Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City Population: 180,000 as of the 2000 census

Salt Lake Metro Area Population: 900,000 as of the 2000 census

On July 24, 1847 143 men, three women and two children founded Salt Lake City. Mormon pioneers seeking to escape religious persecution, these were the first people European descent to permanently settle in the area now known as Utah. On that morning, [Brigham Young]?, who was leading the group of Mormons west after the death of chruch-founder Joseph Smith, famously said "This is the place."

Salt Lake City has now grown to be not only the capitol of Utah, but also the state's largest city. The city itself is laid out in a grid system with most streets running precisely north-south or east-west. The origin of the grid is the south-east corner of Temple Square, the location of the Salt Lake City Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Street addresses are coordinates within the grid system, and one might speak of the intersection of 700 East and 3300 South, for instance. (A street block is commonly 100 units long, 1/8 of a mile).

Salt Lake City is home to the University of Utah and the [Utah Jazz]? basketball team.