Salt Lake County, Utah

Salt Lake County is a located in the  of. As of 2005, the population was estimated at 948,172, up from a figure of 898,387. In November 2006, the population was estimated to surpass 1,000,000. It was named for the nearby. Its and largest city is. It occupies a valley,, as well as parts of the surrounding mountains, the to the west and the  to the east. In addition, the is partially within the northwestern section of the county. The county is famous for its s, and Salt Lake City hosted the.

19th century
The area that was to become Salt Lake County was settled in when  of  (the LDS or Mormon Church), fleeing persecution in the East, arrived in the  after traveling through. , their leader, declared "This is the right place" after seeing the valley, which was at the time arid, dry, and unpromising. However, they soon developed a flourishing, self-sufficient city,, through extensive techniques. Thousands of Mormons from around the world followed in the next several decades. The county was officially formed on, , with just over 11,000 residents recorded.

Settlements were scattered across the valley and beyond, and the territorial capital was moved to Great Salt Lake City in, when the name was subsequently shortened to Salt Lake City. In, when the was declared in rebellion after governor Brigham Young refused to step down for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' , the government sent troops to install a new governor and keep watch over the place. However, the valley was abandoned and the troops set up to the south in. In, was established on the eastern bench, near the current site of the , to make sure that the territory maintained its allegiance during the.

, who was the leader of the garrison stationed at Fort Douglas, was thoroughly and sent out parties to scout for mineral resources in the nearby mountains to encourage non-Mormons to settle there. During the late, mines were established in the mountains, most notably around. Exploiting the mineral wealth was difficult until the arrived in. The, which contains vast deposits of and , was the most notable of the mines that was established. The mine, located in the in the southwest portion of the county, attracted thousands of settlers to the narrow canyon. At its peak, the city of contained 20,000 residents all crowded along the steep walls of the canyon, and natural disasters were a frequent occurrence. By the early, most of the mines in the county had closed. However, the Bingham Canyon Mine kept on expanding, and today is among the largest in the world.

20th century
After the railroad came to the county, the population began to expand more rapidly and non-Mormons began to settle in the city. During the early, heavy industry began to come to the valley as well, diversifying its economy, and a trolley system was in place in what are now Salt Lake City and. The trolley system was mostly dismantled by as s outpaced  across the country. Throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the east side of the valley began to be heavily-settled. In, , a massive military installation created for , was created in what is now and  on the western side of the valley. After the camp was closed in, the land was sold off and rapid settlement of the area began. Other major defensive installations were set up along the and in the  during World War II, further encouraging growth and boosting the economy. In the nation-wide boom of the late, , and early , such cities as , , , and much of the east side of the valley grew rapidly.

The airport was upgraded to international status in the and became. Like all of the industrialized cities throughout the nation, Salt Lake City faced inner-city decay beginning especially in the, while the suburbs grew tremendously. Growth in such cities as, , and what would become was phenomenal in the  and. Huge residential tracts were created through the center of the valley, and within ten years, the entire area had been converted from farmland into sprawling bedroom communities to Salt Lake City. was created from the merger of the three unincorporated cities of Granger, Hunter, and Chesterfield in. All was not well in every part of the valley, however. Not only was Salt Lake City facing urban decay, but the cities that provided residences for the miners in Bingham Canyon were torn down in the and. The city of Bingham Canyon was completely torn down and swallowed up in the mine by, and the dismantling of in  completed the process. The only remaining mining town in the county is, located southwest of , with approximately 800 residents.

Beginning especially in the 90's, rapid growth shifted further south and west. Old farmland and pastureland was swallowed up by new residential development. The cities of, , , , and are some of the fastest growing cities in the state. During the 90's, Salt Lake City was able to partially reverse the trend of inner-city decay, and its population grew for the first time in 40 years. As the county's population approaches 1 million, one of the main issues in the county is. Only a few small rural areas remain in the far west, and in the northwest and southwest corners of the valley. All other natural vegetation, except for the trees growing around streams, has been almost completely replaced with structures and roads. Other issues facing the county today include and transportation.

Economy
The region's economy used to revolve around LDS services and mining. While both are still important to the economy, they have declined in significance greatly since the. Since, defense industries in the region have also played a very important role in the economy due to its strategic central location in the , as well as the largely uninhabited and desolate to the west.

