Why So Few Americans Live In Most Of Utah

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Utah is one of the most geographically beautiful states in the country. But despite its rugged beauty, the vast majority, or about 80% of the entire state's population, lives within the Salt Lake region, leaving the rest of the state feeling really empty! Here's why so few people live outside of the Salt Lake area in Utah, how the Mormons chose the region in the first place, and why growing any sizeable population center outside of Utah would be incredibly challenging.
Stock footage is acquired from www.storyblocks.com.
Animation support provided by DH Designs (needahittman.com)
Editing by Kat Olsen

[@GeographyByGeoff]

Check out War Thunder and use my link for a free large bonus back with boosters, vehicles, and more: playwt.link/geographybygeoff War Thunder is a highly detailed vehicle combat game containing over 2,000 playable tanks, aircraft, and ships spanning over 100 years of development. Immerse yourself completely in dynamic battles with an unparalleled combination of realism and approachability.

[@johntomas6291]

Beautiful drive, have made it more than once.

[@derek-64]

No

[@derek-64]

No

[@taotaoliu2229]

Fun fact: Route 50 from Nevada to Utah is known as "The Loneliest Road in America".

[@erictheil1640]

Great stretch of road 🚀 😎

[@Mcfunface]

​@@erictheil1640Still has the old mine towns along it!

[@sam382]

I drove that a few years ago from Utah to California, stopping at Great Basin National Park on the way. Mirror Lake Scenic byway is my favorite drive through the Uintah Mountain Range (road closed during the winter).

[@treethegreat52890]

I live just south of 50 but in the California foothills. I was surprised to find out how long it actually goes for

[@Mcfunface]

@@treethegreat52890 El Dorado Hills? That's my hometown

[@87alock]

Utah is shaped like a lighter

[@Ddreinthebay]

Ironic tbh

[@thepanda1044]

..... *GOD YOUR RIGHT!!*

[@Booz2010]

Make MORMONism Great Again 😎

[@gummypuss69]

@@Ddreinthebay Why? Because Mormons aren't allowed to smoke anything?

[@enjoimovies]

😂

[@KidGibson]

I’m from Nephi in Utah. It is the best spot to see all three geological zones meet: the Great Basin, Rocky Mountains, and the Colorado Plateau. All can be seen by just looking at the mountains around you.

[@Booz2010]

Make MORMON Great Again 😎

[@thooper4380]

​@@Booz2010 relax, have a beer.

[@geraldmeehan8942]

​@@Booz2010 Bryce Blankenaugle

[@lashkevin]

The key geographical concept is the “Wasatch Front”- the urban centers of Utah are on the west side of the Wasatch Range because there is water coming from the mountains and open valleys (from the ancient lakebed) to be irrigated and farmed. And now to be converted into suburbs. The chain of settlements north to south was originally where the streams were. Now it is merging into one contiguous urban /suburban area

[@teacherjoe7019]

Utah is typical of most western states.The people tend to live where there are resources and arable land. The people don't tend to live in the vastly dryer areas, mountains and the large tracks of federally owned land. For example, most of the people in Oregon live in the similarly sized Willamette Valley.

[@terrafirma5327]

Utah geologist here, as for the lake drying up... it would cause a new dust bowl effect over the United States as salty sand is ripped from where the lake once was. Think dust bowl with salt, not a good thing.

[@francoutah]

Apparently, heavy metals like arsenic would be in those particulates too.

[@terrafirma5327]

@@francoutah Very much so. Lot's of toxic salts occur out there.

[@thomasgomez4263]

Do you have any thoughts on if Utah will move fast enough to prevent this from happening?

[@terrafirma5327]

@@thomasgomez4263 Governor Spencer Cox has put out some water conservation programs, and the EPA recently told us to get our act together. It was a state issue at first but it has the potential to effect everyone in the U.S. so the feds are cracking down. I think we can stop it. Lake has been going up a little last year and this year, but its a long road to recovery which will require consistent effort.

[@fjp3305]

Another thing to scare the people.

[@robnevitt7593]

'Almost Completely Empty' for me means incredible backcountry hiking and canyoneering!

[@StevenEveral]

Utah has two stretches of freeway that are the longest stretches without services: I-80 across the Bonnevile Salt Flat is the longest completely straight stretch of freeway in the US, and I-70 between Salina and Green River is the longest stretch without any services.

