Utah Trivia & Tidbits - Page 17

Looking for Utah trivia? Try our list Utah little know facts, tidbits and trivia.

Dubhe, the second brightest of the seven most luminous stars of the Big Dipper, was named the state centennial star when Utah celebrated its 100th anniversary in 1996. Utah’s astronomical symbol is the Beehive Cluster, located in the constellation of Cancer. The star cluster, also known as M44—after 18th-century French astronomer Charles Messier’s universal list of recorded deep-sky objects—is appropriate since the state’s symbol is a beehive.

first appeared: 9/23/2001

Muley Point in southeastern Utah, within the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, offers a dramatic view of the state’s Canyon Country, with Monument Valley in the distance. The road leading to the point winds three miles, climbing 1,000 feet to the top of Cedar Mesa.

first appeared: 9/16/2001

Snow Canyon State Park in the southwest corner of the state has been the movie location for several films, including the 1969 hit Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford.

first appeared: 9/9/2001

Owachomo, in Natural Bridges National Monument near Blanding (pop. 3,162), is the most fragile and elegant of the area’s three bridges created by limestone erosion. The monument, which means “rock mounds” in Hopi, was named for a rounded rock mass nearby.

first appeared: 9/9/2001

Hovenweep National Monument near the Colorado border includes five prehistoric, Puebloan-era villages. Human habitation dates back more than 10,000 years ago, when nomadic people came to the Cajon Mesa to gather food. By A.D. 900, they had settled in the area year-round, growing crops in the fertile soil. By the late 1200s, some 2,500 people populated the Hovenweep area.

first appeared: 9/2/2001

A visit to Promontory is a lesson in history. On May 10, 1869, the golden spikes that were driven here signified one of the most important feats of the 19th century—the completion of the first transcontinental railroad. It was here that officials of the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads met to connect the tracks.

first appeared: 8/26/2001

The first Europeans to explore the area in southern Utah known as the Arizona Strip were Fathers Dominguez and Escalante, who took an exploratory journey in 1776. On their return from the Utah Valley to Santa Fe, they stopped in the Strip for the winter, crossing the Colorado River at what is now called Crossing of the Fathers, in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.

first appeared: 8/19/2001

The Waterpocket Fold is a 100-mile-long wrinkle in the earth’s crust in Capitol Reef National Park near Torrey (pop. 171). This colorful geologic feature extends from Thousand Lakes Mountain to Lake Powell on the Colorado River.

first appeared: 8/12/2001

Ancient rock drawings, cliff dwellings, fossils, natural bridges, and arches can be found in the more than 2,600 square miles of desert known as Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in southern Utah. The monument, established in September 1996, is named for the series of plateaus ascending northward like stair steps.

first appeared: 8/12/2001

The world’s largest natural arch, spanning 320 feet, is Kolob Arch in Zion National Park near Springdale (pop. 275).

first appeared: 8/5/2001

Utah bears the nickname “Crossroads of the West,” because explorers and pioneers began traversing the region as early as the 1700s, when Spaniards and New Mexicans began a search for a shortcut to the West Coast. Notable explorer John C. Fremont created maps and reports of plant and animal life on his explorations through Utah in the 1840s.

first appeared: 7/29/2001

Colorful deposits of mineralized wood and dinosaur bones can be viewed at Escalante State Park near Escalante (pop. 818). The petrified wood is 140 to 160 million years old.

first appeared: 7/29/2001

Arches National Park, near Moab (pop. 4,779), contains more than 2,000 natural sandstone arches. The park’s most famous monument is Delicate Arch.

first appeared: 7/22/2001

Utah’s Canyonlands region offers visitors opportunities for floating, canoeing, kayaking, and white-water rafting on its three rivers—the Colorado, Green, and San Juan.

first appeared: 7/15/2001

The average elevation of the tallest mountains in each of Utah’s counties is 11,222 feet—higher than any other state’s similar elevation average.

first appeared: 7/15/2001

Antelope Island, the largest island in the Great Salt Lake, is home to a herd of approximately 600 bison. The herd was begun in 1863 in an effort to save the species after the animals had been nearly wiped out across the country.

first appeared: 7/8/2001

The 11,362-foot Abajo Peak tops the Abajo Mountains in southeastern Utah, just west of Monticello (pop. 1,806). Trails through the forested mountains provide scenic summer hikes that contrast with the desert region below.

first appeared: 7/1/2001

Eons of erosion have produced the haunting formations of Goblin Valley State Park near Hanksville (pop. 200). An early explorer of the valley, Arthur Chaffin, called the area Mushroom Valley. Chaffin’s photos of the strange formations attracted many visitors.

first appeared: 6/24/2001

Edge of The Cedars State Park at Blanding (pop. 3,162) offers a hint of what life was like from A.D. 750 to 1200. A park museum chronicles various cultures that once flourished in southeastern Utah, including the Anasazi, Navajo, and Ute peoples.

first appeared: 6/17/2001

Kolob Arch inside Zion National Park, near Springdale (pop. 275), is the largest natural arch in the world, spanning 310 feet.

first appeared: 6/10/2001

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