The most commonly asked questions about Utah's past and present.
The Utah Division of State History acknowledges that the land Utah resides on has always been indigenous lands. Utah was founded on the lands of the Ute, Navajo, Paiute, Goshute, and Shoshone.
Utah was the 45th state to enter the United States on January 4, 1896.
The state of Utah is named after the Utes, an American Indian tribe.
According to the 2020 Census Utah has a population of approximately 3,271,616, Utah ranks as the 30th most populous state in the United States. 85% percent (2018) of the population lives along the Wasatch front (Salt Lake, Davis, Utah and Weber Counties).
84,916 sq. mi.; 66.5% is owned by the federal government.
Kings Peak, 13,534 ft. (Uinta Mountains, Duchesne Co. – NE part of state)
Beaver Dam Wash, 2,180 ft. (Near St. George, Washington Co. SW part of state)
Current Population of Five Largest Cities: The five largest Utah cities and their populations are as follows: Salt Lake City---181,743, West Valley City---108,896, Provo---105,166, Sandy---88,418, Orem---84,324.
Area 1,060,000 acres
Average elevation 4,200 ft.
Highest elevation (1986) 4,211.85 ft.
Lowest elevation (1963) 4,191 ft.
The provisional state created in 1849 by Brigham Young. The U. S. Congress eliminated it by creating the Territory of Utah in September 1850. The term comes from The Book of Mormon, an LDS religious text, and means honeybee.
The word Wasatch comes from an Ute Indian word meaning "mountain pass" or "low place in a high mountain."
The salt content of the lake varies according to how much water there is. The average elevation of the lake is 4,200 feet. It reached its highest recorded elevation in 1986 at 4,211.85 feet and its lowest in 2021 at 4,191 feet. Its previous low was reached in 1963.
Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are often referred to as Mormons, due to their belief in The Book of Mormon. Accordingly, Mormon was a prophet who compiled The Book of Mormon, a book of scripture used by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
A stake is a group of congregations in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, similar to a diocese.
A ward is a geographical division of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, like a congregation.
Snow totals will vary according to the location but in some areas of the Wasatch Mountains the total can reach 40 to 50 feet.
The Utah Territorial Legislature granted women the right to vote in 1870. However, in 1887 that right was taken away with the passage of the Edmunds-Tucker act by the U.S. Congress. Utah women were very active in the suffrage movement and in 1889 they formed their own organization which had ties to the National Woman Suffrage Association. In the mid 1890's with statehood on the horizon Utah women began to see positive results from their efforts. In 1894 they were able to pressure both the Democratic and Republican parties into taking favorable positions in their party platforms concerning suffrage. In 1895 they set their sights on the Constitutional Convention. Many of the leading women in the movement had connections to important religious and community leaders and with their support they were able to convince enough of the convention delegates to include a section in the Utah Constitution returning the right to vote to the women of Utah.
Alice was supposedly the first elephant to calve in North America. She first arrived in Salt Lake City around 1918 and resided in the Liberty Park Zoo. She was later moved to Hogle Zoo when that facility opened.
Gilgal Gardens is located at 452 South 800 East in Salt Lake City. The garden was the creation of Thomas Battersby Child, Jr. and expresses his religious and philosophical beliefs. Mr. Child began the garden in 1945 and continued working on and creating new sculptures for it until 1963. Recently, Salt Lake purchased the garden and made it a city park.
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