| Utah
. . .
Utah's official flag was adopted
in 1913. The flag has a deep
blue field with the state seal
in the center, surrounded by
yellow fringe. The state seal
was designed by Harry Emmett
Edwards in 1896. In the center
of the flag is a bald eagle
above a beehive which symbolizes
hard work and is surrounded
by sego lilies which represent
peace and two US flags. The
word "INDUSTRY" and
the dates 1847 and 1896 appear
on the flag. 1847 is the year
that Brigham Young led a group
of his Mormon followers to the
Salt Lake Valley in Utah in
order to find religious freedom
and establish a new base for
the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints.
Utah was the 45th state in
the USA; it became a state in
1896. Utah lies in the western
United States and is bordered
by Arizona on south and Colorado
to the east. To the northeast
and north by Wyoming and Idaho
and to the west is Nevada. The
state's southeastern corner
is called the four corners because
it is the only point where four
states meet.
Utah was first settled in 1847
when a group of 148 Mormons
settled at the foot of the Wastch
Mountains. A man named Brigham
Young led them and soon the
Mormons worked to change the
desertland into fertile cropland,
built highways, started schools,
etc.
The Mormon colony spread and
by 1850 there were already 11,000
and the development was all
directed by the Mormon church.
Still today the Mormons make
up 70% of the population and
a very popular university, Brigham
Young. Because of this the state
is nicknamed the Land of the
Saints.
Utah has a very dry continental
climate with warm summers and
cold winters. Utah has very
low humidity and lots of sunshine.
The statewide average high temperature
in July is near 80 degrees and
in January an average of 30
degrees. The upper elevations
experience severe cold winter
conditions. Annual precipitation
varies from less than five inches
in Utah's Great Salt Lake desert
to more than 50 inches in the
northern mountain ranges. Snow
frequently accumulates to depths
of 10 feet or more at many Wasatch
Mountain ski resorts. Because
of the lack of rainfall, most
of the agricultural sites and
farmland have to be irrigated.
Many reservoirs have been built
since the 1850’s to collect
water and distribute it. A lot
of the state is only cactus,
desert and bushes.
Utah’s main manufacturing
is computer equipment, software,
and the production of transportation
equipment, guided missiles,
and space vehicles. The state
is all very rich in minerals
and it is the chief source of
lead, gold, silver, and zinc.
Economy:
Agriculture: Cattle, dairy products,
hay, turkeys.
Industry: Machinery, aerospace,
mining, food processing, electric
equipment, tourism.
Utah is a popular vacation
spot for skiing Salt Lake City
was chosen to host the 2002
Winter Olympic Games. It also
has five national parks which
many campers and hikers come
to Utah in the summer .
Utah has 29 Counties:
Beaver
Box Elder Cache Carbon Daggett
Davis Duchesne Emery Garfield
Grand Iron Juab Kane Millard
Morgan Piute Rich Salt Lake
San Juan Sanpete Sevier Summit
Tooele Uintah Utah Wasatch Washington
Wayne Weber
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state - Utah