THE   CHANGING   SEASONS   IN   UTAH


Winter lasts from December through March with long periods of snowfall, freezing temperatures and short daylight hours.   December and January are the coldest months of the year.   February sometimes brings a mix of winter and spring weather with sneak peeks of warmer temperatures and more sunshine.   March begins with cold weather at the start of the spring season in Utah.   Early spring is prone to cold fronts, and the arid land has sizable daily temperature differences.   A moderate amount of rain falls in March, and the rest takes the form of snow.   In April, temperatures rise with the advance of the spring.   Measurable snowfall recedes and most ski resorts end operations around mid-April.   Spring blooms, rain showers and increasing sunshine dominate the last two weeks of April.   Typically, May is a very pleasant month, although higher elevations may still have snow.   In June, summer kicks off with enjoyable temperatures, abundant sunshine, and occasional rainfall.   July and August are the warmest months of the year.   These are the driest months with the least amount of rain.   The beginning of September can still bring some hot days, but this is usually when temperatures start to cool.   Leaves start to change color in September and really hit their peak by October.   October, temperatures continue to cool, and light snow begins to fall.   November, temperatures have gone from warm to cold.   Snow begins to accumulate in the mountains and ski resorts tend to open toward the end of the month.





































































































































































































































































































Yes, Utah experiences severe weather.   High winds: Can be life-threatening and damage property - Tornadoes: Utah has had 11 tornadoes F2 or greater since 1943 - Flash floods: Short, heavy bursts of rain can cause flash floods that overwhelm stormwater systems - Winter storms: Utah experiences long periods of snowfall, freezing temperatures, and short daylight hours from December through February.   January is typically the coldest month of the year in Utah.   February in Utah is still firmly entrenched in the winter season.   March ushers in the first hints of spring for Utah, although the vestiges of winter often remain, especially in the mountainous regions.   April in Utah marks a clearer transition into spring, with the land coming alive as temperatures consistently rise.   May in Utah is a celebration of spring in its full glory with green pastures filled with wildflowers.   June is the prelude to the intense summer heat in Utah.   July is the zenith of summer in Utah, bringing with it the highest temperatures of the year.   August in Utah, while continuing the summer narrative, starts hinting at the approaching autumn, with a spike in rainfall due to monsoonal moisture pushing up from the south.   September in Utah marks the delightful onset of autumn, moving away from the intense heat of summer.   October in Utah deepens the embrace of autumn. As the month progresses, colder conditions begin to emerge towards the end of the month, as the spectacle of fall foliage reaches its climax.   November in Utah is a harbinger of winter's chill.   As fall concludes and winter gradually begins its takeover with the first snowfall often gracing the cities and its nearby mountainous regions.   December in Utah is synonymous with the full onset of winter.   Throughout the state, temperatures are cold envelops the state which often finds itself blanketed under mountain snow, transforming into a winter wonderland.   Mountains make great lightning rods as you can see below.   There are approximately 200,000 cloud to ground lightning flashes in Utah annually.   Changes in Utah’s climate and air pollution impact weather patterns as increasing temperatures are directly linked to rising stronger storms.   A warmer atmosphere holds more water leading to more intense rainfall events.























































































Hillside letters or mountain monograms are a form of hill figures common in the Western United States, consisting of large single letters, abbreviations, or messages displayed on hillsides, typically created and maintained by schools or towns.   There are around 70 of these geoglyphs, ranging in size from a few feet to hundreds of feet tall.   Hillside letters form an important part of the western cultural landscape, as they function as symbols of school pride and town identity.   The first three mountain monograms built were constructed to end rivalries between different graduating classes at universities.   Letters have also been erected to celebrate the building of high schools.

In 1906, Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, proposed and surveyed the first three-lettered hillside emblem BYU, but reduced it to the single letter Y after realizing the amount of labor involved.   The following year, the class rivalry of the sophomores and freshmen at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City produced a hillside U on Mount Van Cott overlooking Salt Lake City.   A few years later, high schools began building hillside letters; the first one was a T for Tintic High School in Eureka, Utah, built in 1912.

