Utah, since 1894 a state of the American Union, in the Rocky Mountain region, is nearly rectangular in shape, extending from north to south 350 miles, and from east to west 280 miles, with an area of 84,970 sq. m. It lies in a great plateau region, having an average elevation of 5000 feet above the level of the sea. The Wahsatch Mountains, running north and south, and their eastern spur the Uintah Mountains, divide the territory into two widely differing portions. The division lying to the north and west of these ranges belongs to the great interior basin of the continent, from which no water escapes except by evaporation. The eastern and southern sections form a part of the basin of the Colorado River, and are noted for their lofty and broken plateaus and deep cañons. The greatest elevation is attained in the Uintah range—nearly 14,000 feet. Mounts Nebo and Baldy, the highest points of the Wahsatch range, are about 12,000 feet high. In the basin region there are some lower and parallel ranges having a general north and south trend. The prevailing westerly winds are robbed of their moisture by the lofty peaks of the Wahsatch range, and the streams which flow from the mountains find their way toward the west, ultimately discharging their waters into Great Salt Lake, or into some of the smaller saline lakes or sinks of the desert. In the valleys lying among the lateral spurs along the western side of the Wahsatch range irrigation is not difficult. On the east, however, the towering plateaus which overhang stupendous cañons have but a slight and irregular rainfall, and except in a few favoured valleys agriculture is almost an impossibility. Portions of the Colorado basin are nevertheless, especially in the rainy season, well adapted for grazing. Even in the valleys along the western base of the mountains the success of irrigation varies in different years. The streams during the spring and summer are fed by the melting of the snow on the mountain summits. If the snow chances to fall early in the winter it becomes compact, and the melting is retarded. A fall of snow late in the season lies loosely on the mountain sides, and the water reaches the valleys before the crops are ready to receive its full benefit. Much of the soil in the west is extremely fertile, but, as it lacks the necessary element of moisture on account of the insufficient altitude of the surrounding mountains, large areas of land seem destined to remain unproductive desert wastes. Great Salt Lake (q.v.), with its extraordinary percentage of saline matter in solution, is but the remnant of a vast body of fresh water which once covered western Utah.
Utah, which formed a part of the territory acquired by the United States from Mexico in 1848, had been colonised by the Mormons in 1847 under Brigham Young (q.v.), to whose administrative ability the early development of this region is in a great measure due (see MORMONS). In 1850 a territorial government was organised, and in 1868 the boundaries of the territory were definitely defined as embracing the present area of the state. Meanwhile a rapid increase in population was constantly going on—owing largely to the efforts of Mormon missionaries in foreign countries—and the question of Utah's admission to the Union as a state was earnestly agitated. Finally, at the session of the United States Congress for 1893-94, an Enabling Act was passed, under which a constitution was adopted in convention at Salt Lake City (March-May 1895) and ratified by the voters; and by proclamation of President Cleveland, January 4, 1896, Utah was admitted as a state.
The annual product of copper, lead, silver, and gold is valued at more than 11,000,000. There is also a considerable output of coal. Some 5,000,000 are invested in manufacturing and industrial establishments. Besides Salt Lake City, the important towns are Ogden, Provo, and Logan. Pop. (1870) 86,786; (1880) 143,963; (1890) 207,905.
See H. H. Bancroft's History of Utah (1888), and A. Lambourne's Scenic Utah (folio, New York, 1891).