Salt Lake Valley

Brigham Young said, "this is the right place," when he and his fellow Mormon settlers moved into Utah after being driven out of several states.

The Jordan River, along with numerous mountain streams and reservoirs, provides irrigation water to the rapidly growing Valley.

The geography of the Salt Lake Valley combined with the prevalence of industrial pollution and to some extent, fossil fuel burning vehicles, leads to poor air quality in Utah.

It will focus on transit-oriented development (it already has service by TRAX light rail and will also feature a ski resort in the Oquirrh Mountains and a university campus).

Interstate 15 runs north to south through the middle-eastern portion of the Valley and Interstate 80 runs east to west in the northern quarter of the Valley from Parley's Canyon into Tooele County to the west (where it cuts across a small portion of the Great Salt Lake).

A portion of the Salt Lake Valley with the Oquirrh Mountains in the background, as seen looking southwest from City Creek Canyon
Salt Lake Valley from space
Greatest vertical relief in the valley. Twin Peaks has a rise of 7,099 ft (2,164 m) from the valley floor.