Y Mountain is a mountain located directly east of Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, United States.   The Slide Canyon, or Y Mountain Trail, leads to a large block Y located 1.1 miles from a parking area at the mountain's base with an elevation gain of 1,074 feet.   This hillside letter was built over 118 years ago as the insignia for BYU.   For years the trail to the Y has been one of the most hiked trails in Utah Valley and provides a scenic view of Provo and Orem, the rest of the many cities in Utah Valley and Utah Lake.   The trail is also regularly used by hikers, bikers, paragliders and hunters to access the backcountry in the Slide Canyon area.

The Block U is a large concrete hillside letter on Mount Van Cott in Salt Lake City, Utah.   The stylized "U" is a logo of the University of Utah and is located just north of the university’s campus.   It is one of the earliest hillside letters.   It sits at 5,200 feet above sea level.   Lights outlining the Block U flash when the Utah Utes athletic teams win and burn steady when they are defeated.   The official name is the "Block U" and is a registered trademark of the University of Utah.   The U is over 100 feet tall and has a surface area of over 5,000 square feet.   It can be seen from many different areas of the Salt Lake Valley.








Satellites in space, hot air baloons, passenger jets, drones, and even the International Space Station fly over Utah on a daily basis.   As they do they capture incredible photos of Utah from high above you.








Utah From Space



Wasatch Mountain Range


San Rafael Swell


Salt Lake City          University Of Utah


The Utah Valley South


Glen Canyon National Recreation Area


Zion National Park


Western US From Space At Night


Great Salt Lake


City Of Moab


Canyonlands National Park


Utah Area At Night


The Utah Valley North


Great Salt Lake & Bonneville Salt Flats


Potash Evaporation Ponds


Capitol Reef National Park


The Filling Of Lake Powell







Alpine 4951    Alta 8560    Altamont 6388    Alton 7041    Altonah 6673    Amalga 4439    American Fork 4606    Aneth 4511    Annabella 5292    Antimony 6450    Apple Valley 4941    Aurora 5200    Avon 5020   


Ballard 5049    Bear River City 4258    Beaver 5902    Beaver Dam 4541    Benjamin 4534    Benson 4429    Beryl 5154    Bicknell 7123    Big Water 4108    Birdseye 5430    Blanding 6106    Blue Creek 4701    Bluebell 6201    Bluff 4324    Bluffdale 4436    Bonanza 5436    Bothwell 4331    Boulder 6699    Bountiful 4373    Brendel 4898    Brian Head 9800    Brigham City 4436    Bryce Canyon City 7664   


Cache Junction 4449    Caineville 4600    Callao 4337    Cannonville 5886    Canyon Glen 5016    Canyons 6800    Castle Dale 5676    Castle Valley 4685    Cedar City 5846    Cedar Creek 5161    Cedar Fort 5085    Cedar Hills 4957    Centerfield 5098    Centerville 4380    Central 5253    Central Valley 5305    Charleston 5440    Circleville 6066    Clarkston 4879    Clawson 5942    Clear Creek (Box Elder) 5640 Clear Creek (Carbon) 8307 Clearfield 4465    Cleveland 5722    Clinton 4393    Coalville 5586    College Ward 4495    Collinston 4432    Colton 7237    Copperton 5500    Corinne 4226    Cornish 4485    Cottonwood Heights 4823    Cove 4557    Croydon 5344   


Dammeron Valley 4600    Daniel 5715    Delle 4258    Delta 4639    Deseret 4590    Deweyville 4337    Draper 4505    Duchesne 5518    Duck Creek Village 8507    Dugway 4842    Dutch John 6371   


