Utah, State, western U.S. Area: 84,898 sq mi (219,884 sq km). Population: (2020) 3,271,616; (2023 est.) 3,417,734. Capital: Salt Lake City. Utah is bordered by Idaho to the north, Wyoming to the northeast, Colorado to the east, Arizona to the south, and Nevada to the west. At Four Corners, in the southeast, Utah meets Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona at right angles, the only such meeting of states in the nation. Utah contains the Great Salt Lake and parts of the middle Rocky Mountains and Uinta Mountains. The western third of the state is a broad desertlike area. About 70% of the land is owned by either the federal or the state government. The region was inhabited as early as 10,000 bce. In c. 400 ce the Pueblo Indians lived throughout Utah; they were followed by other groups, including the Shoshone, Ute, and Paiute Indians. Spanish missionaries visited there in the late 18th century. It passed to Mexico in 1821. U.S. pioneer Jim Bridger was the first white man to see the Great Salt Lake, in 1824. The area’s first permanent settlers were Mormons, who were led to the valley of the Great Salt Lake in 1847 by Brigham Young. Acquired by the U.S. after the Mexican War, the region was organized as the Utah Territory in 1850; it had been reduced to the area of the present state by 1868. A conflict between Mormon authorities and the U.S. government known as the Utah War occurred in 1857–58, and statehood was denied until the Mormons renounced polygamy. When they did, Utah entered the Union in 1896 as the 45th state. The Mormon church has officially been politically neutral since the early 20th century, and the influence of economic blocs has become more important. Utah has large reserves of coal and petroleum and is the world’s largest producer of beryllium. Major industries include agriculture and tourism.
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Utah summary
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Compromise of 1850 Summary
Compromise of 1850, in U.S. history, a series of measures proposed by the “great compromiser,” Sen. Henry Clay of Kentucky, and passed by the U.S. Congress in an effort to settle several outstanding slavery issues and to avert the threat of dissolution of the Union. The crisis arose from the
Great Salt Lake Summary
Great Salt Lake, lake in northern Utah, U.S., the largest inland body of salt water in the Western Hemisphere and one of the most saline inland bodies of water in the world. The lake is fed by the Bear, Weber, and Jordan rivers and has no outlet. The lake has fluctuated greatly in size, depending
Capitol Reef National Park Summary
Capitol Reef National Park, long, narrow area of imposing sandstone formations in south-central Utah, U.S. Established as a national monument in 1937, it was redesignated as a national park in 1971. Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area are adjacent to
Salt Lake City Summary
Salt Lake City, state capital and seat (1849) of Salt Lake county, north-central Utah, U.S., situated on the Jordan River at the southeastern end of Great Salt Lake. The world capital of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), it influences the social, economic, political, and