[@joebehrdenver]

There are fewer than 200K people in SLC proper. The Wasatch Front is the commonly used term for the greater metro region.

[@geraldmeehan8942]

You're getting a NHL team in SLC I think

[@Nicky-hr1qz]

Not true the salt Lake metro area is now at 1.5 million oh yes it is and Utah as a whole is now just over 4 million people in population the census is off it is 1.5 million just over that as far as the metro area goes for Salt Lake and growing like crazy and then the state as a whole is now just barely over 4 million just barely just passed 4 million that's as a state you got to remember there's a lot of numbers they don't count that they do not count at all and when you when you count to visitors here the ones that come and some of them live some are not even full-time visitor or visitors and they live here for maybe half the year or whatever and then there's others that just spreading moved in you're definitely looking you're looking at 4 million with the regular people who live here and then with the ones who visit and live here for like 6 months or whatever there's a lot of that too of Statewide and that pushes it even more than 4 million that's probably like 4 million 200,000

[@louis54b]

@@Nicky-hr1qzactually he is right but then how many people do you really want to stuff into a 20 x21 block area ? That is salt lake proper ( what is known as the downtown area which is where i grew up and went to school last class of South High ‘88 ) he is not say salt lake county or what is now known as as Capital county which has a population of 1.186 million as of 2023

[@Nicky-hr1qz]

@@louis54b no you're wrong as I just said before if you learn to read the Census Bureau is incorrect because it actually for the Salt Lake area which is considered the Metro as well you can include suburbs it's 1.5 million people in the Salt Lake Metro Area 1.5 million and in the state it's now just over 4 million people in the state that's the correct number the census is always off they are always miscalculating

[@Nicky-hr1qz]

@louis54b not true slc has been well over 1.1 for awhile now it's actually 1.5 million in the metro area and just over 4 mill as a whole state you obviously are going by the misinformation on Google which is absolutely unreliable I've heard much more accurate numbers of what I just told you based on actual in real time "" accurate census counts

[@benpennington1866]

Because it’s desert

[@mr.hansholmes2367]

And cult infested.

[@markthompson180]

Right? *Mike Drop* Next mystery to be solved . . .?

[@maxsiemens304]

Yeah and it's really dry salt flats and desert with lots of semi arid areas, hills, forest, and mountains which can be harder to develop but it is beautiful and has good hiking. There isn't as much economy there to get it going and it has a lot of evil in a cultish way of a weird right wing mentality with some good values but others being just off. And I bet if they didn't have as many Mormons and more people who follow the one true trinune God of Christianity there would be more people.

[@mindibear]

So is southern Arizona but over 6 million people live there.

[@maxsiemens304]

@@mindibear yeah but if Utah had more true believers in the One True Triune God as Jesus as their savior and not that Satanic Mormonism then you would probably have more people there. Utah has a weird right wing that the Mormons and Jehovahs witness bring, though it has some good values it doesn't have everything and they are wacky about a lot of things too.

[@dalemonson7860]

I’m a Utah Native in more way than one. As a local indigenous. My observation here in northern Utah is that we have too many people here for the amount of resources, “mainly water”. Without the Great Salt Lake the Salt Lake region will be uninhabitable. Not only that we have sensitive desert animals like fish that live in the seep springs. I’m mainly referring to the Least Chub. We need to stop the development of the land and save as much of the Sage Brush as we can for habitat like animals such as the Sage Grouse. If I was a millionaire I’d be buying up land so developers wouldn’t be able to touch a shovel to it. Without any of our wildlife those really pretty national parks and what not would seem really empty and lifeless. Pick up after yourself when visiting our parks because your mom isn’t here to pick up after you and how would you like it if someone came over to your residences and left trash everywhere.

[@magellanicspaceclouds]

Thank you for sharing your beautiful land with us invaders from the old world. 🙏

[@ckstaff]

Good points. I don't know how you stop the population explosion and development, have to have places to live but the science and water decision makers IMO need to figure out what water amount the Great Salt Lake needs to at least keep the lake bed covered in water before diverting it elsewhere and perhaps it is even time to build new dams in the canyons. There is no unthinkable depopulation plan possible.

[@hobog]

​@@ckstaffraise the water bill to a sane level that reflects reality

[@ckstaff]

@@hobog How does that help get more water? Water bills aren't the problem, diversion and droughts are.

[@dplj4428]

Does that pipeline cross near the sal lake?

