Utah

Utah
(Details)	(Details)
	List of states
Capital:	Salt Lake City
State motto:	Industry
Official language :	English
Area:	219,887 km²
Residents:	3,101,833 (2017 estimate) (13 U / km²)
Member since:	4th January 1896
Time zone:	Mountain: UTC − 7 / −6
The highest point:	4126 m ( Kings Peak )
Average Height:	1920 m
Deepest point:	610 m Beaver Dam Wash
Governor :	Spencer Cox ( R )
Post / Office / ISO	UT / / US-UT
	Map of Utah
	The Colorado Plateau in Canyonlands National Park

Utah ( English pronunciation [ ˈjuːtɑː ] ) is a state of the United States of America . The capital of Utah is Salt Lake City . The abbreviation is UT, the nickname of the state is The Beehive State (English beehive , beehive ',' bee state ',' beehive '). The nickname is explained by the fact that the founding Mormons made the beehive as a symbol of industry to a symbol of the state or territory. Other state symbols are the seagull as the state bird, the cherry as the state fruit, and the allosaurusas a state fossil and the Colt M1911 as a state weapon. Utah was the first state in which a weapon received this status.

The name Utah is derived from the Indian people of the Ute , who still live in Utah today, along with a few other peoples. The Mormons wanted the state to be Deseret ; However, this religiously based name, which comes from the Book of Mormon , was not accepted by the US government because of the separation of church and state .

geography

Utah's neighboring states are Nevada , Idaho , Wyoming , Colorado , New Mexico, and Arizona . The southeast corner of the state forms with the areas of Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona the only quadrangle of the United States, the point Four Corners , after which the adjacent region is named.

Geographical breakdown

Utah is the border between two geographic provinces: the Colorado Plateau in the east and south and the Basin and Range Province in the west of the state. The Wasatch Mountains form the border between these major regions. In the east and northeast, the Rocky Mountains barely reach Utah. In the northeast, in the Uinta Mountains , Kings Peak (4123 m) is also the highest of the mountains in Utah .

Utah's share of the Colorado Plateau can be divided into several sections. In the north, below the Uinta Mountains, lies the Uinta Basin . It is shaped by the upper reaches of the Green River . To the south is the Canyon Lands section , in which the Colorado River flows and the Green River flows into it. To the west of this is the High Plateaus section with several layers of the Grand Staircase . To the southeast is an area known as Utah's Dixie , which is drained by the Virgin River . The Mormon pioneers coined the name because they were able to grow cotton in this climatically mildest region of Utah .

The Basin and Range part of Utah consists of the completely flat Great Salt Desert and a multitude of small and tiny clumps as well as the ditches between them . The region's two easternmost valleys, the Salt Lake Valley and the Utah Valley , together form the Wasatch Front below the Wasatch Mountains. They are the only parts of the state that are densely populated and are home to approximately 80% of Utah's total population.

Extension of the national territory

The area of 219,887 km² extends over 435 kilometers from east to west between 109 ° W and 114 ° W, as well as 565 kilometers from south to north between 37 ° N and 42 ° N. 3.25 percent of the national territory consists of water, The Great Salt Lake has the largest share .

climate

Utah has an extreme steppe climate, i. In other words, there are relatively hot summers around 30 ° C and cold, snowy winters often below 0 ° C. The annual rainfall ranges from 200 to 700 mm and is relatively evenly distributed throughout the year. The region around Salt Lake City ( 1350 m ) is a popular winter sports area; The 2002 Winter Olympics were held here.

Average monthly temperatures for Salt Lake City

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Max. Temperature ( ° C )

3

7th

11

16

22nd

29

34

32

27

19th

10

4th

O

17.9

Min. Temperature (° C)

−7

−4

−1

3

7th

12

17th

15th

10

4th

−2

−6

O

4th

Hours of sunshine ( h / d )

4th

6th

7th

9

11

12

11

10

9

6th

4th

O

8.4

Rainy days ( d )

6th

7th

8th

7th

4th

3

4th

5

6th

Σ

65

Source: missing

population

Population development
Census	Residents	± in%
1850	11,380	-
1860	40.273	253.9%
1870	86,336	114.4%
1880	143.963	66.7%
1890	210.779	46.4%
1900	276,749	31.3%
1910	373.351	34.9%
1920	449.396	20.4%
1930	507,847	13%
1940	550.310	8.4%
1950	688,862	25.2%
1960	890,627	29.3%
1970	1,059,273	18.9%
1980	1,461,037	37.9%
1990	1,722,850	17.9%
2000	2,233,169	29.6%
2010	2,763,885	23.8%
2017 estimate	3,101,833	12.2%
Before 1900 1900-1990 2000

Population density

Utah has 3.101 million inhabitants (extrapolation from the US Census Bureau 2017), of which 89.1% are white, 0.9% black and African-American, 1.9% Asians, 1.1% Indians, 0.7% Hawaiians and 4, 5% of other parentage. 1.8% said they belonged to two or more races . Of the total population, 11.2% are Hispanic community.

