The Wasatch Mountains: Utah’s Backbone
By Dennis Romboy, Deseret Morning News
Full story at: http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,515034392,00.html
Excerpt:
About 80 percent of Utah's 2.2 million residents live along the Wasatch, a Ute Indian word meaning "low place in a high mountain" or "mountain pass."
Wasatch Mountain Facts
Watershed area in Salt Lake County – 199 square miles
Amount of time it takes water to reach homes from the mountains – 24 hours
Average annual water supply from seven Wasatch Front canyons – 152,000 acre-feet
Salt Lake City residents who never spend time in the Wasatch canyons – 13%
Salt Lake City residents who visit the canyons more than 10 times a year – 25%
See also:
Quakes, Slides Top Lists of Perils
By Joe Bauman, Deseret Morning News
http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,515034697,00.html
Excerpt:
The Wasatch Fault runs along the western edge of the Wasatch Mountains, sticking out a bit on either end. It stretches from near the Idaho border to Fayette, Sanpete County, and is divided into several semi-independent segments. It is close enough to Utah's biggest population centers to cause major devastation during a big quake.
See also:
Wasatch Range Part of Rockies
Mountains stretch from Nebo to the Idaho border
By Lynn Arave, Desert Morning News
http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,515034699,00.html
Excerpt:
From Mount Nebo, a mammoth exclamation point on the south end near Nephi, to the craggy Sheep Rock Point at Soda Springs, Idaho, on the north, the rugged Wasatch Mountains span 220 miles as a Western range of the Rocky Mountains… Although the Wasatch is only Utah's fifth-tallest range, it is significant because it creates a watershed and climate that helps sustain about 90 percent of the state's population.
Utah and Alaska tied for youngest populations
Utah and Alaska are tied as the nation’s states with the youngest populations, according to a U.S. Census Bureau estimate being released today. As of July 1, 2003, 15 percent of Utah's 2.35 million residents were ages 5 to 13, and 7 percent were 14 to 17, according to the census.
Texas, Arizona, California and Idaho each followed with a 14 percent elementary-school-age population . . .
. . . Utah's young population isn't its only growing category. The state seems to be attracting more seniors as well. The state ranked fourth in its growth rate among seniors. Utah's 65-plus population grew by nearly 7 percent to 203,007.
Nevada's growth rate for seniors of about 15 percent topped the nation. More at http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,595047953,00.html