Utah

(In Detail) (Full size) ''State_nickname: Beehive State'' Other U.S. States Capital Salt Lake City Largest City Salt Lake City Governor Olene_Walker Area - Total - Land - Water - % water Ranked 13th 220,080 km² 212,988 km² 7,092 km² 3.2% Population - Total (2000) - Density Ranked 34th 2,233,169 10/km² Admittance into Union - Order - Date 45th January_4, 1896 Time_zone Mountain: -6 Latitude Longitude 37° to 42°N 109°W to 114°W Width Length Elevation -Highest -Mean -Lowest 435 km 565 km 4,123 meters 1,920 meters 610 meters ISO_3166-2:US-UT Utah is a western state of the United_States, in the Rocky_Mountains region. The name ''Utah'' is from the language of the Native_American Utes. The Paiute and Goshute nations also inhabit portions of the state. Residents are called Utahns. USS ''Utah'' was named in honor of this state.

History

Native_Americans have lived in parts of Utah for several thousand years. Numerous petroglyphs 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 priest--sometimes called the Dominguez-Escalate 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 encounterd the native residents. Fur trappers including Jim_Bidger 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--and 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. Another notable fact about Utah is that the continental meeting of the railroads happened at Promontory_Point,_Utah. Other items of historical interest: Utah native Philo_Farnsworth invented the electronic television in 1927. The 2002_Winter_Olympics were hosted by Salt Lake City.

Law and Government

The capital and largest city is Salt Lake City. Governors of Utah

Geography

Utah is one of the Four Corners states bordered by Idaho and Wyoming in the north, by Colorado in the east, by Arizona in the south, and by Nevada in the west. One of Utah's defining characteristics is the variety of its terrain. The Wasatch_Mountains run a center spine of the state, and the Uinta Mountain range in the north-east (the only east-west running mountain range in North_America) includes the highest point in the state, Kings_Peak at 13,528 feet. The Great_Salt_Lake lies to the immediate west of the Wasatch Mountains, beyond which the Bonneville_Salt_Flats stretch to Nevada. All land west of the Wasatch Mountains is within the Great_Basin, while everything to the East drains into the Colorado River system. The desert plateaus of Southern Utah contains five national_parks:

Capitol Reef In addition, Utah contains several notable National_Monuments and State_parks:

Dinosaur_National_Monument

Grand_Staircase-Escalante_National_Monument

Rainbow_Bridge_National_Monument

Dead_Horse_Point_State_Park

This_Is_The_Place_State_Park Much of the scenic southern landscape is kayente_sandstone and navajo_sandstone cut and shaped by the Colorado River or its tributaries. Western Utah is mostly arid desert with a basin and range geology. Northeastern Utah (from the Wasatch_Mountains eastward and from the Uintah_Plateau northward) is largely mountainous with many wooded and alpine regions. Utah's major highways are Interstate_15, which runs the length of Utah; Interstate_70, which enters the state from Colorado and terminates at I-15 in central Utah; Interstate_80, which crosses from Wendover,_Nevada on the west through Salt_Lake_City and eastward through Evanston,_Wyoming; and Interstate_84, which runs southeast to northwest from I-80 to the Idaho border. ''See List_of_Utah_counties''

Area: 219,900 square kilometers

Physical features: Great_Salt_Lake, Utah_Lake, Lake_Powell, Flaming_Gorge, Jordan River, Colorado River, Green River, Lake_Bonneville, Wasatch_Mountains, Uinta_Mountains, Great_Basin, National Parks, Four Corners and the Colorado_Plateau.

Like most of the west and southwest states, the federal government owns much of the land in Utah. In Utah over sixty percent of the land is either BLM land or national forest, park, monument, recreation or wilderness area. Under Article IV, § 3, cl. 2 of the United_States_Constitution, (the Property_clause), the federal government has plenary and supreme--although concurrent--civil and criminal jurisdiction over these federal lands within the borders of each state.

Demographics

The population of Utah as of 2000 is 2,233,169. 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. Most of the rest of the state is rural or wilderness.

Important cities and towns

Aside from the capital Salt Lake City, other major cities outside of the Salt Lake City area are Orem-Provo, Ogden, Logan and St. George.

Education

Colleges and universities

Brigham_Young_University

College_of_Eastern_Utah

LDS_Business_College

Southern_Utah_University

Snow_College

University_of_Utah

Utah_State_University

Utah_Valley_State_College (formerly Utah Valley Community College)

Weber_State_University

Westminster_College_of_Salt_Lake_City

Professional sports teams

Utah_Jazz, National_Basketball_Association

Pacific_Coast_League, Minor_league_baseball

Salt_Lake_Stingers

Pioneer_League, Minor_league_baseball

Ogden_Raptors

Provo_Angels

External links

http://www.state.ut.us/

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