Taylorsville, 58,701; St. George, 56,382
Land
area: 82,144 sq mi. (212,753 sq km)
Geographic
center: In Sanpete Co., 3 mi. N. of Manti
Number
of counties: 29
Largest
county by population and area: Salt Lake, 935,295 (2004); San Juan, 7,821
sq mi.
National
parks: 5
National
monuments: 6
State
parks/forests: 45 (64,097 ac.)
Residents:
Utahan, Utahn
2004
resident population est.: 2,389,039
2000
resident census population (rank): 2,233,169 (34). Male: 1,119,031 (50.1%);
Female: 1,114,138 (49.9%). White: 1,992,975 (89.2%); Black: 17,657 (0.8%); American
Indian: 29,684 (1.3%); Asian: 37,108 (1.7%); Other race: 93,405 (4.2%); Two or
more races: 47,195 (2.1%); Hispanic/Latino: 201,559 (9.0%). 2000 percent population
18 and over: 67.8; 65 and over: 8.5; median age: 27.1.