Beginning in, with the opening of , skiing and other winter sports (as well as summer sports), have become a major force in the economy. In, Salt Lake City won the bid to host the. The 2002 Olympics boosted tourism and the economy, and helped to dramatically improve transportation throughout the county. Transportation has been a major focus, as the county continues to rapidly grow in population. It was drastically improved beginning in the late 80s and through the 90s, and continues to this day. Beginning in the, a more service-oriented economy began to develop, and information technologies began to arrive in the 80s and 90s. Although this business has waned in recent years, information and computer companies, such as, are still a thriving business here.

Law and government
Salt Lake County is unique in that it has a partisan county. The current county mayor is, a. Former county mayors include and  (Workman's deputy mayor; Sworn in as acting mayor in September 2004 when Nancy Workman was placed on paid administrative leave).

County council
Besides a mayor, Salt Lake County also has a. Members include three elected and six elected by. Council members from districts serve four-year staggered terms in partisan elections while at-large members serve six years.

At-large council members

 * Randy Horiuchi
 * Jenny Wilson
 * Jim Bradley

District council members

 * Joe Hatch &mdash; 1st district
 * Michael Jensen &mdash; 2nd district (council )
 * David Wilde &mdash; 3rd district
 * Mark Crockett &mdash; 4th district
 * Cortlund G. Ashton &mdash; 5th district
 * Marvin Hendrickson &mdash; 6th district

Education
School districts in Salt Lake County include:


 * &mdash; broad district sprawling across, , , and other municipalities; about 70,000 students
 * &mdash; largest district in state, located in such cities as, , and , among others; about 73,000 students
 * &mdash; in portions of ; about 6,000 students
 * &mdash; within the boundaries of ; about 24,000 students

In addition, the operates 8 elementary schools, 1 middle school, 2 high schools, and 2 preschools in Salt Lake County.
 * in . JMCHS is the largest Catholic high school in Utah.
 * Juan Diego Catholic High School in

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 2,092 (808 ). 1,910 km² (737 sq mi) of it is land and 182 km² (70 sq mi) of it (8.72%) is water.

Perhaps the most dominating physical feature in Salt Lake County are the in the eastern portion of the county, famous for both summer and winter activities. The snow in the region is often coined the "Greatest Snow on Earth" for its soft, powdery texture, and led to winning the bid for the. In Salt Lake County there are four ski resorts;, (in ), , and  (in ). Hiking and camping are especially popular summer activities. Marking the western portion of the county are the. These two mountain ranges together, along with the much smaller to the south of the valley,  delimit, which is also flanked on the northwest by the.

All of the entrances to the valley are narrow. These include leading into  to the northeast,  leading into, also to the northeast, the space between the Wasatch Mountains and the Great Salt Lake leading into  to the north, the "Point of the Mountain" leading to  to the south, and a space between the Oqiurrh Mountains and the Great Salt Lake leading to  to the northwest. On the north and east benches, the houses sometimes climb as far as halfway up the mountain, and new communities are also being constructed on the steeper southern and western slopes. Rapid residential construction continues in the west-central, southwest, and southern portions of the valley. In the far west, southwest, and northwest, rural areas still exist, but rapid growth threatens what remains of the natural environment in the valley.

Salt Lake County borders to the north,  to the northeast,  to the east,  to the west,  to the southeast, and  to the south.

Climate
The Salt Lake Valley receives, on average, approximately 15 in (380 mm) of precipitation annually, usually with more on the east side and less on the west side, as most storms come from the. This leaves much of the west side in the rain shadow of the. Up to 20 in (500 mm) is received on the benches. Most of this precipitation is received in. The is dry, with the majority of precipitation arriving from the  that rises from the south. Short, localized, and sometimes dry s are usually associated with the monsoon. s and s may be experienced during these thunderstorms as well. Precipitation is heaviest in spring and late fall, while summer is the driest season.

The valley receives 55 in (140 cm) or more of snow in a year, with up to 100 in (250 cm) received on the benches. Most of the snow falls from mid-November through March, although snow has been recorded as early as late September and as late as mid-May. The mountains receive up to 500 in (1,270 cm) of light, dry, fluffy snow and up to 55 in (1400 mm) of precipitation annually. The dry snow is often considered good for skiing, contributing to the four ski resorts in the county. Snow usually falls from early October through May. The heavy snow totals can be attributed to the, where precipitation is intensified by the warm, unfrozen waters of the Great Salt Lake. The dry snow is attributed to the low humidity of the region.

During winter, s are a common problem. The valley will experience, , , and cool temperatures while the surrounding mountains enjoy warmer temperatures and sunshine. This can cause some melting snow in the mountains and unhealthy air quality and low visibility in the valley. This weather event lasts from a few days to over a month in extreme cases, and is caused by a very strong high pressure positioned over the. Only a storm can mix up the atmosphere enough to force out the high pressure that causes the inversion.