[@ryanprosper88]

Drove through Utah in 04. It was a really neat drive. We stopped in Kenab for 2 nights and did some horseback riding there. It was a really interesting town

[@skidogleb]

It's spelled Kanab!

[@austygo3563]

Interesting is one way to put it. Glad you enjoyed!

[@ryanprosper88]

@@austygo3563 I don't really remember to much of the visuals actually. I was kinda depressed after leaving the Grand Canyon.

[@jeremiahallyn4603]

I've never been that far west in this country. I really would love to visit Utah. It looks like a beautiful state.

[@Booz2010]

Never Say NEVER 😎 Justin Bieber

[@mckayhatch6723]

Utah native here. I hope you guys will come visit and enjoy all that this great state has to offer. From Alpine zones to red rock country. Please treat it well. The Great Salt Lake has been making a recovery. And efforts are being made to assist in that. I’m hoping soon that it can get back to a healthy level.

[@gregparrott]

I've traveled to Utah for nine consecutive Summers and one Winter. Sight seeing, camping, cultural and archeological sites, and off road vehicle trips have been the main draws. It's my favorite state for these. I will say though that Zion is too crowded and the traffic in St. George traffic feels like I'm in Los Angeles. Also its housing developments and the golf courses in a desert are WAY out of proportion. As for the Salt Lake city area, the highways are always under construction and parts are a confusing rats nest of roads. The area within an ~70 mile radius of Richfield is my favorite. The Kanab area ranks a close second.

[@ellagallagher9877]

​@@gregparrottI don't know where you're going in St. George, but it's not nearly as bad as LA. Although during touristy times, like the Parade of Homes, it does get pretty bad.

[@gregparrott]

@@ellagallagher9877 It was Summertime. We got off the main highway into town (maybe Middleton?), mid day. Considering how much smaller St. George is to LA, the traffic jams were more than proportionate to its size.

[@ellagallagher9877]

@@gregparrott Yeah, makes sense 👍

[@JTA1961]

Thanks for sharing

[@revinhatol]

FACT: The Saint George region used to be called "Utah's Dixie", heck there's even Utah Tech (Dixie State College).

[@MrWhipple42]

Due to the early Mormon effort to grow cotton in the region, similar to U.S. Southern states.

[@NuYoRican718]

@@MrWhipple42and I believe it’s the only region of the state that can support desert palm trees 🌴 like the California palm.

[@JohnRussell207]

I would call that particular fact decidedly unfun.

[@revinhatol]

@@JohnRussell207 What song do you think right about the South?

[@HaremHaver132]

It's still called Utah's Dixie. They changed the name of the College, not the entire region.

[@gagegarlitz1962]

Amazing video! One thing to note is that we've had a ton of precipitation in the last two years, following a major extended drought. The Great Salt Lake has made a remarkable turnaround from its record low level around fall of 2022, to being just slightly below what's considered its healthy range now. That being said, overfarming is still probably the biggest long-term issue facing the state IMO. On paper the State could have massive room for both industrial and population growth, with even relatively minor conservation efforts and realocations from agriculture. They could even do that while keeping the GSL healthy if the State was willing to bite the bullet. They have to keep protecting the farmers though. Even when agriculture is taking up 80% of our water in a desert State, while accounting for less than 1% of our economy. I know a certain level of farming is necessary to prevent flooding, due to how we've changed the natural hydrology with canals. In a lot of cases though, it's as simple as removing subsidies that should've been removed decades ago.

[@SpongeBobaFett]

The heavy Republican lean from the state would never turn against the rural farmers that make up their base though

[@ruadhan6707]

Farmers and farming aren't really as much of the problem as you think, especially in the Wasatch Front. The farmland is being covered by cookie-cutter subdivisions by the square mile, so the water that went to agriculture is now going to everyone having to keep their Kentucky bluegrass lawns the same emerald green as their neighbor. There are even municipalities and HOAs that discourage xeriscaping by ordinance and covenants. It's not agriculture that has to give, though greater efficiency would help. It's the residents of the Wasatch Front and Wasatch Back that need to give up their lawns for something sustainable if we are going to have enough culinary water for residential use and enough to sustain our lakes and wetlands that keep us from breathing toxic dust.

[@JTA1961]

We did that in Arizona... so what did they do ? Double the price for the much less water we did use. How nice of "them"

[@kimberlyfaerber8923]

Thank you for choosing Utah as a subject for a video. I live in American Fork, Utah, and am grateful for the representation.

