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Utah
 
Travel America

Learn before you travel. This section of Fun Easy English focuses on facts and other cool stuff about your favorite U.S. state. This is great English reading practice. This page focuses on the state of Utah.
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Utah

The state known as Utah began when Brigham Young led a group of Mormon pilgrims seeking freedom from religious persecution into the Great Salt Lake Valley, where they established a settlement in 1847. The state gets its name from the Ute, an Indian tribe who lived there before the pioneers arrived. The golden spike completing the first transcontinental railroad line was driven at Promontory, Utah, in 1869, leading to a further influx of settlers. Utah was admitted as the 45th state in 1896. The capital, Salt Lake City, is also the world headquarters for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Mormons make up 70 percent of the population. The sego lily is the state flower of the "Beehive State."
Flag of UtahUtah State Flag


Utah's flag features the state seal against a field of blue. The date 1847 is the year the Mormons came to Utah. 1896 is the year Utah became the 45th state.

The beehive on the shield is a symbol of hard work and industry (the state motto is INDUSTRY, a beehive is the official state emblem, and Utah's nickname is The Beehive State).

A bald eagle (the United States national bird) perches atop the shield as a symbol of protection in peace and war (the eagle clutches arrows as a symbol of power). The sego lilies on right and left of the beehive are a symbol of peace (sego lily is also the state flower of Utah). A U.S. flag banner appears on each side of the shield, representing Utah's support to the nation.
Source: State Symbols USA
 
The great seal of the state of UtahUtah State Facts

Picture: state seal of Utah
State Capital Salt Lake City
Nickname Beehive State
Motto Industry
Statehood January 4, 1896 (45th)
Origin of Name Taken from the name of the Ute Indians, whose name means "people of the mountains"
Largest Cities Salt Lake City, Provo, West Valley City, Sandy, Orem
Border States Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Wyoming
Area 82,168 sq. mi., 12th largest
State Bird American Seagull
State Flower Sego Lily (calochortus gunnisonii)
State Tree Blue Spruce (picea pungens)
State Song Utah, We Love Thee
Map showing the location of UtahTravel and tourism site for Utah - This state travel and territorial tourism site provides ideas for your vacations, meetings, and more.
Utah Stories
 
The Springville Museum Quilt Show

Are there any old quilts in your family? Quilts, which are often passed down from generation to generation, can be an art form as much as something that keeps you warm. A quilt could just as easily be in a museum as it would be in someone's home.

Throughout American history, women who took care of their families also have felt the urge to create art. They used materials they had at hand -- mainly old clothes and rags from the household -- to create quilts. Quilting has been a part of Utah history and culture since pioneers settled in the Salt Lake Valley in 1847. The art of quilting has been passed down from mother to daughter and friend to neighbor since that time. Quilts can take hundreds of hours and thousands of stitches to make.

Quilts made in the 1800s are very valuable today, and some people collect quilts just like paintings or sculpture. The Springville Museum in Springville, Utah, has an exhibit every year in June to show off the quilting talents of local quilters. Many quilts tell a story of daily life in Utah through colors and symbols.

To learn more about quilting, go to the "Join America at Play" section of this Web site.
 
Cowboy Poetry

Did you know that many cowboys pride themselves on their ability to write and recite poetry? They are reading and writing "cowboy poetry." What is that? Just as the name suggests, it's poetry written by, for, and about cowboys. It describes what life was like for a cowboy in the old days, as well as what life is like today.

The strong story content of cowboy poetry appeals to a mixed audience -- other cowboys and cowgirls, ranchers, city dwellers and farmers. This appeal has led to the growing popularity of the Trementon Cowboy Poetry Roundup. Held in the Bear River Valley of northern Utah, the roundup features local cowboys reading their own poems as well as those of others. Each year 400 to 600 people attend the event. You may have to be a cowboy (or cowgirl) to write cowboy poetry, but anyone can enjoy it!
 
Lamb Day

Can you guess why the kids in the photo are dressed as lambs?

They are participating in the Lamb Day parade in Fountain Green, Utah. Sheep herding has historically been a popular way to earn a living in Fountain Green. The town's people celebrate the local sheep-herding community every year with a Lamb Day festival, which first started in 1932. Sheep played a big part in the economy of Fountain Green from the 1880s to the 1920s with the town playing a leading role in lamb production worldwide.

