Portal:Utah

The Utah Portal

Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northeast, Idaho to the north, and Nevada to the west. In comparison to all the U.S. states and territories, Utah, with a population of just over three million, is the 13th-largest by area, the 30th-most populous, and the 11th-least densely populated. Urban development is mostly concentrated in two regions: the Wasatch Front in the north-central part of the state, which includes the state capital, Salt Lake City, and is home to roughly two-thirds of the population; and Washington County in the southwest, which has approximately 180,000 residents. Most of the western half of Utah lies in the Great Basin.

Utah has been inhabited for thousands of years by various indigenous groups, such as the ancient Puebloans, the Navajo, and the Ute. The first Europeans to arrive – in the mid-16th century – were the Spanish. Because of the region's challenging geography and harsh climate, it only became a peripheral part of New Spain (and later of Mexico). Even while it was Mexican territory, many of the Utah region's earliest European settlers were from the United States; notable among these were Mormons who were fleeing marginalization and persecution in the United States and arrived via the so-called Mormon Trail. In 1848, after the Mexican–American War, the region was annexed by the U.S., becoming part of the Utah Territory, which included what later became Colorado and Nevada. Disputes between the dominant Mormon community and the federal government delayed Utah's admission as a state: in 1896, after it agreed to outlaw polygamy, it was admitted as the 45th state.

People from Utah are known as Utahns. Slightly over half of all Utahns are Mormons, the vast majority of whom are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), which has its world headquarters in Salt Lake City; Utah is the only state where a majority of the population belongs to a single church. The LDS Church greatly influences Utah's culture, politics, and daily life. However, since the 1990s, Utah has become both more religiously diverse and more secular. (Full article...)

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

Recognized content - show another

Entries here consist of Good and Featured articles, which meet a core set of high editorial standards.

Looking down a main thoroughfare at Topaz (October 18, 1942)

The Topaz War Relocation Center, also known as the Central Utah Relocation Center (Topaz) and briefly as the Abraham Relocation Center, was an American concentration camp in which Americans of Japanese descent and immigrants who had come to the United States from Japan, called Nikkei were incarcerated. President Franklin Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 in February 1942, ordering people of Japanese ancestry to be incarcerated in what were euphemistically called "relocation centers" like Topaz during World War II. Most of the people incarcerated at Topaz came from the Tanforan Assembly Center and previously lived in the San Francisco Bay Area. The camp was opened in September 1942 and closed in October 1945.

The camp, approximately 15 miles (24.1 km) west of Delta, Utah, consisted of 19,800 acres (8,012.8 ha), with a 640 acres (259.0 ha) main living area. Most internees lived in the main living area, though some lived off-site as agricultural and industrial laborers. The approximately 9,000 internees and staff made Topaz into the fifth-largest city in Utah at the time. The extreme temperature fluctuations of the arid area combined with uninsulated barracks made conditions very uncomfortable, even after the belated installation of pot-bellied stoves. The camp housed two elementary schools and a high school, a library, and some recreational facilities. Camp life was documented in a newspaper, Topaz Times, and in the literary publication Trek. Internees worked inside and outside the camp, mostly in agricultural labor. Many internees became notable artists. (Full article...)

List of recognized articles

edit

Selected image - show another

Credit: pdphoto.org

The Virgin River Narrows in Zion National Park

More selected images

More...

edit

December selected anniversaries

December 23, 1909 - The USS Utah, a Florida-class dreadnought battleship, is launched.

More anniversaries...

Selected biography - show another

Marriott in 1968

John Willard Marriott Sr. (September 17, 1900 – August 13, 1985) was an American entrepreneur and businessman. He was the founder of the Marriott Corporation (which became Marriott International in 1993), the parent company of the world's largest hospitality, hotel chains, and food services companies. The Marriott company rose from a small root beer stand in Washington, D.C., in 1927 to a chain of family restaurants by 1932, to its first motel in 1957. By the time he died in 1985, the Marriott company operated 1,400 restaurants and 143 hotels and resorts worldwide, including two theme parks, earned US$4.5 billion in revenue annually with 154,600 employees. The company's interests also extended to a line of cruise ships. (Full article...)

