Britannica Student Encyclopedia - 2010

government

Republic

Major cities

Montevideo,

Salto, Paysandu,

Las Piedras,

Rivera

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Uruguay 43

 

Utah

Each year on July 24, the U.S.

state of Utah celebrates Pioneer

Day. This holiday marks the day in

1847 when a group of Mormons seeking

religious freedom entered the Great Salt

Lake valley. These settlers worked hard

to build their community. Their hard

work is reflected in both the state’s nickname,

the Beehive State, and its motto,

“Industry.”

Today Mormons make up more than

half of Utah’s population. The Mormon

church still has a strong influence on life

in the state. Salt Lake City, the state

capital, is home to the world headquarters

of the Mormon church.

Geography

Utah is aWestern state. It is bordered on

the north by Idaho andWyoming, on

the east by Colorado, on the south by

Arizona, and on the west by Nevada.

Plateaus cover the southeastern part of

the state. This is an area of high mesas,

brightly colored canyons, and the Colorado

River.Western Utah is a broad, flat

area with deserts and some mountain

peaks. Located in this region are the

Great Salt Lake and the Great Salt Lake

Desert.

The northeastern part of the state is part

of the Rocky Mountains. TheWasatch

and the Uinta mountain ranges are in

this region. Utah’s climate is dry, with

warm summers and cold winters.

People

Utah is one of the nation’s most sparsely

populated states. In other words, very

few people are spread throughout Utah’s

very large countryside. More than 85

percent of the people are white and of

European heritage. Hispanic Americans,

the largest minority group, make up

about 9 percent of the population.

Economy

Service industries are the largest part of

Utah’s economy. They include health

care, engineering, telemarketing, and

computer-related services. Banking and

tourism are also important in the state.

More than 18 million tourists travel to

Utah each year. Among the items manu-

44 Utah BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

 

factured in Utah are transportation

equipment, metals, and processed foods.

Much of Utah’s farm income comes

from cattle and hogs. Utah’s primary

crop is hay.

History

Navajo, Ute, Shoshone, and Paiute Indians

lived in the Utah region before white

settlers arrived. Mexico claimed the

Utah area in 1821. Around this time

adventurers known as mountain men

arrived in the region to take part in the

fur trade. Trappers set up trading posts

in the area in the 1820s and 1830s.

After a war with Mexico, the United

States gained control of Utah in 1848.

The first group of Mormons entered

Utah in July 1847. In 1849 the colonists

formed the State of Deseret, with

Brigham Young as the first governor. A

year later the United States created Utah

Territory.

The Mormons applied for statehood six

times between 1849 and 1887. The federal

government, however, would not

allow Utah to become a state. The issue

preventing statehood was the Mormon

custom of polygamy (one husband having

several wives). In 1890 the Mormon

leadership banned polygamy, and in

1896 Utah became the nation’s 45th

state.

DuringWorldWar II Utah’s mining

industry increased to meet war needs. In

the 1960s the state became a center for

defense industries, both for research and

for manufacturing.

In the 1990s the population in Utah

increased by almost 30 percent. It continued

that growth in the following

decade, adding more than 20 percent to

its population by 2008. In 2002 Salt

Lake City hosted theWinter Olympic

games.

..More to explore

Mormon • Salt Lake City

The colorful formations of Bryce Canyon

National Park attract many visitors to Utah.

The Great Salt Lake is in the middle of a

very dry area in the U.S. state of Utah. Several

rivers feed into the lake. But because

the land is so dry, the water evaporates

quickly. The water that remains is very salty.

Where the water has dried up completely it

leaves behind salt crystals.

Facts About

UTAH

Flag

Population

(2000 census)

2,233,169—

rank, 34th state;

(2008 estimate)

2,736,424—

rank, 34th state

Capital

Salt Lake City

Area

84,899 sq mi

(219,887 sq

km)—rank, 13th

state

Statehood

January 4, 1896

Motto

Industry

State bird

California gull

State flower

Sego lily

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Utah 45

 

Ute

The Ute are Native Americans of Colorado

and Utah. Their traditional homeland

also included parts of New Mexico.

The U.S. state of Utah was named after

the tribe.

The Ute built cone-shaped houses made

from poles covered with brush or grass.

The lands of the Ute were mostly very

dry. The only foods available there were

roots, seeds, lizards, insects, rodents, and

some other small animals. The Ute traveled

to the Rocky Mountains to hunt

larger animals and to fish. The Ute got

horses beginning in the 1600s. After

that they sometimes rode to the Great

Plains to hunt bison (buffalo).

Spanish traders began arriving in Ute

territory in the 1500s. The Ute traded

with the Spanish. They also sometimes

fought with them. In the 1840s U.S.

settlers began to arrive in the Ute lands.

By the end of the 1870s the U.S. government

had forced the Ute to give up

their territory. The tribe moved onto

reservations in Colorado and Utah. At

the end of the 20th century there were