[@FatTracksMusic]

Hi from PG

[@FatTracksMusic]

Hi from PG

[@bigfootgoesboom]

Not sure I was ready to be called nobody by the videos thumbnail.

[@marmac83]

who are you?

[@Mcfunface]

Based St. George Resident

[@bigfootgoesboom]

@@marmac83 nobody apparently, guess I gotta move if I wanna become somebody

[@parkerbond9400]

I used to be a nobody, then I graduated and left Logan

[@digitalfootballer9032]

I'm also nobody...I live in Western NY state, he just had a video about that recently 😂

[@DarthCasus]

As a member of the church that grew up in California, I want to thank you for this video. I'm always so amazed at how kind and respectful youtubers have been toward giving accurate information about the church. Love your content as always Geoff.

[@Trancymind]

Sadly the LDS (mormons) church are still hiding dark secrets to its members and non members due to being humiliated.

[@herschelwright4663]

Pretty soon the Utah Jazz will have great company in their home arena as the former Arizona Coyotes will set up shop there.

[@alpz6295]

Go Yeti's

[@CeeJai_K]

I drove from Kentucky to Las Vegas on I-70 just last week. Utah was so beautiful.

[@DarthMarr2009]

Utah is basically if nevada was more fortunate

[@Booz2010]

Make MORMONs Great Again 🍯🥛

[@matthalpin1981]

Excellent video. Tons of great information. Best part of these videos besides the videography? - The motion graphics. The motion graphics are a huge help.

[@jeffreysalomone6354]

Geoff, your videos are always nicely done-- informative, interesting graphics and solid video. I always learn quite a bit.

[@Rijowhi]

Thank you for showing us the state of Utah Geoff. It looks stunning (if with serious issues). All the best.👍🏻

[@glenn71144]

We seriously considered relocating to St. George, Ut. The water issues are significant in Southern Utah. Thanks for posting this video.

[@Barbarian1244]

This just shows you that for the most part most of the American West Excluding the Pacific Coast is more rural than most of the American south.

[@theprimalfuckhead526]

By area sure, but I’d bet a higher share of the south’s population lives in a lower densities than do the people in the west. Though the west is probably the “most rural” you can get

[@user-ip5dm6jf8k]

Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Nevada and Montana, all largely rural.

[@Barbarian1244]

@@user-ip5dm6jf8k more than the south even.

[@DontUputThatEvilOnMe]

The south is rural the west is a wilderness.

[@Barbarian1244]

@@DontUputThatEvilOnMe pretty much

[@Tim_fitz]

This was a surprisingly well done video!

[@thepikachupeeps]

As a Utahn, just seeing videos about it is pretty fun and interesting, because not many KZbinrs really make videos about it because it’s just pretty forgot of. I will say, sometimes there is talk about Salt Lake City, but I’m just gonna say, as someone born in Utah, and who grew up here, Salt Lake City is definitely not all of Utah. In fact it’s probably the worst part of the state. I’m sorry to people who like Salt Lake City, but once you see more of the state, Utah truly is a one of the most beautiful states. I’m not just talking about national parks. I’m talking just about outside the large cities, and especially the mountains.

[@enjoimovies]

Another main reason why it’s so empty is because about 60 percent of the land in Utah is Federal Land or BLM land. So that’s pretty cool.

[@Tiny-Cabin]

Love your videos. Especially this one. I'm a born and raised Utahn. Family dates back to the mormon pioneer arrival. I paid a visit to the Great Salt Lake today. The Lake is rising but it likely not enough.

[@bjdon99]

There are lots of states where a large % of their population reside in just one small geographic area. Nebraska and Kansas both have about 85% of their pops crammed into one small area.

[@digitalfootballer9032]

Or even in just one city. My home state of New York has more than half its population in NYC. I am not one of them, I live in the boondocks, but when I say I'm from NY when out of state everyone just assumes NYC.

[@bjdon99]

I lived in Rochester for 4 yrs. It’s true that Upstate barely counts to the NYC/Long Island crowd.

[@bjdon99]

@@digitalfootballer9032 I lived in Rochester myself for 4 yrs in the 90s. People there feel very forgotten by the downstate crowd.

[@mapgravy]

Great video, Geoff! Thanks for highlighting Utah and our problems. We also have terrible air quality, but awesome rail transit.

