Salt Lake City

I

Introduction

Salt Lake City, city in Utah, state capital, and seat of Salt Lake County. Located in the north central part of the state, it is 24 km (15 mi) east of its namesake, the Great Salt Lake, and lies along the western slope of the Wasatch Range. The entire Salt Lake Valley was once part of the basin of ancient Lake Bonneville. Today, the Jordan River passes through the city. Salt Lake City is the international headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly known as the Mormon Church. It is the largest and most important city in a large region of the interior West and serves as the industrial, financial, religious, and commercial center of Utah.

Salt Lake City has a dry climate, with only 411 mm (16.2 in) of precipitation per year. However, the mountains in the Wasatch Range are well watered, and the runoff is used to water the valley. On average, the city receives 1,486 mm (59 in) of snowfall per year. The average July daytime-nighttime temperature range in the city is 33° to 18°C (92° to 64°F), and the average January range is 2° to -7°C (36° to 19°F).

II

Salt Lake City and Its Metropolitan Area

Salt Lake City lies high above sea level in a mountain valley flanked by the Wasatch Range to the east and the Oquirrh Mountains to the southwest. Salt Lake City proper is relatively small, only 283 sq km (109 sq mi) in land area. However, the Salt Lake City-Ogden metropolitan area includes all of Salt Lake County, Weber County, which includes the city of Ogden, and Davis County. The metropolitan area includes 4,189 sq km (1,618 sq mi). The city is also at the heart of a larger metropolitan corridor called the Wasatch Front. This is a strip of land running north and south along the western slope of the Wasatch Range. It stretches about 160 km (about 100 mi) from Spanish Fork on the south to Brigham City on the north, and includes the major Utah cities of Springville, Provo, Orem, American Fork, Lehi, Sandy City, Taylorsville, West Valley City, Bountiful, Farmington, Kaysville, and Layton.

Downtown Salt Lake City is noted for its broad streets and spacious blocks, a legacy of the Mormon settlers who laid out the city in 1847. The city was built on a grid system based on the four streets bordering Temple Square, the focus of the downtown area. Inside the square is the Mormon Temple, which took 40 years to build—from 1853 to 1893. Other important buildings are the Salt Lake City and County Building, the Mormon Tabernacle, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Conference Center, the Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Madeleine, the Salt Palace Convention Center, and the Delta Center auditorium.

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Ten blocks west of Temple Square lies the Utah State Fair Grounds, and the Utah state capitol stands four blocks to the northeast. South of Temple Square is the city’s central business district. The main campus of the University of Utah is situated about 3 km (2 mi) east of the city center.

III

Population and Culture

The population of Salt Lake City was 181,743 in 2000, an increase from the 1990 population of 159,936. In 2005, the city’s population was estimated at 178,097. The metropolitan area had 1,067,722 people in 2006, compared to 1,072,227 in 1990.

According to the 2000 census, whites constituted 79.2 percent of the population, Asians 3.6 percent, Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders 1.9 percent, blacks 1.9 percent, and Native Americans 1.3 percent. People of mixed heritage or not reporting their ethnic origins were 12.1 percent of the population. Hispanics, who may be of any race, made up 18.8 percent of the people.

Salt Lake City has been at the forefront of education in Utah since 1850, when the University of Deseret was founded. Renamed the University of Utah, it now ranks as Utah’s largest institution of higher education. Westminster College was founded in 1875 as a mission school of the Presbyterian Church and remained under Presbyterian control until 1974, when it became a secular institution. The Salt Lake Community College is the state’s largest two-year institution. It was founded in 1948 as the Salt Lake Area Vocational School.

Prominent cultural and historical institutions in Salt Lake City include the Utah Museum of Fine Arts and the Utah Museum of Natural History, both associated with the University of Utah. Important Mormon institutions include the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ Museum of Church History and Art and the adjacent Family History Library, which is famous as a center for genealogical research. Other popular destinations in the city include Beehive House, the former home of Mormon leader Brigham Young; the Pioneer Memorial Museum, which houses pioneer artifacts such as 19th-century furniture; the Utah State Historical Society, located in the historic Denver and Rio Grande Railroad Station; and This Is The Place Heritage Park, which includes Old Deseret Village, a re-created village illustrating daily life in pioneer Utah. Salt Lake City is home to a number of performing arts groups, including the world-famous Mormon Tabernacle Choir, the Utah Symphony, and the Utah Opera. Cultural events include Pioneer Day on July 24, which celebrates the arrival of the Mormons to the Great Salt Lake Valley; the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Semi-Annual Conference, held in April and October; and the Utah State Fair in September.

Around the city, the Wasatch Range provides excellent opportunities for hiking and downhill and cross-country skiing. A number of major ski areas—including Alta, Snowbird, Solitude, Brighton, Park City, Deer Valley, and The Canyons—are less than an hour’s drive from downtown. To the east of the city, Hogle Zoological Gardens has many animals and birds and a children’s zoo. The city has several fine parks, including Memory Grove, which honors Utah’s war dead along City Creek Canyon just north of downtown; Liberty Park, the city’s oldest, which includes the Brigham Young Grist Mill and a folk art museum; and Jordan River State Park, where more than 20 countries are represented in the International Peace Gardens. Red Butte Garden and Arboretum, a part of the University of Utah, is one of the city’s most popular parks. Located in the mountains just east of the university, it includes more than 60 hectares (150 acres) of gardens and natural areas.

IV

Economy

Salt Lake City has a diversified economy. The mining of copper, silver, lead, zinc, coal, and iron ore became important to the city’s industrial base. Southwest of the city is Bingham Canyon, which includes the Kennecott Copper Mine, one of the largest open-pit mines in the world. Among the city’s largest employers are the federal and state governments, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the University of Utah.

The city’s Salt Lake City International Airport is a regional air passenger center. Amtrak provides the city’s passenger rail service, while Interstate Highways 15 and 80 intersect in the city. For many years, efforts by the Utah Transit Authority to develop a rail transportation system for Salt Lake City were controversial. However, public support for an efficient transportation system increased in 1995 after the city was designated to host the 2002 Winter Olympic Games. As a result, in 1999 the Utah Transit Authority completed a 24-km (15-mi) light-rail transit line, known as TRAX, that runs from downtown Salt Lake City south through the center of Salt Lake Valley.

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