Utah is a remarkably colorful and adventure-filled state located in the Mountain West region of the United States. It is landlocked and bordered by Colorado to the east, Wyoming to the northeast, Idaho to the north, Nevada to the west, and Arizona to the south. It also touches the state of New Mexico in the infamous “Four Corners” to its southeast. It is the 13th largest state by area with a population of over three million (2022). Its capital city is Salt Lake City. It is an area known as the Great Basin.
Utah was inhabited for thousands of years by various indigenous peoples pre-European contact. It was a common habitation and wandering area by the Pueblo, Navajo, and Ute. The Spanish were the first Europeans to arrive in the area around the 16th century. It was considered a peripheral of New Spain and later Mexico before becoming part of the United States. It was taken over by the Mormons fleeing marginalization and persecution in the United States. After the Mexican-American War of 1848, it was annexed by the United States, becoming part of the Utah Territory which included what is now Nevada and Colorado. Disputes between the Mormons and the Federal Government delayed Utah’s admission as a state only after outlawing polygamy it was admitted in 1896.
