Utah salt lake city
There are some cities that are known for their history and culture, others for tourism and still others for famous products. Salt Lake City or SLC, located in the west of USA, is a well-known city for its history and tourist facilities. With its fascinating historical relics, fast paced nightclubs, natural recreations such as golfing and skiing, Salt Lake City is one of America?s most popular tourist destinations. Summer activities include hiking, mountain biking and rock climbing and in winter, skiing takes precedence.
The city with the highest population of more than 1,000,000 in the state of Utah Salt Lake City includes Salt Lake, the urban area of Wasatch Front and the counties of Summit and Tooele. White Caucasians form the majority of the population. Hispanics form up to 19% of the whole population and about 1% of the population is of Samoans and Tongans from the Pacific Islands. The total area of the city is 110.4 square miles and it is at a height of 1,320 meters above sea level. Salt Lake City is situated to the northeast of the Salt Lake Valley and is bordered by Great Salt Lake to the northwest, the Wasatch mountain range to the east and the Oquirrh mountain range to the west.
Mountains that boast of plenty of narrow glacial and volcanic canyons surround the city. These include City Creek, Emigration, Mill Creek, etc. Beautiful flowers and small waterfalls are evident in the spring in these canyons. The highest mountain is Twin Peaks, located in the Wasatch Range, with a height of 3,502 meters. All the mountains are visible from the city. A huge marshy area separates the city from the Great Salt Lake into which the Jordan River pours its water.
There are still relics left over from past ages. The floor of the Salt Lake Valley was the lakebed of a lake that existed at the end of the last Ice Age. Shorelines of this lake, known as Lake Bonneville, can still be seen on the foothills of the mountains. The city itself is full of wide streets initiated by the original settlers under Joseph Smith in order for wagons to turn around comfortably. Even before this time, Salt Lake City has seen the civilizations of Shoshone, Ute and Paiute.
Recent history of the city starts from 1847 when a group of Mormons ended up in SLC, known then as Great Salt Lake City, under the leadership of their prophet, Brigham Young. They started the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, known otherwise as Mormon Church. The temple, started four days after their arrival and took forty years to construct, still stands in the center of the city and is known as Salt Lake Temple.
Political upheavals marked the new settlement during the early days. Though the Mormons petitioned for a new state, the US Congress refused and established Utah Territory and replaced Salt Lake City as the capital instead of the former Fillmore. There were further problems with the government because the Mormons advocated polygamy for men. This finally led to the Utah War in 1857. Finally, the Mormons gave in to the anti-polygamy laws in 1890 and renounced polygamy. Utah was included as a state in 1896 with Salt Lake City as the capital. Polygamy was a strong feature of the history of the place.
The development of the city intensified with the first transcontinental railroad in 1869. Mining was also gaining importance at this time. Due to both these reasons, many people migrated to the Salt Lake City and the city prospered as well. Streetcars were in vogue for easy transport from 1872 till 1945. Rail travel was again started in 1999 with TRAX. The Olympic Games held in 2002 brought prosperity and added to the infrastructure of the city. The starting of the railways and repair of highways were the most important of them. Tourism has developed with the onset of the twenty first century due to the outdoor recreation and sports.
Salt Lake City has four different seasons. With a hot and dry summer following cold and snowy winters, the city has an extreme climate. Autumn and spring are short, wet and comfortable transition periods. The city receives 419 mm of rain and 159 cm of snow annually on average.
With such a wide variety of climate, one can go to Salt Lake City at practically any time of the year and experience a different visit. The historical buildings and natural relics of bygone ages, the new tourist attractions in the form of outdoor recreations and the dynamic night life all go towards making Salt Lake City a much coveted destination to go in couples, with families, with friends or even alone. There is never a dearth of things to do there and there is something for every taste. It is no wonder that Salt Lake City has turned out to be one of the most popular tourist destinations in America.
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