20 Interesting Facts About Salt Lake City

Facts About Salt Lake City

Facts About Salt Lake City

  • On average, Salt Lake gets 20 inches of rain per year in addition to 54 inches of snow per year. Typically, there are 222 sunny days each year in Salt Lake.
  • The city was originally named “Great Salt Lake City.” The word “great” was dropped from the official name in 1868.
  • Salt Lake lies in a mountain valley with the Wasatch Mountains to the east and north, and the Oquirrh Mountains to the west.
  • Salt Lake City has friendly relations with Trujillo, Peru.
  • Utah is in the Mountain Time Zone and observes Daylight Savings Time.
  • Salt Lake City is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah, as well as the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah.
  • Salt Lake City has an area of 110.4 square miles (286 km2).
  • Salt Lake City was the host of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games.
  • Salt Lake City was founded in 1847 by early pioneer settlers, led by Brigham Young, who was seeking to escape persecution they had experienced while living farther east.
  • The elevation of Salt Lake City is 4,330 feet, above sea level.
  • Salt Lake City is home to Loftus Novelty, the United States’ leading manufacturer of rubber chickens.
  • Salt Lake City is twinned with the following sister cities: Chernivtsi, Ukraine; Izhevsk, Russia; Keelung, Taiwan; Matsumoto, Japan & Turin, Italy.
  • The city is in the northeast corner of the Salt Lake Valley surrounded by the Great Salt Lake to the northwest, the steep Wasatch Range to the east, and the Oquirrh Mountains to the west. Its encircling mountains contain several narrow canyons, including City Creek, Emigration, Millcreek, and Parley’s which border the eastern city limits.
  • In 2020, the city experienced a 5.7 magnitude earthquake.
  • The Salt Lake Valley floor is the ancient lakebed of Lake Bonneville, which existed at the end of the last Ice Age.
  • The largest park in Salt Lake City is This Is the Place Heritage Park, a part of the Utah State Parks system.
  • The Salt Lake City International Airport added a new runway, an international arrivals building, a multi-level parking structure and an 18-hole golf course.
  • In 1952, Colonel Sanders franchised his recipe and restaurant, then called Sanders Court & Cafe, to Pete Harman, a friend from SLC. Harman opened the world’s first Kentucky Fried Chicken.
  • Salt Lake City is home to the Utah Jazz of the NBA, who moved from New Orleans in 1979 and play their home games in Vivint Arena.
  • Salt Lake City is the headquarters of the LDS Church and has many LDS-related sites open to visitors.
Facts About Salt Lake City
Facts About Salt Lake City