East Carbon 6296    Echo 5459    Eden 4947    Edgemont 4793    Elberta 4701    Elk Ridge 5354    Elmo 5692    Elsinore 5351    Elwood 4298    Emery 6253    Enoch 5545    Enterprise 5318    Ephraim 5541    Erda 4344    Escalante 5820    Eskdale 4984    Etna 5223    Eureka 6430   


Fairfield 4879    Fairview 5948    Farmington 4304    Farr West 4265    Fayette 5052    Ferron 5971    Fielding 4373    Fillmore 5134    Fort Duchesne 4990    Fountain Green 5899    Francis 6560    Fremont 7241    Fruit Heights 4698    Fruitland 6624   


Gandy 4951    Garden City 5968    Garland 4340    Garrison 5276    Genola 4600    Glendale 5777    Glenwood 5272    Goshen 4550    Granite 5131    Grantsville 4304    Green River 4075    Greenville 5666    Greenwich 6854    Grouse Creek 5331    Grover 7116    Gunlock 3658    Gunnison 5138   


Halchita 4380    Halls Crossing 3842    Hamilton’s Fort 5568    Hanksville 4288    Hanna 6765    Harrisville 4291    Hatch 6919    Heber 5600    Heber Valley Camp 7730    Helper 5817    Henefer 5337    Henrieville 5997    Herriman 4944    Hideout 6184    Highland 4980    Hildale 5049    Hinckley 4603    Holden 5102    Holladay 4465    Honeyville 4298    Hooper 4242    Howell 4560    Hoytsville 5761    Huntington 5787    Huntsville 4928    Hurricane 3248    Hyde Park 4537    Hyrum 4698   


Ibapah 5282    Independence 7979    Ironton 4564    Ivins 3081   


Jensen 4728    Joseph 5436    Junction 6007   


Kamas 6473    Kanab 4970    Kanarraville 5541    Kanosh 5020    Kaysville 4357    Kearns 4531    Kelton 4229    Kenilworth 6529    Kimball Junction 6400    Kingston 6017    Koosharem 6919   


La Sal 6978    La Verkin 3192    Lake Point 4249    Lake Shore 4521    Lakeside 4222    Laketown 5974    Lakeview 4531    Lapoint 5568    Lawrence 5666    Layton 4350    Leamington 4731    Leeds 3481    Lehi 4564    Leland 4564    Levan 5315    Lewiston 4508    Liberty 5118    Lindon 4642    Loa 7064    Logan 4534    Lucin 4478    Lund 5085    Lyman 7182    Lynn 5948    Lynndyl 4787   


Maeser 5600    Magna 4278    Mammoth 6391    Manila 6348    Manti 5610    Mantua 5200    Mapleton 4731    Marian 6451    Marriott-Slaterville 4252 Marysvale 5863    Mayfield 5538    Meadow 4839    Mendon 4495    Mexican Hat 4245    Middleton 2848    Midvale 4383    Midway 5594    Milford 4967    Millcreek 4285    Mills 4954    Millville 4616    Minersville 5282    Moab 4026    Modena 5476    Mona 4970    Monroe 5394    Montezuma Creek 4423    Monticello 7070    Moore 6247    Morgan 5069    Moroni 5531    Mosida 4557    Mount Carmel Junction 5203    Mount Pleasant 5925    Mount Sterling 4810    Mountain Green 4879    Mountain Home 7005    Murray 4301    Myton 5085   


Naples 5230    Navajo Mountain 6020    Neola 6020    Nephi 5128    New Harmony 5305    Newcastle 5312    Newton 4534    Nibley 4554    North Logan 4692    North Ogden 4501    North Salt Lake 4337    Nunns 5111   


Oak City 5111    Oakley 6517    Oasis 4590    Ogden 4301    Olmstead 4849    Ophir 6496    Orangeville 5777    Orderville 5449    Orem 4774   


