City Creek (Salt Lake County, Utah)

Vanguards of the first Mormon pioneer settlers of Utah camped by the mouth of City Creek Canyon on July 22, 1847.

In 1878 Avenues residents petitioned the city to tax property to expand the water system, and the territorial legislature authorized the levy.

The Red Butte Creek, used by the eastern parts of the city, was appropriated by the US Army when Fort Douglas was built in 1862.

In 1909 the creek was placed in an underground conduit down North Temple Street from outside of Memory Grove to west of the State Fairpark where the water exits into the Jordan River.

The stream remained underground until record precipitation in the winter of 1982/1983 produced an enormous snowpack in the Creek's watershed.

Temporary pedestrian bridges were built over State Street, which is part of US-89 and one of Salt Lake City's primary corridors.

The flood had proved a popular attraction, and some residents suggested bringing the stream permanently above the ground and incorporating it into Salt Lake City in a more meaningful way.

By the next year, students from six high schools and local Boy Scouts constructed the "Freedom Trail" in the lower part of City Creek Canyon.

When the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints completed the LDS Conference Center in 2000, part of the stream again became visible.

City Creek runs freely by the center in a rough-hewn granite bed, accenting the building's waterfall.

Silver, lead, and gold were found, and a town called Modoc City was established to house the miners.

Although initial reports showed promising mineral values, this mining operation did not prove to be profitable and was discontinued in 1874.

[6] Dogs are allowed in the canyon on-leash below the water treatment plant and watershed area, whose boundary is marked by signage near the four-mile marker.