Lamb Day features a lamb show and auction, a parade, a talent show, a dance, games, and contests, including a one-mile race called the "Lamb Scram" and a three-mile race called the "Wool Street Journey." The festival highlight is the meal of lamb roasted for 12 hours in special sandstone-lined pits first used 100 years ago.
 
Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

What's a hoodoo? Would you ever guess it has something to do with rocks?

Utah's Bryce Canyon National Park owes much of its beauty and character to the process of erosion -- the wearing away of a surface by forces like water or wind. Hoodoos are strangely shaped pillars that often resemble goblins or other supernatural characters. In fact, the Paiute Indians, who lived in this region, called them "Legend People."

Although they may resemble people, these rocks were formed by nature. Water has physically and chemically broken down the ancient rock of the Paunsaugunt Plateau by dragging bits of gravel and debris across its surfaces and by entering small holes in the rock and dissolving it. Various layers of rock differ in strength, so erosion does not wear away at them all at the same rate. Therefore, odd and irregular shapes have been formed. In addition to hoodoos, other shapes include fins, spires, and pinnacles.
 
Circle of Wellness

The circle is an important symbol for Native Americans. It represents the four seasons, the heavens and the earth, the universe, and the cycle of life. The idea behind the Circle of Wellness organization is to keep Native American Indian traditions alive, while helping Native Americans in Utah get a good education, start businesses, and become satisfied members of their community.

More than 32,000 Native Americans live in Utah. They want to remember their native history and traditions, which is why they created a special cultural center to preserve these traditions and unite the Utah Native American community. The circle was a good symbol to choose for this center because a circle also stands for mental, physical, spiritual and emotional health and the wholeness of a community.
 
Utah Pioneers

It's been called the largest human migration in American history. Do you know what that refers to?

By 1869, perhaps 70,000 members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as Mormons, had walked or traveled in wagons across 1,300 miles of wilderness to Salt Lake City, Utah. Leaving 6,000 in graves along the way, the Mormons were searching for religious freedom. Their journey was equal to the distance from New York City to Miami, or Seattle to San Diego.

"This is the right place. Drive on." These were the words that Brigham Young, top Elder of the Mormons, said on July 24, 1847, as he lay sick in the back of a wagon. The place was the great valley of the Salt Lake, in what would become the state of Utah. The Mormons wanted to leave the persecution they faced in the eastern part of the United States and start a community of their own out west. Once Brigham Young and his band of 148 Mormons had found "the place," more than 70,000 Mormons decided to follow.

Every year since 1849, Salt Lake City has remembered the Mormon pioneers on Pioneer Day. In 1997, a Mormon wagon train re-created the journey of these pioneers, to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Brigham Young's arrival in Utah. The trip took three months!
Source: Library of Congress
National Forests, Parks, and Monuments of Utah

The following is a description of national forests, parks, and monuments in the state of Utah. If you plan to visit or live in Utah for awhile then you should definitely plan to visit some of these fantastic places.
 
National Forests
Ashley

Ashley National Forest manages the Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area and the High Uintas Wilderness. Kings Peak at 13,528 ft (4,123 m) is the highest point in Utah and is located in the Uinta Mountains. This national forest is also partially located in the state of Wyoming.
Dixie

Straddling the divide between the Great Basin and Colorado River, Dixie National Forest has elevations ranging from 2,800 ft (850 m) near St. George to 11,322 ft (3,451 m) on Boulder Mountain. Ashdown Gorge, Box-Death Hollow, Cottonwood Forest, and Pine Valley Mountain wilderness areas are in the forest.
Fishlake

Located in south central Utah, Fishlake National Forest is named for Fish Lake, the state's largest natural mountain lake. The forest's Tushar Mountains reach their highest point at 12,174 ft (3,711 m) on Delano Peak.
Manti-La Sal

Including the La Sal and Abajo mountains of eastern Utah, elevations in this forest reach 12,721 ft (3,877 m) on Mount Peale. The Dark Canyon Wilderness is the only wilderness area in the forest. This national forest is also partially located in the state of Colorado.
Sawtooth

Sawtooth National Forest includes over 1,100 lakes, 1,000 mi (1,600 km) of trails and roads, and ten mountain ranges, with the highest point at 12,009 ft (3,660 m) on Hyndman Peak. The forest includes Sawtooth National Recreation Area, the Sawtooth Range, Sawtooth Wilderness, four ski areas, and four endemic species, being found nowhere else in the world. This national forest is also partially located in the state of Idaho.
Uinta-Wasatch-Cache

There are nine wilderness areas in the forest, which occupies part of the Wasatch and Uinta mountains. Mount Nebo and Mount Timpanogos are located in wilderness areas at the edge of the Wasatch Front. This national forest is also partially located in the states of Idaho and Wyoming.
 
