Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City, Utah
State capital
City of Salt Lake City[1]
Clockwise from top: The skyline in July 2011, Utah State Capitol, TRAX, Union Pacific Depot, the Block U, the City-County Building, and the Salt Lake Temple
Flag Seal
Nickname:  “The Crossroads of the West”
Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap Interactive map of Salt Lake City
Coordinates: 40°45′39″N 111°53′28″WCoordinates: 40°45′39″N 111°53′28″W
Country	United States
State	Utah
County	Salt Lake
Platted	1857; 165 years ago[2]
Named for	Great Salt Lake
Government
• Type	Strong Mayor–council
• Mayor	Erin Mendenhall (D)
Area [3]
• City	110.81 sq mi (286.99 km2)
• Land	110.34 sq mi (285.77 km2)
• Water	0.47 sq mi (1.22 km2)
Elevation	4,327 ft (1,288 m)
Population  (2020)[4]
• City	199,723
• Rank	122nd in the United States 1st in Utah
• Density	1,797.52/sq mi (701.84/km2)
• Urban	1,021,243 (US: 42nd)
• Metro	1,257,936 (US: 47th)
• CSA	2,606,548 (US: 22nd)
Demonym	Salt Laker[5]
Time zone	UTC−7 (Mountain)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−6
ZIP Codes	show ZIP Codes[6]
Area codes	801, 385
FIPS code	49-67000[7]
GNIS feature ID	1454997[8]
Major airport	Salt Lake City International Airport
Website	Salt Lake City Government

Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, as well as the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 199,723 in 2020,^[10] the city is the core of the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which had a population of 1,257,936 at the 2020 census. Salt Lake City is further situated within a larger metropolis known as the Salt Lake City–Ogden–Provo Combined Statistical Area, a corridor of contiguous urban and suburban development stretched along a 120-mile (190 km) segment of the Wasatch Front, comprising a population of 2,606,548 (as of 2018 estimates),^[11] making it the 22nd largest in the nation. It is also the central core of the larger of only two major urban areas located within the Great Basin (the other being Reno, Nevada).

Salt Lake City was founded July 24, 1847, by early pioneer settlers, led by Brigham Young, who were seeking to escape persecution they had experienced while living farther east. The Mormon pioneers, as they would come to be known, entered a semi-arid valley and immediately began planning and building an extensive irrigation network which could feed the population and foster future growth. Salt Lake City’s street grid system is based on a standard compass grid plan, with the southeast corner of Temple Square (the area containing the Salt Lake Temple in downtown Salt Lake City) serving as the origin of the Salt Lake meridian. Owing to its proximity to the Great Salt Lake, the city was originally named Great Salt Lake City. In 1868, the word “Great” was dropped from the city’s name.^[12]

Immigration of international members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, mining booms, and the construction of the first transcontinental railroad initially brought economic growth, and the city was nicknamed “The Crossroads of the West”. It was traversed by the Lincoln Highway, the first transcontinental highway, in 1913. Two major cross-country freeways, I-15 and I-80, now intersect in the city. The city also has a belt route, I-215.

Salt Lake City has developed a strong tourist industry based primarily on skiing and outdoor recreation. It hosted the 2002 Winter Olympics. It is known for its politically progressive and diverse culture, which stands at contrast with the rest of the state’s conservative leanings.^[13] It is home to a significant LGBT community and hosts the annual Utah Pride Festival.^[14] It is the industrial banking center of the United States.^[15] Salt Lake City and the surrounding area are also the location of several institutions of higher education including the state’s flagship research school, the University of Utah. Sustained drought in Utah has more recently strained Salt Lake City’s water security and caused the Great Salt Lake level drop to record low levels,^[16][17] and impacting the state’s economy, of which the Wasatch Front area anchored by Salt Lake City constitutes 80%.^[18]