Salt Lake Valleyis a 500-square-mile (1,300 km2)valleyinSalt Lake Countyin the north-central portion of theU.S. stateofUtah.It containsSalt Lake Cityand many of its suburbs, notablyMurray,Sandy,South Jordan,West Jordan,andWest Valley City;its total population is 1,029,655 as of 2010.Brigham Youngsaid, "this is the right place," when he and his fellowMormonsettlers moved into Utah after being driven out of several states.[1]
Geography
editThe Valley is surrounded in every direction except the northwest by steep mountains that at some points rise 7,100 feet (2,200 m) from the valley floor's base elevation. It lies nearly encircled by theWasatch Mountainson the east, theOquirrh Mountainson the west,Traverse Ridgeto the south and theGreat Salt Lakeon the northwest, with the peaks ofAntelope Islandvisible.
Every entrance into the valley is extremely narrow and often congested. They include thePoint of the Mountainto the south via theJordan Narrows,a gap in theTraverse Mountains,narrow entrances between the Great Salt Lake and Oquirrh Mountains to the northwest and the Great Salt Lake and the Wasatch Mountains to the north, and several canyons to the east includingParley's CanyonandEmigration Canyon.
Flowing fromUtah LakeinUtah Valleyin the south, theJordan Riverruns north through a gap in the Traverse Mountains, bisecting the Valley before emptying into theGreat Salt Lake.The Jordan River, along with numerous mountain streams and reservoirs, provides irrigation water to the rapidly growing Valley.
The geography of the Salt Lake Valley combined with the prevalence of industrial pollution and to some extent, fossil fuel burning vehicles, leads to poorair quality in Utah.[2]
Development
editA company known asKennecott Land,which owns the eastern foothills of the Oquirrhs in the western part of the valley, recently drafted a plan that would develop the rest of the entire valley within 75 years, adding at least 500,000 residents. The first development, known as theDaybreak Community,has substantial portions already completed but continues construction. It will focus ontransit-oriented development(it already has service byTRAXlight railand will also feature a ski resort in theOquirrh Mountainsand a university campus).
Interstate 15runs north to south through the middle-eastern portion of the Valley andInterstate 80runs east to west in the northern quarter of the Valley fromParley's CanyonintoTooele Countyto the west (where it cuts across a small portion of the Great Salt Lake). TheInterstate 215belt route,State Route 154(Bangerter Highway),State Route 201(21st South Freeway), and State Route 85 (Mountain View Corridor) are also major transportation routes. TheUtah Transit Authorityoperates an extensive bus system across theWasatch Front,including the Salt Lake Valley, in addition to three light rail lines (known as TRAX) in the Valley. Acommuter railline known asFrontRunnerruns north toPleasant ViewinWeber Countyand south toProvoin Utah County.[3]
See also
edit
References
edit- ^Utah Pioneers (Salt Lake City, 1880), p. 23, quoted in Leland H. Creer, The Founding of an Empire (Salt Lake City, 1947), p. 302, n. 913. Cited by Poll R. Dealing with Dissonance: Myths, Documents and Faith.Sunstone,1988 p. 17, available online atsunstonemagazine
- ^"Pollution Sources".kued.org.KUED.RetrievedNov 24,2019.
- ^"TRAX &FrontRunnerMap "(PDF).Utah Transit Authority.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 3 December 2012.Retrieved24 June2012.