Interesting Facts About Salt Lake County

In the early 20th century the pollution in Salt Lake City was so bad that the city had to create a Smoke Department to help control pollution.  Inversions are still a problem today.

In 1983 City Creek flooded and State Street became a temporary "river".

In the early 1970s a huge copper pit mine "ate" the town of Bingham.

Salt Lake City hosted the Winter Olympic Games in 2002 and the snow in this area is often called the "best snow on earth".

Salt Lake County is the most populated county in the state of Utah.

Salt Lake County sits on the Wasatch Fault line which is predicted to produce a large magnitude earthquake that could cause extensive damage.

The Mormon religion is the largest religion in the County with 56% of the population being Mormon.

Agriculture and Manufacturing in Salt Lake County

Farming is a big part of the agriculture in Salt Lake County.  The largest crops grown in Salt Lake County include alfalfa, hay and barley.  Animals are also a big part of the agriculture in Salt Lake County and the most common farm animals raised are cows for beef and milk and sheep.
Manufacturing of goods is an important part of the ecomony in Salt Lake County. "Manufacturing is the fifth largest industry in Utah, employing more than 129,000 people statewide. More than 43 percent of all manufacturing jobs are in Salt Lake County. Salt Lake's location makes it an ideal place to manufacture and ship to most western markets" (www.slco.org).  Items and goods maunfactured in Salt Lake County include petroleum products, electronics, and missiles.  

History of Salt Lake County

The city was founded in 1847 by Brigham Young, Isaac Morley, George Washington Bradley and several other Mormon followers. Because it is close to the Great Salt Lake, the city was originally named "Great Salt Lake City" but the word "great" was dropped from the official name in 1868.  

Recreation in Salt Lake County

There are many recreational activities available in Salt Lake County. Some of them include:

• Hiking
• Camping 
• Sports
• Running
• Biking
• Swimming
• Skiing
• Snowboarding
• Fishing

If I lived in Salt  lake County my favorite recreational activity would be skiing.

National Parks in Salt Lake County

 There are many National park in Utah but none of them are in Salt Lake County.

Salt Lake County Mountain Ranges

Wasatch Mountain Range

  

Oquirrh Mountain Range

The Wasatch mountain range "stretches approximately 160 miles from the Utah-Idaho border, south through central Utah in the western United States. It is generally considered the western edge of the greater Rocky Mountains, and the eastern edge of the Great Basin region" (Wikipedia).  When I visit my grandma and grandpa's house in Springville, Utah I like to look at the Wasatch Mountains and go sledding on them in the winter.

The Oquirrh Mountain Range is a mountain range that "runs north-south for approximately 30 miles to form the west side of Utah's Salt Lake Valley, separating it from Tooele Valley. The range runs from northwest Utah County–central, east Tooele County, and ends north at the south shore of the Great Salt Lake" (Wikipedia).  When I was young and lived in Provo, Utah I could see this mountain range from my parents bedroom window.

First Native Settlers

"Thousands of years before the arrival of European explorers, the Anasazi/Ancestral Pueblo and the Fremont tribes lived in what is now known as Utah. These Native American tribes are subgroups of the Ute-Aztec Native American ethnicity, and were sedentary. The Anasazi built their homes through excavations in mountains, and the Fremont built houses of straw before disappearing from the region around the 15th century.
Another group of Native Americans, the Navajo, settled in the region around the 18th century. In the mid-18th century, other Uto-Aztecan tribes, including the Goshute, the Paiute, the Shoshone, and the Ute people, also settled in the region. These five groups were present when the first European explorers arrived" (Wikipedia).

An interesting fact about the Navajo tribe is that their homes were very simple homes, just a small shelter of wooden sticks, mud, and tree bark. These homes were known as hogans, and their doors faced the east to be sure the sun would shine in (Indians.org).