capital
capital capital touroutsidefloor 1floor 2floor 3

Pioneers of Progresspioneers in progress

Pioneers of Progress display is a permanent exhibit honoring five Utahns in five different categories each year.

 

 

Topographic Map (Located in the West Wing of the Exhibition Hall)

  • Lake Bonneville: Twenty thousand years ago, Lake Bonneville occupied the eastern part of the Great Basin, extending 350 miles from north to south, and about 250 miles at its greatest width. The distinct "benches" mark former shorelines from Southern Idaho to Enterprise, Utah (west of Cedar City), and from the western face of the Wasatch Mountains, westward into Nevada. With an area of about 20,000 square miles, the freshwater Lake Bonneville was about the same size as the present Lake Michigan. About 15,000 years ago, the climate was more humid and colder than at present. Extensive glaciers formed in higher elevations in the Wasatch and Uinta mountains and elsewhere in the state. Lake Bonneville waters eventually spilled over the low lip of the Bonneville Basin at Red Rock Pass, northwest of Preston, Idaho. The down cutting of the soft sediments of the Red Rock Pass outlet dropped the level of the lake about 350 feet, from the Bonneville Level, the highest visible shoreline of Lake Bonneville (5,090 feet), down to the Provo Level--the level of the Utah State Capitol Building (4,740 feet). The resulting flood was one of the greatest in geologic history, carrying rounded boulders 2 feet or more in diameter down the Portneuf River into the Snake River, near Pocatello, Idaho, and on through the Columbia River before reaching the Pacific. The lake level stabilized for a time, then began to drop as the climate became drier and evaporation exceeded precipitation. The Great Salt Lake, Utah Lake, and Sevier Lake are present-day remnants of Lake Bonneville.

  • The Great Salt Lake: The Great Salt Lake is America's "Dead Sea." Like its Mediterranean counterpart, it is fed by the Jordan River from a freshwater lake--Utah Lake. Incoming water from the Jordan River, along with the Weber and Bear rivers, comprises 68% of the lake. The size of the lake fluctuates greatly depending on seasonal precipitation. On average, it is only about 15 feet deep. Several high water years beginning in 1983-84 created numerous flooding problems. Salt and chemical industries along the lakeshore were devastated. Interstate 80 was under water and had to be raised eight feet to thwart future flooding. State Street, 900 South, North Temple, and other Salt Lake City streets were sandbagged and became rivers. To combat the rising waters of the lake, the state installed giant pumps costing $60 million to pump the high lake waters over a ridge into the Great Salt Lake Desert. This was done in an effort to increase the surface area of the lake so that the lake water would evaporate more quickly. The salt concentration of the lake varies as the lake level changes. As the level rises, the salt concentration drops, and as the lake level drops, the salinity rises. The present salinity of the lake is about 24 to 25% in the saltier northern part (north of the railroad causeway which crosses the lake). Because the southern part of the lake has a greater inflow of water from tributaries, it has a current salt concentration of 10 to 11%. By comparison, seawater is about 3 ½% salt, and the Dead Sea has a salinity anywhere from 27-35%. Salt and chemical industries use evaporation to concentrate the brines of the lake to produce many salts, including sodium chloride (table salt), fertilizers, magnesium metal, chlorine gas, and a variety of complex salts. In 1995, six major extraction industries produced 2.8 million tons of products for $300 million. Few living organisms can tolerate the high salt concentration of the lake waters, but certain species of bacteria, blue-green algae, brine flies, and brine shrimp thrive in the lake. The brine shrimp are harvested and sold in Asia as prawn and fish food. There are four major islands in the lake: Antelope Island, Stansbury Island, Carrington Island, and Fremont Island.