Transportation
runs most of the length of the county, splitting off from near the border with  to the north, and running southward to north, mostly as State Street. I-15 enters from Davis County in the north and continues nearly straight south before entering at the "Point of the Mountain." enters from to the west and, after passing, briefly merges with I-15 before splitting east again and entering  through. Emerging from the southern I-80/I-15 split is, also known locally as the 21st South Freeway. It runs west from the interchange, marking the border between and Salt Lake City before being downgraded to an expressway and passing through, eventually terminating at I-80 near Tooele County. This provides an alternative to I-80 when needed. enters from Davis County paralleling I-15 before curving east, intersecting I-15 in. From there, it turns north, parallel to I-15 and the Wasatch Range, before ending at I-80 at the mouth of. I-215 provides an alternate route to I-15 and I-80 and also as access to many of Salt Lake City's suburbs. , known locally as Bangerter Highway, is an expressway that begins at the airport and runs down the west side of the valley, ending at I-15 in.

A light rail system, known as, is operated by the (UTA) and runs from  (formerly the Delta Center) in downtown Salt Lake City south to Sandy, and east to the. Several expansions to the west side of the county, including the airport, are planned for the future. A commuter rail line,, began construction in to operate between  and , a northern suburb of. UTA also operates bus routes to nearly every location in the valley and routes to the ski resorts in winter. The section of the  project is eventually planned to intersect with I-215 near the northern border of the county. The is a freeway planned to be constructed down the far west side of the valley. It is part of the Legacy Highway project.  There is also a private effort to restore a heritage style rail trolley to connect the TRAX station at 2100 South to the Sugar House Business District two miles east. The same group is also proposing a trolley connection from the TRAX station in to.

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 898,387 people, 295,141 households, and 213,977 families residing in the county. The was 470/km² (1,218/sq mi). There were 310,988 housing units at an average density of 163/km² (422/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 86.34%, 1.06% or , 0.88% , 2.56% , 1.23% , 5.36% from , and 2.57% from two or more races. 11.89% of the population were or  of any race. The top 5 Ethnic Groups in Salt Lake County are:
 * -24%]
 * -11%
 * -8%
 * -6%
 * -5%

By 2005 Non-Hispanic whites were 78.1% of Salt Lake County's population. African-Americans were now 1.3% of the population. Native Americans were still 0.9% of the population. Asians were 2.9% of the population, while Pacific Islanders were 1.3%. Latinos now were 14.7% of the population. The Census' 2005 American Community Surcey indicated that 11.4% of Salt Lake County's population living in households (as opposed to group arrangements such as college dormitories) spoke Spanish at home.

In 2000 there were 295,141 households out of which 40.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.80% were living together, 10.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.50% were non-families. 20.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.00 and the average family size was 3.53.

In the county, the population was spread out with 30.50% under the age of 18, 12.90% from 18 to 24, 30.60% from 25 to 44, 18.00% from 45 to 64, and 8.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females there were 101.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $48,373, and the median income for a family was $54,470. Males had a median income of $36,953 versus $26,105 for females. The for the county was $20,190. About 5.70% of families and 8.00% of the population were below the, including 9.00% of those under age 18 and 5.50% of those age 65 or over.

By 2006 the county population had risen 8.9%to 978,701. This was a rise below the rate for the state overall.

Cities and town
Fifteen cities and one town (Alta) have been established in the county:
 * , incorporated in
 * , incorporated in
 * , incorporated in
 * , incorporated in
 * , incorporated in
 * , incorporated in
 * , incorporated in
 * , incorporated in
 * , incorporated in
 * , incorporated in
 * , incorporated in
 * , incorporated in
 * , incorporated in
 * , incorporated in
 * , incorporated in
 * , incorporated in

Unincorporated communities
The county has created "" and "community councils" in unincorporated areas, largely for planning purposes only. Some are also s (CDPs, marked with an asterisk below), but the boundaries set by the and the county do not always coincide.

Townships:
 * (includes, , and  CDPs)*
 * (includes, , and  CDPs)*
 * (includes, , and  CDPs)*
 * (includes, , and  CDPs)*
 * (includes, , and  CDPs)*

Community Councils:
 * Sandy Hills and Willow Canyon ( of )
 * Sandy Hills and Willow Canyon ( of )
 * Sandy Hills and Willow Canyon ( of )
 * Sandy Hills and Willow Canyon ( of )