List of selected biographies

Selected article - show another

The Liberal Party was a political party established in the latter half of the 1800s in Utah Territory before the national Democrats and Republicans established themselves in Utah in the early 1890s.

The Liberal Party formed in 1870 in opposition to the Latter-day Saints (Mormons) who were the majority of Utah’s population. In response, the Mormons formed the People's Party. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

edit

Did you know - show different entries

...that George Dern (pictured), the 6th Governor of Utah and 54th War Secretary, is the grandfather of actor Bruce Dern and the great-grandfather of actress Laura Dern?
...that the fifth-worst mining accident in American history, the Winter Quarters Mine disaster, occurred in Scofield, Utah on May 1, 1900 when at least 200 workers died as the result of a coal dust explosion?
...that the Kennecott Utah Copper Corporation operates the Bingham Canyon Mine, the largest open-pit copper mine in the world near Copperton, Utah?

More DYK...

edit

Selected panorama - show different entries

Credit: U.S. Geological Survey

Downtown Salt Lake City, Utah in 1913, looking east along 200 South from West Temple Street. To the far left is the Salt Lake Temple. The very white building right of the Temple is Hotel Utah, about one year old at the time. Just visible on the right side of the photo is the Salt Lake City and County Building clocktower. The Wasatch Mountains are in the background.

More selected panoramas

Read more...

edit

Topics

edit

General images

The following are images from various Utah-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Bryce Canyon National Park Amphitheater (winter view) (from Utah)
Image 2Jake Garn (top-right), former Senator of Utah (1974–1993), and astronaut on Space Shuttle flight STS-51-D (from Utah)
Image 3The Golden Spike where the First transcontinental railroad was completed in the U.S. on May 10, 1869, in Promontory, Utah (from Utah)
Image 4Köppen climate types of Utah, using 1991–2020 climate normals. (from Utah)
Image 5Mining has been a large industry in Utah since it was first settled. The Bingham Canyon Mine in Salt Lake County is one of the largest open pit mines in the world. (from Utah)
Image 6Utah population density map (from Utah)
Image 7One out of every 14 flash memory chips in the world is produced in Lehi, Utah. (from Utah)
Image 8Map showing Utah in 1838 when it was part of Mexico. From Britannica 7th edition. (from History of Utah)
Image 9Zion National Park in southern Utah is one of five national parks in the state. (from Utah)
Image 10Downtown Salt Lake City in the early 20th century. (from History of Utah)
Image 11The California gull is the Utah state bird. (from Utah)
Image 12Zion National Park (from History of Utah)
Image 13Utah State Route 12 through Red Canyon in Dixie National Forest (from Utah)
Image 14Farms and ranches (from Utah)
Image 15The Huntsman Cancer Institute on the campus of the University of Utah (U of U) in Salt Lake City (from Utah)
Image 16American Fork Canyon (from Utah)
Image 17Salt Lake International Airport is the largest airport in Utah (from Utah)
Image 18Utah county boundaries (from Utah)
Image 19Map showing Utah in 1838 when it was part of Mexico, Britannica 7th edition (from Utah)
Image 20The boundaries of the provisional State of Deseret—as proposed in 1849—are shown with a dotted line. The Utah Territory as organized in 1850, is shown in blue with black outline. (from History of Utah)
Image 21Bonneville Salt Flats (from History of Utah)
Image 22Brigham Young led the first Mormon pioneers to the Great Salt Lake. (from Utah)
Image 23The Rocky Mountain elk is the Utah state mammal. (from Utah)
Image 24Arches National Park (from Utah)

Map of counties in Utah by racial plurality, per the 2020 US Census

Legend

Non-Hispanic White

60–70%

70–80%

80–90%

90%+

Native American

50–60%

(from Utah)

