Jordan River (Utah)

Jordan River
Proveau's Fork, West Jordan River
Dam at Jordan River Narrows in 1901
Map of the Jordan Subbasin and the location of Salt Lake County in Utah (inset)
EtymologyNamed after the Jordan River
Location
CountryUnited States
StateUtah
CountiesUtah, Salt Lake
Physical characteristics
SourceUtah Lake
 • locationUtah County, Utah
 • coordinates40°21′34″N 111°53′40″W / 40.35944°N 111.89444°W / 40.35944; -111.89444[1]
 • elevation4,489 ft (1,368 m)(compromise level)[2]
MouthGreat Salt Lake
 • location
Davis County, Utah
 • coordinates
40°53′52″N 111°58′25″W / 40.89778°N 111.97361°W / 40.89778; -111.97361[1]
 • elevation
4,200 ft (1,300 m)(historical average)[3]
Length51.4 mi (82.7 km)[4]
Basin size791 sq mi (2,050 km2)[5]
Discharge 
 • locationmouth
 • average524 cu ft/s (14.8 m3/s)

The Jordan River is a 51.4-mile-long (82.7 km) river in the U.S. state of Utah. Regulated by pumps at its headwaters at Utah Lake, it flows northward through the Salt Lake Valley and empties into the Great Salt Lake. Four of Utah's six largest cities border the river: Salt Lake City, West Valley City, West Jordan, and Sandy. More than a million people live in the Jordan Subbasin, part of the Jordan River watershed that lies within Salt Lake and Utah counties. During the Pleistocene, the area was part of Lake Bonneville.

Members of the Desert Archaic Culture were the earliest known inhabitants of the region; an archaeological site found along the river dates back 3,000 years. Mormon pioneers led by Brigham Young were the first European American settlers, arriving in July 1847 and establishing farms and settlements along the river and its tributaries. The growing population, needing water for drinking, irrigation, and industrial use in an arid climate, dug ditches and canals, built dams, and installed pumps to create a highly regulated river.

Although the Jordan was originally a cold-water fishery with 13 native species, including Bonneville cutthroat trout, it has become a warm-water fishery where the common carp is most abundant. It was heavily polluted for many years by raw sewage, agricultural runoff, and mining wastes. In the 1960s, sewage treatment removed many pollutants. In the 21st century, pollution is further limited by the Clean Water Act, and, in some cases, the Superfund program. Once the home of bighorn sheep and beaver, the contemporary river is frequented by raccoons, red foxes, and domestic pets. It is an important avian resource, as are the Great Salt Lake and Utah Lake, visited by more than 200 bird species.

Big Cottonwood, Little Cottonwood, Red Butte, Mill, Parley's, and City creeks, as well as smaller streams like Willow Creek at Draper, Utah, flow through the sub-basin. The Jordan River Parkway along the river includes natural areas, botanical gardens, golf courses, and a 40-mile (64 km) bicycle and pedestrian trail, completed in 2017.[6]

  1. ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Jordan River
  2. ^ Utah Lake and Jordan River Water Rights and Management Plan 1989, p. 4
  3. ^ "Great Salt Lake, Utah", Utah Water Science Center, United States Geological Survey, archived from the original on 6 May 2010, retrieved 25 Mar 2010
  4. ^ Length per Utah Division of Water Quality Jordan River TMDL 2009, p. 18 (some sources quote other lengths)
  5. ^ Hydrologic Survey Maps 1987, p. 53
  6. ^ Completion of the Jordan River Parkway, Jordan River Commission