National Parks
Arches

This site features more than 2,000 natural sandstone arches, with some of the most popular arches in the park being Delicate Arch, Landscape Arch and Double Arch.[14] Millions of years of erosion have created these structures located in a desert climate where the arid ground has life-sustaining biological soil crusts and potholes that serve as natural water-collecting basins. Other geologic formations include stone pinnacles, fins, and balancing rocks.
Bryce Canyon

Bryce Canyon is a geological amphitheater on the Paunsaugunt Plateau with hundreds of tall, multicolored sandstone hoodoos formed by erosion. The region was originally settled by Native Americans and later by Mormon pioneers.
Canyonlands

This landscape was eroded into a maze of canyons, buttes, and mesas by the combined efforts of the Colorado River, Green River, and their tributaries, which divide the park into three districts. The park also contains rock pinnacles and arches, as well as artifacts from Ancient Pueblo peoples.
Capitol Reef

The park's Waterpocket Fold is a 100-mile (160 km) monocline that exhibits the earth's diverse geologic layers. Other natural features include monoliths, cliffs, and sandstone domes shaped like the United States Capitol.
Zion

Located at the junction of the Colorado Plateau, Great Basin, and Mojave Desert, this park contains sandstone features such as mesas, rock towers, and canyons, including the Virgin River Narrows. The various sandstone formations and the forks of the Virgin River create a wilderness divided into four ecosystems: desert, riparian, woodland, and coniferous forest.
 
National Monuments
Bears Ears

Twin buttes, sandstone canyons, desert mesas, forested highlands, rock art, ancient cliff dwellings, ceremonial kivas.
Cedar Breaks

A natural amphitheater canyon similar to formations at Bryce Canyon National Park, it stretches over 3 miles (4.8 km) and is more than 2,000 feet (610 m) deep.
Dinosaur

This sandstone and conglomerate bed, known as the Morrison Formation, was formed in the Jurassic Period and contains fossils of dinosaurs including Allosaurus and various long-neck and long-tail sauropods. This national monument is also partially located in the state of Colorado.
Grand Staircase-Escalante

Preserving 1,003,863 acres (4,062.49 km2), the monument consists of the Grand Staircase, the Kaiparowits Plateau, and the Canyons of the Escalante. It is notable for its paleontological finds and geology, and it was the first monument to be maintained by the Bureau of Land Management.
Hovenweep

Hovenweep contains six clusters of Native American ruins. Holly Canyon, Hackberry Canyon, Cutthroat Castle and Goodman Point are in Colorado and Square Tower and Cajon are in Utah. Ancient Pueblo Peoples lived in the Hovenweep area from 1150 to 1350. This national monument is also partially located in the state of Colorado.
Natural Bridges

Located at the junction of White Canyon and Armstrong Canyon, it is part of the Colorado River drainage. It features the second- and third-largest natural bridges in the western hemisphere, carved from the white Triassic sandstone of the Cedar Mesa Formation that gives White Canyon its name.
Rainbow Bridge

Rainbow Bridge is one of the world's largest natural bridges. It stands 290 feet (88 m) tall and spans 275 feet (84 m) wide; the top of the bridge is 42 feet (13 m) thick and 33 feet (10 m) wide. It was made from sandstone formed during the Triassic and the Jurassic periods.
Timpanogos Cave

The Timpanogos cave system is in the Wasatch Range in the American Fork Canyon. Three main chambers are accessible: Hansen Cave, Middle Cave, and Timpanogos Cave. Many colorful cave features or speleothems can be seen, including helictites, cave bacon, cave columns, flowstone, cave popcorn, and cave drapery.
 
Travel America
Bryce Canyon National Park
(Beginner - Listening, reading)

A video lesson which shows you an interesting place in America.
The English is spoken at 75% of normal speed.
Great English listening and reading practice.
This video is all about Bryce Canyon National Park.
Canyonlands National Park
(Beginner - Listening, reading)

A video lesson which shows you an interesting place in America.
The English is spoken at 75% of normal speed.
Great English listening and reading practice.
This video is all about Canyonlands National Park.
Capitol Reef National Park
(Beginner - Listening, reading)

A video lesson which shows you an interesting place in America.
The English is spoken at 75% of normal speed.
Great English listening and reading practice.
This video is all about Capitol Reef National Park.
 
