Highlighted Community: Salt Lake City

 

Edit Post

Preview(opens in a new tab)

Add title

From the Pueblo people, the Utes, and to Brigham Young who said "this is the right place" the land that is now Salt Lake City has fascinated people for centuries. This is Highlighted Community Salt Lake City, Utah. Since Salt Lake City (SLC for short) is such a vibrant and large place so this post will only provide a highlight of what the city and surrounding areas have to offer. If I went into much greater detail then this post will be 5,000+ words and no one is likely trying to read all of that.

Latitude/Longitude: Salt Lake City sits at around 40 degrees North Latitude and 119 degrees W Longitude. It has about the same latitude as Indianapolis, Indiana. SLC sits at the intersection of two of the most important interstates in the country. Interstate 80 that connects San Francisco to New York City and Interstate 15 that connects Los Angeles with Canada. Interstate 15 is also a vital connection to Las Vegas and several National Parks.

Figure 1: Map of Salt Lake City and surrounding areas.

Geology: Salt Lake City has had a diverse geologic history which has seen it range from being covered by an ocean, being in an intense hot desert with very tall sand dunes, to being covered by a lake. Most recently Salt Lake City as covered by Lake Bonneville, which was an extension of the Great Salt Lake during the recent Ice Age. The ancient coastline is still preserved and that area makes up what is known as the bench. The bench is a raised area of about 4,600 feet to 5,550 feet that covers the eastern side of the city. Salt Lake City itself mostly sits at about 4,200-4,300 feet in elevation. As long as you avoid the inversion you can see a very clear view of the Wasatch Mountain range and the Oquirrh Mountains a privately owned mountain range with a lot of copper resources.

Climate/Weather: Salt Lake City, Utah gets pretty much all types of weather. Snow, wind, cold winter days, hot summer days, thunderstorms, rain, ice, and even an occasional severe storm. In 1999, an EF-2 tornado struck the downtown area causing 1 fatality and around 172 million dollars in damage.

Figure 2: Video coverage of the 1999 tornado.

History:

https://utah.com/salt-lake-city/history

For more information on Salt Lake City's history click on that link.

Salt Lake City Attractions:

TEMPLE SQUARE:

Figure 3: Temple Square in downtown SLC

Figure 4: Another Temple Square view

Temple Square is both a historical district and the headquarters of the church of LDS. This is the temple that holds a special place in the heart of Mormon's. Many women who practice the Mormon faith want to get married at the temple. Temple Square was the symbol in the Salt Lake Valley that lets people know that is was the land and headquarters of the Mormon faith. Salt Lake City is laid out on a grid system and Temple Square is the center point. If you are on 100 East and 700 South that means that you are one block east of the temple and seven blocks south of the temple.

CAPITAL HILL/UTAH CAPITOL:

Figure 5: Utah's capital building and Capital Hill

FOOTHILLS/LIVING ROOM TRAIL:

Figure 6: Views from the Wasatch foothills on the east side of Salt Lake City looking out into the city and the Oquirrh Mountains.

The foothills on the east side of Salt Lake City are extremely scenic. You see mountains, foothills, canyons, and some really nice views of Salt Lake City as long as you don't have an inversion. One popular hiking trail is the Living Room Trail which is about 2 miles one-way that is a moderate intensity trail. Up top you have rock arrangements that resemble a couch that you would sit on in your living room with a view of Salt Lake City. If the visibility is great you can even see the Great Salt Lake.

NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM OF UTAH

Figure 7: Natural History Museum of Utah and some of the exhibits. Highly recommended.

RED BUTTE GARDEN:

Figure 8: Images of Red Butte Garden and Amphitheater

Owned by the University of Utah the Red Butte Garden is part botanical garden, hiking/nature walking pathway, museum, and even an event gathering place. This is a highly recommended stop if you are in the Salt Lake City area. Not just a garden but a variety of activities such as bird watching, nature walks, concerts, educational trips, etc.

SUGARHOUSE:

Figure 9: A park in the Sugarhouse area a very-hip neighborhood in the Southeastern part of Salt Lake City

OTHER DOWNTOWN AREAS:

Figure 10: A downtown mall with a Southwest themed decor. A look at a downtown street and the Vivint Arena which is home of the NBA team the Utah Jazz

Final Thoughts

This is just a highlight of what the general Salt Lake City, UT area has to offer. There are several more museums and sights such as the Church History Museum, Clark Planetarium, Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Pioneer Memorial Museum, and many more. Along with several vibrant neighborhoods, restaurants, music venues, and many more. Salt Lake City, UT also has its own rail system that is very impressive for a mid-sized metro area. I found myself saying, why doesn't Nashville or Louisville have one of these several times. You can actually do most of Salt Lake City without having to have a car because the bus/train system is so well developed. That is something that Salt Lake City residents should take great pride in. All in all one of my all-time favorite cities that I have been to in the USA/Canada so far. Friendly people, wonderful scenery, wonderful public transportation, overall pretty safe, and a lot of culture. This is far from being the conservative religious city that people think it is. Enjoy some more pictures and I will be back doing some Highlighted Communities with a few episodes coming up that will cover varying places across Illinois, Kentucky, and Tennessee

Figure 11: The Utah beehive symbol. Utah is the beehive state the History link above goes into why that is the case.

Figure 12: Liberty Park

Figure 13: Walking down I believe State Street

If you like this post check out my other Northern Utah Highlighted Community series posts. Covering Alta/Snowbird, Park City, and the Great Salt Lake/Salt Flats