Image 26The Utah State Capitol, Salt Lake City (from Utah)
Image 27Pando, considered one of the heaviest and oldest organisms on Earth. (from Utah)
Image 28Deseret Village recreates Utah pioneer life for tourists. (from Utah)
Image 29Sri Sri Radha Krishna (Hindu) Temple (from Utah)
Image 30Kolob Canyons at Zion National Park (from Utah)
Image 31Fremont petroglyph, Dinosaur National Monument (from History of Utah)
Image 32The Eyring Science Center on the campus of Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah (from Utah)
Image 33Location where the Mormons entered the Salt Lake Valley in 1847, now the This is the Place Monument and Deseret Village (from History of Utah)
Image 34The Utah Jazz playing against the Houston Rockets (from Utah)
Image 35The Scott Matheson Courthouse is the seat of the Utah Supreme Court. (from Utah)
Image 36A sketch of Salt Lake City in 1860 (from Utah)
Image 37Little Cottonwood Canyon (from Utah)
Image 38Western black widow spider (from Utah)
Image 39The Olympic cauldron is lit by the 'Miracle on Ice' 1980 U.S. men's ice hockey team at the opening ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City (from Utah)
Image 40Hovenweep Castle, San Juan River basin (from History of Utah)
Image 41Pariette Wetlands (from Utah)
Image 42TRAX light rail serves Salt Lake County (from Utah)
Image 43Navajo homeland in Monument Valley (from History of Utah)
Image 44FrontRunner commuter rail runs between Ogden and Provo via Salt Lake City (from Utah)
Image 45"Welcome to Utah" sign (from Utah)
Image 46Deer Creek Reservoir (from Utah)
Image 47The LDS Salt Lake Temple, the primary attraction in the city's Temple Square (from Utah)
Image 48Snow in Rose Park, Salt Lake City (from Utah)
Image 49First Presbyterian Church in Salt Lake City (from Utah)
Image 50Children reading in Santa Clara, Utah, in 1940 (from Utah)
Image 51Joshua trees, yuccas, and cholla cactus occupy the far southwest corner of the state in the Mojave Desert (from Utah)
Image 52Robbie Russell playing for Real Salt Lake (from Utah)
Image 53The Wasatch Front region has seen large growth and development despite the economic downturn. Shown is the City Creek Center project, a development in downtown Salt Lake City with a price tag of $1.5–2.5 billion. (from Utah)

edit

State facts

Nickname: The Beehive State
Capital and largest city: Salt Lake City
Total area: 219,887 km² (84,899 sq mi)
Population (2010 Census): 2,736,424
Date admitted to the Union: January 4, 1896

State symbols:

Animal: Rocky Mountain elk
Bird: California seagull
Fish: Bonneville cutthroat trout
Flower: Sego lily
Grass: Indian ricegrass
Insect: European honey bee
Tree: Quaking aspen
Fossil: Allosaurus
Gemstone: Topaz
Mineral: Copper
Motto: Industry
Rock: Coal
Snackfood: Green Jell-O
Song: "Utah, This Is the Place"

edit

Featured content

Articles:

Lists:

Pictures:

edit

Related portals

United States

Alaska • Arizona • California (San Francisco Bay Area) • Florida • Illinois ( Chicago) • Indiana • Kansas • Maryland • Michigan • Mississippi • New Jersey • New York ( New York City) • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania (Philadelphia) • Puerto Rico • Texas • Utah • Virginia • Washington

edit

Lists

Utah-related lists

Education

Geography

Government

Media

People
- People executed
- People

Transportation

edit

Related WikiProjects

United States

New articles

This list was generated from these rules. Questions and feedback are always welcome! The search is being run daily with the most recent ~14 days of results. Note: Some articles may not be relevant to this project.

Rules | Match log | Results page (for watching) | Last updated: 2025-12-13 20:38 (UTC)

Note: The list display can now be customized by each user. See List display personalization for details.