 
 
Cool America
About the U.S.A.

About the U.S.A. is an American Studies reader that examines the customs, government, and history of the United States of America. The text provides a wealth of information on U.S. geography and history; the roles of local, state, and federal government; national holidays and symbols; the Constitution; and citizenship. The book, which was written for intermediate to advanced learners of English, contains a range of activities for language students to practice listening, speaking, reading, and writing. (opens to a new PDF window) Great English reading practice.
About America

Learn about the fascinating history and government of the United States of America. Lessons include content on American Government, American History, and Integrated Civics. Handouts with interactive games and student-centered activities encompass all four language skills: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Great English reading practice for beginning to intermediate students.
American Teens Talk!

Americans Teens Talk! is a collection of interviews of American high school students. Each interview is accompanied by vocabulary notes and discussion questions. The interviews in American Teens Talk! give learners a view into the lives of adolescents in the U.S. Through the written format of the interviews, learners are able to increase their vocabulary, practice their reading and listening skills, engage in discussions, and learn more about U.S. culture. These interviews come with audio programs. Great English listening and reading
Sing Out Loud Children's Songs

Sing Out Loud Children's Songs includes popular children's songs in the U.S.A. Posters accompany the individual Sing Out Loud Children's Songs. These songs come with audio programs. Great English listening and reading practice.
Sing Out Loud Traditional Songs

The Sing Out Loud Traditional Songs collection contains 13 traditional American folk songs and song lyrics. Listen to the songs online, read the lyrics, and collect the posters that accompany the songs. These songs come with audio programs. Great English listening and reading practice.
Sing Out Loud American Rhythms

Do you love music? Want to use it to learn English? Check out the hip-hop inspired song "Peace" from Sing Out Loud American Rhythms. American Rhythms includes a variety of musical genres from many different artists in the U.S.A. These songs will appeal to teens and young adults. These songs come with audio programs. Great English listening and reading practice.
Route 66 - Famous American Road

U.S. Route 66 (US 66 or Route 66), also known as the Will Rogers Highway, the Main Street of America or the Mother Road, was one of the original highways in the U.S. Highway System. The highway, which became one of the most famous roads in the United States, originally ran from Chicago, Illinois, through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona before ending in Santa Monica, California, near Los Angeles, covering a total of 2,448 miles (3,940 km). It was recognized in popular culture by both the hit song "(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66" and the Route 66 television show in the 1960s.
Route 66: The Highway That's the Best
(Beginner - Listening)

A video lesson which shows you an interesting place in America.
The English is spoken at 75% of normal speed.
Great English listening practice.
This video shows travel along Route 66, the most famous road in America.
Chicago: The Start of Route 66
(Beginner - Listening)

A video lesson which shows you an interesting place in America.
The English is spoken at 75% of normal speed.
Great English listening practice.
This video shows travel along Route 66, the most famous road in America.
Going West for Decades on Route 66
(Beginner - Listening)

A video lesson which shows you an interesting place in America.
The English is spoken at 75% of normal speed.
Great English listening practice.
This video shows travel along Route 66, the most famous road in America.
Arizona: The Spirit of Route 66
(Beginner - Listening)

A video lesson which shows you an interesting place in America.
The English is spoken at 75% of normal speed.
Great English listening practice.
This video shows travel along Route 66, the most famous road in America.
Route 66 California: The End of the Trail
(Beginner - Listening)

A video lesson which shows you an interesting place in America.
The English is spoken at 75% of normal speed.
Great English listening practice.
This video shows travel along Route 66, the most famous road in America.
Ten Must-See Route 66 Attractions
(Beginner - Listening)

A video lesson which shows you an interesting place in America.
The English is spoken at 75% of normal speed.
Great English listening practice.
This video shows travel along Route 66, the most famous road in America.
Four Famous Foods On Route 66
(Beginner - Listening)

A video lesson which shows you an interesting place in America.
The English is spoken at 75% of normal speed.
Great English listening practice.
This video shows travel along Route 66, the most famous road in America.
International Tourists Drawn to Route 66
(Beginner - Listening)

A video lesson which shows you an interesting place in America.
The English is spoken at 75% of normal speed.
Great English listening practice.
This video shows travel along Route 66, the most famous road in America.
 
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