Utah

Utah
State
Flag Seal
Nicknames:  "Beehive State" (official), "The Mormon State", "Deseret"
Motto:  Industry
Anthem: "Utah...This Is the Place"
Map of the United States with Utah highlighted
Country	United States
Before statehood	Utah Territory
Admitted to the Union	January 4, 1896 (45th)
Capital (and largest city)	Salt Lake City
Largest county or equivalent	Salt Lake
Largest metro and urban areas	Salt Lake City
Government
• Governor	Spencer Cox (R)
• Lieutenant governor	Deidre Henderson (R)
Legislature	State Legislature
• Upper house	State Senate
• Lower house	House of Representatives
Judiciary	Utah Supreme Court
U.S. senators	Mike Lee (R) Mitt Romney (R)
U.S. House delegation	1: Blake Moore (R) 2: Celeste Maloy (R) 3: John Curtis (R) 4: Burgess Owens (R) (list)
Area
• Total	84,899 sq mi (219,887 km2)
• Land	82,144 sq mi (212,761 km2)
• Water	2,755 sq mi (7,136 km2)  3.25%
• Rank	13th
Dimensions
• Length	350 mi (560 km)
• Width	270 mi (435 km)
Elevation	6,100 ft (1,860 m)
Highest elevation (Kings Peak[1][2][a])	13,534 ft (4,120.3 m)
Lowest elevation (Beaver Dam Wash at Arizona border[2][a][3])	2,180 ft (664.4 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	3,271,616[4]
• Rank	30th
• Density	36.53/sq mi (14.12/km2)
• Rank	41st
• Median household income	$60,365[5]
• Income rank	11th
Demonym	Utahn or Utahan[6]
Language
• Official language	English
Time zone	UTC−07:00 (Mountain)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−06:00 (MDT)
USPS abbreviation	UT
ISO 3166 code	US-UT
Traditional abbreviation	Ut.
Latitude	37° N to 42° N
Longitude	109°3′ W to 114°3′ W
Website	utah.gov

State symbols of Utah

List of state symbols
Flag of Utah
Seal of Utah
Coat of arms of Utah
Emblem	Beehive[7]
Living insignia
Bird	California gull
Fish	Bonneville cutthroat trout[8]
Flower	Sego lily
Grass	Indian ricegrass
Insect	Western honey bee
Mammal	Rocky Mountain elk
Reptile	Gila monster
Tree	Quaking aspen
Inanimate insignia
Dance	Square dance
Dinosaur	Utahraptor
Firearm	Browning M1911
Fossil	Allosaurus
Gemstone	Topaz
Mineral	Copper[8]
Rock	Coal[8]
Tartan	Utah State Centennial Tartan
State route marker
State quarter
Released in 2007
Lists of United States state symbols

Utah (/ˈjuːtɑː/ YOO-tah, /ˈjuːtɔː/ ^ⓘ YOO-taw) is a landlocked state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to its northeast, Idaho to its north, and Nevada to its west. In comparison to all the U.S. states and territories, Utah, with a population of just over three million, is the 13th largest by area, the 30th most populous, and the 11th least densely populated. Urban development is mostly concentrated in two regions: the Wasatch Front in the north-central part of the state, which includes the state capital, Salt Lake City, and is home to roughly two-thirds of the population; and Washington County in the southwest, which has somewhat more than 180,000 residents.^[9] Most of the western half of Utah lies in the Great Basin.

Utah has been inhabited for thousands of years by various indigenous groups, such as the ancient Puebloans, the Navajo, and the Ute. The first Europeans to arrive - in the mid-16th century - were the Spanish. Because of the region's challenging geography and harsh climate, it only became a peripheral part of New Spain (and later of Mexico). Even while it was Mexican territory, many of the Utah region’s earliest European settlers were from the United States; notable among these were Mormons who were fleeing marginalization and persecution in the United States and arrived via the so-called Mormon Trail. In 1848, after the Mexican–American War, the region was annexed by the U.S., becoming part of the Utah Territory, which included what later became Colorado and Nevada. Disputes between the dominant Mormon community and the federal government delayed Utah's admission as a state: in 1896, after it agreed to outlaw polygamy, it was admitted as the 45th state.

People from Utah are known as Utahns.^[10] Slightly over half of all Utahns are Mormons, the vast majority of whom are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), which has its world headquarters in Salt Lake City;^[11] Utah is the only state where a majority of the population belongs to a single church.^[12] The LDS Church greatly influences Utahn culture, politics, and daily life,^[13] though since the 1990s the state has become more religiously diverse as well as secular.

Utah has a highly diversified economy, with major sectors including transportation, education, information technology and research, government services, mining, multi-level marketing, and tourism.^[14] Utah has been one of the fastest growing states since 2000,^[15] with the 2020 U.S. census confirming the fastest population growth in the nation since 2010. St. George was the fastest-growing metropolitan area in the United States from 2000 to 2005.^[16] Utah ranks among the overall best states in metrics such as healthcare, governance, education, and infrastructure.^[17] It has the 12th-highest median average income and the least income inequality of any U.S. state. Over time and influenced by climate change, droughts in Utah have been increasing in frequency and severity,^[18] putting a further strain on Utah's water security and impacting the state's economy.^[19]

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