Palmyra 4524    Panguitch 6624    Panguitch Lake 8235    Paradise 4902    Paragonah 5879    Park City 6980    Park Valley 5548    Parley Park 6980    Parley Summit 7120    Parowan 6014    Partoun 4800    Payson 4652    Penrose 4268    Peoa 6192    Perry 4367    Petersboro 4475    Peterson 4885    Pine Valley 6535    Pintura 4088    Plain City 4242    Pleasant Grove 4623    Pleasant Valley 4780    Pleasant View 4400    Plymouth 4488    Portage 4367    Porterville 5151    Price 5564    Providence 4596    Provo 4550   


Randlett 4816    Randolph 6283    Redmond 5105    Reese 4222    Richfield 5354    Richmond 4610    Richville 5115    River Heights 4580    Riverdale 4370    Riverside 4363    Riverton 4436    Rockville 3740    Rocky Ridge 4990    Roosevelt 5095    Rosette 5686    Roy 4541    Rush Valley 5043   


St George 2700    Salem 4610    Salina 5161    Salt Lake City 4265    Samak 6857    Sandy 4465    Santa Clara 2762    Santaquin 4984    Saratoga Springs 4505    Scipio 5315    Scofield 7713    Sevier 5584    Sigurd 5226    Smithfield 4603    Snowville 4547    Snyderville 6554    South Jordan 4439    South Ogden 4449    South Salt Lake 4255    South Weber 4511    South Willard 4331    Spanish Fork 4577    Spanish Valley 4800    Spring City 5827    Spring Lake 4731    Springdale 3898    Springville 4580    Standrod 5768    Stansbury Park 4295    Sterling 5574    Stockton 5118    Stoddard 5023    Summit 5984    Summit Park 7000    Sunnyside 6519    Sunset 4511    Syracuse 4285   


Tabiona 6522    Talmage 6834    Taylor 4239    Taylorsville 4298    Teasdale 7146    Terra 5213    Terrace 4550    Thatcher 4331    Thistle 5043    Thompson Springs 5138    Timber Lakes 7716    Tintic Junction 5899    Tooele 5043    Toquerville 3392    Torrey 6837    Tremonton 4324    Trenton 4462    Tridell 5636    Tropic 6309    Trout Creek 4701    Tucker 6227   


Uintah 4537    Upalco 5758    Upton 6100   


Vernal 5328    Vernon 5515    Veyo 4468    Vineyard 4524    Virgin 3606    Vivian Park 5200   


Wales 5627    Wallsburg 5679    Wanship 5852    Warren 4219    Washington 2792    Washington Terrace 4610    Wellington 5413    Wellsville 4547    Wendover 4291    West Bountiful 4268    West Haven 4272    West Jordan 4377    West Point 4314    West Valley City 4304    West Weber 4239    White City 4583    White Mesa 5305    Whiterocks 6033    Wicks 4902    Wildwood 5226    Willard 4350    Woodland 6804    Woodland Hills 5571    Woodruff 6339    Woods Cross 4377   


Yost 5974    Young Ward 4547   






They are awe-inspiring.   A sunset is almost like a religious moment, a sacred natural experience that Mother Nature repeats every day.   If you missed one last night, it will happen again tonight.   And Utah has lots of places that will knock your socks off if you stop to watch the sun go down.   You also have cloudy skies, lakes, and mountains to help you find the perfect sunsets.   Sunsets are instants of intimate and private contemplation.   Sunsets connects us with God as He paints on his canvas.   Sunsets are one of the most photographed natural events in the world.   There is never a sunset that is the same twice.   When your world moves too fast and you lose yourself in the chaos, stop and introduce yourself to each and every color of a sunset.   Sunsets are so beautiful that they almost seem as if they were shining through the gates of heaven.   Don't forget to look to the east also, the sun rises on the land too.




























































The geographic size of Utah might seem daunting, but time on the road passes quickly when new discoveries punctuate each mile traveled.   In total, Utah’s distinct topography provides the surface for 28 scenic byways, which add up to hundreds of miles of vivid travel experiences wherein the road trip is as memorable as the destination.   All of Utah’s scenic byways are explorative journeys filled with trailheads, scenic overlooks, museums, local flavors and vibrant communities.   These roads wind through The Mighty Five national parks, ski resorts, seven national forests, state parks and more one of a kind towns than you’d be able to visit after a year living in your van.   Each journey is a photographer’s paradise, a hiker’s nirvana, a western historian’s feast, and a geologist’s dream world.




























