Salt Lake City Utah: Little Known Facts and Tourist Trivia

If you are planning to visit or relocate to Salt Lake City Utah like we did, you might be amazed at the little known facts and tourist trivia about the Beehive State. The beehive symbolizes thrift and industry in Utah. The name Utah, meaning people of the mountains, comes from the Native American Ute Indian Tribe, also responsible for the names of the Uinta mountain range and Wasatch mountain range near Salt Lake City. Wasatch means, "low place in a high mountain."

Utah mountain peaks are the tallest in the country, on average. The average elevation of the highest peaks in Utah counties is 11,222 feet with an average annual snowfall of 500 inches. Utah's 14 Alpine ski resorts have the reputation of the world's greatest powder because the inland location has unusually dry snow. During WWII, paratroopers trained on the Alta ski center slopes located about 15 miles south of Salt Lake City.

Spring Flowers, Christmas Lights, and Family History at Salt Lake Temple Square
801-240-2534
50 W North Temple
Salt Lake City, UT 84111

Forbes Magazine listed Salt Lake Temple Square as the 16^th most visited attraction in America. The Salt Lake Temple Square has thousands of spring flowers in bloom from late April to early May. Among my favorites are the hyacinths, tulips, daffodils and irises. Each year, hundreds of volunteers remove thousands of tulip bulbs from the ground to preserve them for the next season and then replant them when the time is right.

Check out my personal digital photo album:
Salt Lake Temple Spring Flowers: Hyacinth Heaven

At Christmas, the Salt Lake Temple Square is adorned with over 300,000 Christmas lights accenting the many holiday spiritual and nativity ground scenes. I have never seen anything so spectacular at Christmas. Thousands of visitors walk the streets and the grounds, enjoying caroling and decorations while strolling through the snow. It is a scene right out of a Thomas Kinkade holiday painting.

Check out my personal digital photo album:
Salt Lake Temple Square Christmas Lights: A Hallelujah Holiday

The Salt Lake Temple Square is home to the worlds largest family history library of it's kind. The Family History Library Building of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is open to the general public. You can also search millions of family genealogy records from the Family History Library online at FamilySearch.org.

Sundance Film Festival and Utah Motion Picture Trivia

Sundance Film Festival is considered one of the world's top five film festivals. Most people think Robert Redford founded the Sundance Film Festival, but in 1985, four years after Redford started The Sundance Institute, he inherited The Utah/United States Film Festival that debuted in 1978. It wasn't until 1991 that the Park City Utah event would be officially renamed to the Sundance Film Festival. I volunteered at Sundance Film Festival for two years and they are always looking for good people. Visit the Sundance Film Festival web site for more information.

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Sundance Film Festival in Park City Utah: A Photo Tour From A Volunteer

The Heber Valley Railroad located near Sundance Ski Resort outside Provo, still operates tours using a steam engine and ten-passenger rail car and has been used in over 31 motion pictures in the last 20 years. Kanab is called Utah's Little Hollywood because of the large number of films made in the area. It is centrally located between 3 national parks, 3 national monuments, 2 state parks, 2 national forests, and a Bureau of Land Management wilderness area. The television show, Touched by an Angel was filmed in Utah.

Moab Utah is known as one of the world's ultimate mountain biking playground and is the film location for Indian Jones and the Last Crusade, The Greatest Story Ever Told, Thelma and Louise, and City Slickers II. Of course, Utah is proud to be the film location for the hugely popular High School Musical films.

Fishing and Earthquakes Don't Mix

Utah is the 11^th largest state in the U.S. and the federal government owns 65% of the state's land. The Great Salt Lake, covering more than a million acres, is 75 miles long and 35 miles wide. It is the 37^th largest lake in the world and the largest lake west of the Mississippi River. There are 11,000 miles of fishing streams and 147,000 acres of lakes and reservoirs in Utah. Don't be alarmed if you shake, rattle and roll while fishing, since a huge fault runs right down the center of Utah causing frequent small earthquakes in the region. Scientists predict that the Salt Lake City region is due for the big one.

Oil, Minerals, and Restaurants Are Abundant in Utah

When you mention Utah to people in other states, most automatically think the state is all Mormons and mountains. Actually, Utah and Salt Lake City have about 50% non-Mormons and have desert-like areas where oil and minerals are abundant. The richest hole on earth, filled with copper and gold, is located just south of Salt Lake City. One of the largest oil deposits in the country has also been found in Utah. For more information about Utah and Salt Lake City demographics, natural resources, and social life, visit these sites:

Best Kept Secret of Salt Lake City: It's Not Just For Mormons Anymore

Richest Hole on Earth is in Salt Lake City Utah

Biggest Oil Strike in 30 Years Discovered in Utah

Best Irish Pubs and Restaurants in Salt Lake City Utah

Best Sports Bars in Salt Lake City Utah

Guadalahonkey's: Best Mexican Food in Salt Lake City

Sources:

Utah Facts and Trivia
http://www.50states.com/facts/utah.htm

Great Salt Lake Facts
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/great-salt-lake-facts.html

A Brief History of Sundance
http://archives.cnn.com/2000/SHOWBIZ/Movies/01/21/sundance.preview/index.history.html

Best Kept Secret of Salt Lake City: It's Not Just For Mormons Anymore
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/731687/best_kept_secret_of_salt_lake_city.html?cat=16

Nevada Earthquake Shook My Salt Lake City Apartment
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/615079/the_wells_nevada_earthquake_shook_my.html?cat=54

Richest Hole on Earth is in Utah
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/312312/the_richest_hole_on_earth_utahs_kennecott.html?cat=10

Digital Photo Album of Salt Lake Temple Square Christmas Lights
http://www.associatedcontent.com/slideshow/10610/salt_lake_city_temple_square_christmas.html?cat=7

Digital Photo Album of Salt Lake Temple Spring Flowers
http://www.associatedcontent.com/slideshow/4033/hyacinth_heaven.html?cat=6

Digital Photo Album of Sundance Film Festival
http://www.associatedcontent.com/slideshow/3069/sentiments_of_sundance.html?cat=2

Ultimate Mountain Biking Playground in Moab Utah
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1683175/ultimate_mountain_biking_and_mountain.html?cat=16

World's Largest Family History Library is in Salt Lake City Utah
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1476750/worlds_largest_family_history_library.html?cat=37

Best Irish Pubs and Restaurants in Salt Lake City Utah
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1455205/best_irish_pubs_and_irish_restaurants.html?cat=22

Oil in Utah
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/914947/biggest_oil_strike_in_30_years_may.html?cat=3

Best Sports Bars in Salt Lake City Utah
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/738241/best_sports_bars_to_watch_the_nba_playoffs.html?cat=22

Davanza's: Best Tacos and Pizza in Salt Lake City and Park City
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/570255/davanzas_old_town_the_best_tacos_and.html?cat=22

Guadalahonkey's: Best Mexican Food in Salt Lake City
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/224591/guadalahonkeys_rated_utahs_best_mexican.html?cat=8