Utah has the highest fertility rate of any state in the United States (2.29 children per woman in 2015). Utah's population is living longer than the American average and has a lower percentage of overweight people.

Over 80% of the population of Utah lives in the metropolitan area " Wasatch Front " below the western flank of the Wasatch range . The settlement strip extends from Ogden in the north to Provo in the south and to the Salt Lake Valley and the Utah Valley . The rest of the state is extremely sparsely populated.

Age and gender structure

The age structure of Utah is composed as follows:

up to 18 years: 792,172 (31.1%)
18–64 years: 1,533,931 (60.1%)
65 years and over: 223,960 (8.8%)

The median age is 28.4 years. 50.3% of the population is male and 49.7% is female.

Ethnic population composition

In 2014, 24.9% of the population were of English descent, making them the largest group. This is followed by the groups of German (11.3%), American (6.0%), Irish (5.7%) and Danish (5.0%) groups.

Religions

Salt Lake Temple in Salt Lake City, most famous and largest Mormon temple

In 2012, about 62% of the population were Mormons ; however, since religious affiliation is not recorded in American censuses, precise data are not available. This makes Utah one of only five US states in which a single religious group has an absolute majority. The others are the majority Catholic states of Massachusetts , Rhode Island and New Mexico , as well as Mississippi , where Baptists make up the majority of the population.

Population development

The Hispanic community in Utah has more than tripled since the 1990s, from around 85,000 (1990) to 201,000 (2000) to 286,113 in 2006. It already represents 11.2% of the population.

Biggest cities

story

The Utah Territory was formed on September 9, 1850 from the northeastern part of the territory ceded by Mexico to the United States in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo 1848 .

As early as 1847, Utah was colonized by the followers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (" Mormons ") in sometimes unusual ways. To bring Church members to Utah, the Perpetual Emigrating Fund ( PEF ) was established in 1850 . Financed by donations, the funds in this fund should be used to bring people still living in the east of the USA, but especially new converts from Europe, to Salt Lake City . Depending on the needs of the individual, the PEF assumed part or all of the costs for the trip to Utah, whereby the respective church member contractually undertook to repay this money upon arrival.

By the end of the year, the PEF was running out of money, so Governor Brigham Young , who is also President of Latter-day Saints Church of Jesus Christ, revived an old plan. This stipulated that the immigrants should be pulled into the valley of the Great Salt Lake in handcarts instead of covered wagons pulled by horses or oxen , which should bring savings of 6 pounds per person. The European emigrants , most of whom came from poor backgrounds in British cities, were supposed to take the ship to New York City , Boston or New Orleans and from there take the train to Iowa City , where the handcarts would be waiting for them. After all, the emigrants would have to walk to Salt Lake City by cart (loaded with 50 kg of luggage) within 90 days.

The first handcart pioneers (about 800 total) to arrive in Iowa City in April 1856 were split into three treks. They reached Salt Lake City with minimal losses in late September to early October 1856. The last two handcart divisions did not start until the end of June in Iowa City and were surprised by an early and suddenly violent onset of winter about 300 miles from Salt Lake City in Wyoming . In view of the devastating weather conditions and the difficult route, the emigrants were finally brought to Salt Lake City in November in an almost spectacular rescue operation for the time. Of the original 1,076 people in the two departments, between 200 and 220 died. Despite this catastrophe, there were five more treks with handcarts in the following four years, but these went smoothly due to better organization.

In the Utah War of 1857/58, however, the political power of the Mormons was smashed. After the Mountain Meadows massacre on September 11, 1857, access to Salt Lake City was blocked by the US Army. With the help of Colonel Thomas L. Kane, who both knew the Mormons and had a good reputation with the government, Governor Brigham Young was persuaded to give in in the months that followed. In the spring of 1858, US associations advanced near Salt Lake City, but undertook to remain outside the city. Brigham Young passed his role as governor to Alfred Cumming on April 12, 1858 . In 1861, the new Nevada Territory was formed from the western part of the area and parts of the east were ceded to the Colorado Territory and the Nebraska Territory . In 1868 additional areas went to the state of Nevada and the Wyoming Territory (see maps).

Utah Territory 1851 and the proposed state of Deseret
Division 1861
Division 1868

politics

Salt Lake City Capitol

On January 4, 1896, Utah became the 45th state to become a fully qualified member of the United States. Several earlier attempts to be recognized as a state had failed because of conflicts between Latter-day Saints' Church of Jesus Christ and the American federal government , most notably disputes over Mormon polygamy . It was only when the leadership of the Church of Jesus Christ LDS officially abolished it in 1890 that the road to the state was clear. However, even in today's Utah constitution, there are still numerous provisions that were once made out of fear of a Mormon-dominated state. The preamble to the Utah constitution invokes God, but the rest of the constitutional text affirms the right to religious freedom, the separation of church and state and, last but not least, forbids the dominance of the state by a single church. Government support for churches or church schools is also prohibited in Utah. It also emphasizes that the public school system should be free from sectarian control, which is also a clear reference to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . Finally, polygamy is also prohibited by a constitutional provision (not only on the level of simple law), although this provision can only be changed with the consent of the US federal authorities.

