Utah

Thousands of years ago, freshwater Lake Bonneville covered about a fourth of Utah.  It slowly dried up, leaving minerals and salts behind.  Great Salt Lake is a remnant of Lake Bonneville - saltier than any ocean in the world.  Bonneville Salt Flats, also known as Great Salt Lake Desert, is another remnant: a flat rock-hard surface of salt.  People can and do race cars on the Flats.

Bonneville Salt Flats

Western Utah is in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevadas, while eastern Utah lies in the rain shadow of the Wasatch Mountains.  Most lowland areas get less than 12" of precipitation a year.

Tornadoes are uncommon in Utah, with only 2 per year on average.

Utah has the lowest child poverty rate in the US.

According to a 2002 national drug study, antidepressant drugs are prescribed at a rate of early 2 times the national average despite rates of depression no higher than the national average.

Utah has the highest average weekly church attendance rate in the US.  At 55% saying they're "very religious", Utahans rank 3rd in the US (behind Mississippi and Alabama).  But with 15% saying they're "moderately religious", Utah ranks lowest in the US.

Utah has the highest birth rate in the US - 25% higher than the national average.

Bristlecone Pine

Utah is among the US's highest in literacy and computer literacy rates.

Utah is a home to the bristlecone pine tree, the oldest tree in the world; some in Utah are 3,000 years old.

Nine Mile Canyon art

Nine Mile Canyon Archaeological District has more ancient rock art than any other single location in the world.



Ben Lomond Peak near Ogden is used as the logo for Paramount Pictures.

Utah has an official state astronomical symbol (the Beehive Cluster in Cancer); an official state cooking pot (Dutch oven); an official state firearm (Browning M1911); an official state hymn ("Utah, We Love Thee"); an official state star (Dubhe, in the Big Dipper).

Browning M1911

In 1830, Joseph Smith published the Book of Mormon and established a community in Ohio.  Religious persecution forced them to move to Illinois, first to one town, then another.  In 1844, Smith was killed by a mob.  Brigham Young took over leadership and decided they should leave the US.  They journeyed to Salt Lake Valley, then still a part of Mexico.

Despite the discrimination the Mormons had received, they eventually came to accept the Ku Klux Klan, which grew after World War I.  Discrimination continued, though, and the Church wouldn't allow African-Americans to lead until 1978.