  • Mountains and Geographic Regions: The three major geographic regions in Utah are: (1) the Central Rocky Mountains, which include the Wasatch and Uinta mountain ranges; (2) the Great Basin, which extends from the Wasatch Mountains westward to the Sierra Nevada Mountains; and (3) the Colorado Plateau, which consists of several high plateaus in the eastern, central, and southern regions of the state. Many of these plateaus are over 10,000 feet in elevation. Over 100 mountain peaks in the state exceed 10,000 feet. The highest peak in Utah is the 13,528-foot King's Peak in the Uinta Mountains of northeastern Utah. The Uinta range is the longest east-west mountain range in the United States. The Wasatch Mountains have no foothills. Their western slope is defined by the Wasatch Fault, and their slopes rise abruptly from the valley floor. About 1 ½ million Utahns live along the "Wasatch Front," the western slope of the Wasatch Mountains. Wasatch is an Indian word meaning mountains with many rivers. Most of the water for Utah comes from runoff from melting winter snows which accumulate in the high mountains. Dams store the runoff for use later in the season. These mountain rivers and reservoirs serve as natural water towers for Utah residents.

  • Pacific Flyway: Northern Utah is a primary stop on the Pacific Flyway for migratory birds. The Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge is a 65,000-acre stopping place for 200 species of birds. After they stay for a time and increase their weight, they continue their migration southward.

  • Indian Reservations: The pink areas show the location of Indian Reservations in the state. Today in Utah there are Utes, Navajos, and Goshutes. The Indians have their own council form of government. Some of their revenue comes from oil and gas found on their land.

  • Lake Powell: In 1960 Lake Powell was created by the Glen Canyon Dam was completed, which dammed the Colorado River in Arizona just past the Utah border. This lake can store approximately two years' average flow of the Colorado River. Lake Powell has almost 1,900 miles of shoreline. This is almost equal to the entire Pacific coastline of the United States.

  • Utah's First Capitol: Brigham Young and the U.S. Government felt that the Capitol should be in the geographical center of the state. They chose Fillmore, a town in Central Utah named after President Millard Fillmore. The state of Utah was allotted $20 thousand from the federal government for the Capitol. They then hired Truman Angell, the same architect who designed the Salt Lake LDS Temple. Only one wing of the building was completed for the 1855 legislative session. After this session, they realized that Fillmore was not the most sensible spot for the state's Capitol, since the center of activity for the state was in Salt Lake City. The Capitol in Fillmore was never completed and the federal government would not allocate additional funds for more construction.

  • The Capitol: On May 10, 1869, the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads met, which proved to be a great boon for obtaining funds for the Capitol. The president of Union Pacific Railroad was a wealthy man by the name of Edward Harriman (Averell Harriman's father). When the transcontinental railroad was completed at Promontory Point in Utah, Mr. Harriman invested $3.5 million in a prototype of an electrified trolley car system. His trolley car barn is known today as Trolley Square, a shopping and entertainment center. He also invested in other property around the state. In 1909 Mr. Harriman died, leaving his wife to pay a 5% Utah inheritance tax totaling $798,546. This money was set aside as seed money to build the Capitol in Salt Lake City. Bonds were then passed allowing the Capitol to be built. The total cost of the Capitol was $2,739,000. The design for the Capitol was selected through an architectural competition, the winner of which was Richard Kletting The building, completed by the end of 1915, was dedicated October, 1916. It took 2 ½ years to build.

  • Industry and Commerce: The industrial and commercial background of Utah is very diverse. Orem, Utah, has more than one hundred computer companies. Novell and WordPerfect have their roots here as well. Utah has two aerospace companies: Thiokol ( a division of Cordant Technology) and Alliant Tech. Thiokol makes O-rings for rockets and rocket boosters, and Alliant Tech makes intermediate range missiles like the Delta and the Titan rocket. Utah is also home to Hill Air Force Base, which is located near Ogden. Kennecott Copper Mine is a 2 ½-mile wide and ½-mile deep open pit mine. Eastern Utah is one of the centers of Utah's coal industry, and there are rich reservoirs of oil and natural gas in the northeastern and southeastern parts of the state . Peaches and apricots are grown along the Fruit Way near Brigham City. This area has the second largest tart cherry crop in the nation. Brigham Young University is the largest university in the state and the largest church-sponsored college in the United States. This university is also the largest private employer in the state. There are five National Parks: Zion, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Arches, and Canyonlands. There are also seven National Monuments, including the recently established Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument near Lake Powell. The mountains in Utah provide world-class skiing. Almost 77% of Utah's population, or 1,505,000, live on the Wasatch Front between Ogden and Provo.