There are many places to view the Utah sky at night.   Of the vast amount of dark skies they are part of the finest dark skies in the world, the highest concentration are in Utah.   Explore locations statewide and make plans for experiencing natural wonders after the sun sets.   80% of Americans live in an area where they cannot see the stars of our own galaxy, the Milky Way due to the light pollution of the cities.   As humans, we’ve been looking up in awe at the night sky as long as humans have been here.   It’s within us to lay out under the stars and look back in time.   It can be life-changing when the night sky is on full display.   During the day, Utah is known for its beautiful scenery and outdoor activities, but when the sun goes down, a whole new world of excitement opens up.   From national parks to city nightlife, there are a lot of amazing things to do in Utah after dark.   Places like Salt Lake City have lively nightlife scenes with live music places, rooftop bars, and unique restaurants that you can explore well into the night.   After dark, Utah has everything you could want, whether you want to be alone or meet new people.   While Utah may not immediately come to mind when thinking about exciting nightlife, there are plenty of options for those looking to experience a night out on the town.   In smaller towns throughout the state, visitors can find cozy bars with live music and friendly locals eager to share their love for their community.

















               
   

Historians agree that the driving of the golden spike marking the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad at Promontory Summit Utah on 10MAY1869 was one of the most important events in United States history, as it was also in Utah history.   Brigham Young, as community leader and president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, foresaw the impact that the coming of the railroad would have and wanted the transcontinental rail line built through Salt Lake City.   He was aware of the role that a railroad could play in tying a community together as well as connecting a region with the outside world.   After representatives of both the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific met with him and explained the difficulty and extra expense of a route through Salt Lake City, Young accepted the decision and helped wherever he could to speed the completion of the project, including arranging for the use of local contractors for the construction of the tracks across the territory.   The Union Pacific was the first of the major railroad companies to successfully build within Utah's borders, connecting with the Central Pacific tracks at Promontory in 1869.   Twenty years later, Union Pacific had become the largest railroad company in the territory.   In 1889 the Union Pacific consolidated the control of its interests in Utah and Idaho through the organization of the Oregon Short Line and Utah Northern Railway.

Rail is a constant presence in American life, from the sound of a distant train whistle, to movies with a powerful train running in the background.   America’s freight railroads are a constant but often overlooked presence.   They deliver the consumer staples that stock store shelves, the raw materials that keep manufacturers in production, the energy that heats our homes, the exports that keep America competitive abroad, and just about all the staples we rely on.   America’s colorful locomotives and railcars are an exciting sight as they bound down the rails, and the foundation on which they ride is just as impressive.   At nearly 140,000 miles, the North American rail network has enough track to circle the earth nearly six times.   Railroads helped build America, bridging a great divide both symbolically and literally.   But this history is itself rooted in technological advancement, with railroads always forging ahead.   Freight rail has shaped the country in ways we don’t always realize.   Today, there is more emphasis on speeding through Utah on highways than on the scenic joys of train travel.   But Utah’s preservation of its rail history makes this a great state to visit for train enthusiasts.   While Utah’s economy is expanding at record rates, the state faces inevitable growing pains.   Officials are working hard to determine how to best combat the problems that accompany this expansion, like troubling air pollution and increased traffic.   Utah’s railways are one of the critical solutions to future economic growth, the transportation of goods and a better way of life, less cargo on highways and roads.





















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