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The region was first explored for
Spain by Franciscan friars Escalante and Dominguez
in 1776. In 1824 the famous American frontiersman
Jim Bridger discovered the Great Salt Lake.
Fleeing religious persecution in the
East and Midwest, the Mormons arrived in 1847 and
began to build Salt Lake City. The U.S. acquired the
Utah region in the treaty ending the Mexican War in
1848, and the first transcontinental railroad was
completed with the driving of a golden spike at
Promontory Summit in 1869.
Mormon difficulties with the
federal government about polygamy did not end until
the Mormon Church renounced the practice in 1890,
six years before Utah became a state.
Rich in natural resources, Utah
has long been a leading producer of copper, gold,
silver, lead, zinc, and molybdenum. Oil has also
become a major product. Utah shares rich oil shale
deposits with Colorado and Wyoming. Utah also has
large deposits of low sulphur coal.
The state's top agricultural
commodities include cattle and calves, dairy
products, hay, greenhouse and nursery products, and
hogs.
Utah's traditional industries of
agriculture and mining are complemented by increased
tourism and growing aerospace, biomedical, and
computer-related businesses.
Utah is a great vacationland with
11,000 mi of fishing streams and 147,000 acres of
lakes and reservoirs. Among the many tourist
attractions are Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands,
Capitol Reef, and Zion National Parks; Cedar Breaks,
Dinosaur, Hovenweep, Natural Bridges, Rainbow
Bridge, Timpanogos Cave, and Grand Staircase
(Escalante) National Monuments; the Mormon
Tabernacle in Salt Lake City; and Monument Valley.
Salt Lake City hosted the 2002 Winter Olympics. |
