Vernal, the county seat and largest city in Uintah County, is in northeastern Utah, approximately 175 miles (280 km) east of Salt Lake City and 20 miles (32 km) west of the Colorado border.

The city serves as a gateway to the nearby Dinosaur National Monument, Flaming Gorge, and the Uinta Mountain Range.

Vernal, unlike most Utah towns, was not settled by Mormons moving west, or across the state.

The valley is named in honor of William H. Ashley, an early fur trader who entered the area in 1825 by floating down the Green River in a bull boat made of animal hides.

Vernal is located on the northern edge of the Colorado Plateau and south of Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area on the Utah-Wyoming state line.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.6 square miles (11.9 km2), all land.

[citation needed] Tourism also plays a role in Vernal's economy due to the town's roots in the Old West and being a large site of ancient dinosaur fossils.

In 2007, Uintah School District built new buildings for two elementary schools, Maeser and Naples Elementary, in the nearby communities to accommodate increased enrollment and eliminate unsafe older buildings.

The National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) Rocky Mountain River Base.

The city's Vernal Regional Airport has scheduled nonstop air service to Phoenix (PHX) operated by Contour Airlines with Embraer ERJ jet aircraft.

The Uintah County Fair occurs Thursday through Saturday each year in the second week of June.

Coltharp took advantage of inexpensive Parcel Post rates to ship some 80,000 masonry bricks in fifty-pound (22.6 kg) packages via the U.S. Post Office the 180 miles (290 km) from Salt Lake City to Vernal.

[16][17] The Parcel Post brick shipments were transported from Salt Lake to Mack, Colorado by Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, then proceeded to Watson via the narrow gauge Uintah Railway, finally Vernal by wagon freight through steep roads.

[18] After completing delivery of the bricks, the U.S. Post Office hastily changed its regulations, establishing a limit of 200 pounds (91 kg) per day per sender.