**Presidential election results**
year	republican	Democrats
2016	45.54% 515,231	27.46% 310,676
2012	72.79% 740,600	24.75% 251,813
2008	62.25% 596,030	34.22% 327,670
2004	71.54% 663,742	26.00% 241,199
2000	66.83% 515,096	26.34% 203,053
1996	54.37% 361,911	33.30% 221,633
1992	43.36% 322,632	24.65% 183,429
1988	66.22% 428,442	32.05% 207,343
1984	74.50% 469,105	24.68% 155,369
1980	72.77% 439,687	20.57% 124,266
1976	62.44% 337,908	33.65% 182,110
1972	67.64% 323,643	26.39% 126,284
1968	56.49% 238,728	37.07% 156,665
1964	45.14% 180,682	54.86% 219,628
1960	54.81% 205,361	45.17% 169,248

Utah is a stronghold of the Republican Party , which is due, among other things, to the rural housing structure and thus to the reflection on family and church values, as the Republicans usually see themselves as representatives of these values. However, this has only been the case since the 1960s; previously, like most minorities, the majority of the Mormons supported the Democratic Party . With Mitt Romney and Mike Lee both US senators from Utah Republican. In the 116th Congress House of Representatives , the state is represented by three Republicans and Ben McAdams as the only Democrat.

The Republican Party has a clear majority in both chambers of the state legislature , the House of Representatives and the Senate .

Governors

congress

Culture and sights

Museums

Utah Museum of Fine Arts

Parks

The following national parks are located in Utah:

National park	location	view
Arches National Park Utah 860,181 visitors (2007) founded April 12, 1929 Commons : Arches National Park - Pictures
Bryce Canyon National Park Utah 1,012,563 visitors (2007) founded September 15, 1928 Commons : Bryce Canyon National Park - Pictures
Canyonlands National Park Utah 392,537 visitors (2006) founded September 12, 1964 Commons : Canyonlands National Park - Images
Capitol Reef National Park Utah 511,511 visitors (2006) founded December 18, 1971 Commons : Capitol Reef National Park - Images
Zion National Park Utah 2,697,182 visitors (2007) founded November 19, 1919 Commons : Zion National Park - Images

Monument Valley is not a national park and is administered by the Indians who live there.

Tribal park	location	view
Monument Valley Utah founded in 1958 Commons : Monument Valley Pictures

National Monuments

National Monument	location	view
Cedar Breaks National Monument Utah 505,158 visitors (2005) founded August 22, 1933 Commons : Cedar Breaks National Monument - Pictures
Dinosaur National Monument Utah, Colorado founded October 4, 1915 Commons : Dinosaur National Monument - Pictures
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Utah founded September 18, 1996 Commons : Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument - Pictures
Natural Bridges National Monument Utah 97,999 visitors (2002) founded April 16, 1908 Commons : Natural Bridges National Monument - Pictures
Rainbow Bridge National Monument Utah 75,286 visitors (2004) founded May 30, 1910 Commons : Rainbow Bridge National Monument - Pictures
Timpanogos Cave National Monument Utah 107,000 visitors (2004) founded August 10, 1933 Commons : Timpanogos Cave National Monument - Pictures

Sports

The capital, Salt Lake City , hosted the 2002 Winter Olympics . Salt Lake City is home to the Utah Jazz basketball team , which plays in the North American professional league NBA . In addition, the Utah Grizzlies, an ice hockey franchise in West Valley City that plays in the ECHL . Previously, a team of the same name played from 1995 to 2005 in the International Hockey League (1995-2001) and the American Hockey League (2001-2005). This team, which also had an identical team logo except for the colors, was based in Salt Lake City. Real Salt Lake , a soccer club based in Sandy, south of Salt Lake City, became champions of Major League Soccer , the top division of North America, in 2009 . It was the first national title for a Utah team in over 40 years.

education

The major state colleges are the University of Utah , Utah State University , Southern Utah University, and Weber State University . The main private university is the ecclesiastical Brigham Young University . Other colleges are included in the Utah Universities List .

economy

Bingham Canyon Mine

The real gross domestic product per capita was USD 51,243 in 2016 (national average of the 50 US states: USD 57,118; national ranking: 29). The unemployment rate was 3.2% in November 2017 (national average: 4.1%).

Because of the largely desert-like landscape in Utah, arable farming is only possible in the vicinity of the mountains with irrigation or " dry farming " ( wheat , sugar beets , potatoes , fruit ). It is farming operation ( cattle , sheep ). Of importance are the mining ( copper , oil , uranium , gold , salt , silver , lead , iron , natural gas , metals) as well as the aviation industry , and the tourism . The capital, Salt Lake City, was named No. 1 by the US magazine “ Fortune ” in 1990. 1 US City in which to do business ”because it has well-trained and motivated employees.