[@MrWhipple42]

To clarify, the air quality is poor along the Wasatch Front. St George has some of the best air quality in the nation.

[@RigSMP100]

Very nice video, “a degree of protection “ this really demands an explanation “protection, from what or who and why”

[@MrWhipple42]

In the 19th century, protection from federal armies and agents who wanted to arrest and imprison Mormons who practiced polygamy. This persecution reached its peak in the 1880s, when some church leaders were forced to go into hiding from the feds.

[@user-nz1du4ow3k]

Protection from religious persecution.

[@cbpd89]

I live right near the Great Salt Lake, and let me tell you people here are very concerned about the lake shrinking. We got extremely lucky with two good years of snowpack in a row, so the lake has temporarily stopped shrinking. It might make it back into the healthy range once all the spring run off has melted, but it's still in a very precarious position. We have to completely change how we manage water so we can make sure we don't lose that lake, as a lot of our weather patterns, including our all important snowpack, depends on Lake Effect. Agriculture accounting for over 70% of water use in Utah means we've got to massive update agriculture practices and likely switch crops to less water intensive ones. Residential use should be curtailed significantly as well. We don't need to maintain acres of Kentucky blue grass in the desert.

[@thomastrout9997]

Spent a lot of time in Utah in the 1970s and Salt Lake City is the best laid out city I have ever seen. From Temple Square you can find any address in the city very easily. Tough place to get a cocktail back then but the Baskin-Robbins was open til midnight.

[@michaeljensen4095]

Geoff, I believe the Uinta Mountains map at 6:06 is a bit off. The range starts at Kamas, Utah, or at furthest the Jordanelle Reservoir - at least as considered by the locals. It looks like you are including the Wasatch.

[@jdlloyd27]

We live in St. George, and absolutely love it here! I really can't think of a better place to raise our two young daughters. When I was struggling to save enough money to buy a wheelchair van (I have muscular dystrophy), the community came together to raise a significant chunk of the cost. Geoff does a great job in this video highlighting our water issues. Fortunately, many residents are making appropriate changes. We ripped out our lawn four years ago, and since then, four of our neighbors have as well. We still have work to do, though. Fortunately, St. George is warm enough to grow palm trees that are both gorgeous and require minimal water.

[@adrianw3985]

I have family and friends in Utah, and Moab is a favorite of mine. Jeeping and Mountain Biking in Moab is always a good time.

[@miliba]

Utah is also nicely depicted in Horizon Zero Dawn. Aloy starts out the Rockies where the Nora Tribe live and as the game progresses you transition into the Colorado Plateau, which is Carja territory

[@CrystalClearWith8BE]

I know a lot of Utahns live within SLC, Provo, Ogden, and Brigham City which are all in SLC's CSA.

[@roselyncampisi822]

I love Utah. I was in st George it is beautiful

[@mikeparker8774]

Great video, Geoff. One issue I’d like raise is the pronunciation of "Zion." Lots of people for some reason say "Zye‘on," but it’s actually pronounced "Zye-uhn." No glottal stop.

[@digitalfootballer9032]

My church i went to growing up was called Zion and we pronounced it like "lion". I have noticed many people say it like zi-ON, which I would consider incorrect as well.

[@zeppinator7725]

St. George will be a pretty big city within a few decades

[@caelinbaird6493]

I really love driving through the southwestern part of Utah where we see Monument Valley.

[@ruadhan6707]

Monument Valley is on the southEASTERN part of the state.

[@MarkSeverance-hh4ts]

I’m from Moab (haven’t lived there in a really long time though), and I love the “empty” parts of Utah.

[@k.b.tidwell]

I've got a Ryobi cordless drill just like yours.

[@hideawayhomesllc5103]

What happened to the usual view of your basement office? Liked and subscribed!

[@nkmcquain]

Is that timbers memorabilia in the background?! Your PNW?

[@raymondmartin6737]

I think Skinwalker Ranch is in those mountains in NE Utah? 😊

[@andy89135]

Fun fact: the “eroded badlands” biome from Minecraft is based on Bryce Canyon

[@brandodooferman9378]

I70 to Vegas is the most amazing drive for me thru the states

[@Bamatime719]

Southern UT has a group of fundamentalist Mormons, which still believe in polygamy. Pretty weird down there.

[@shadfletcher6815]

I moved from California to utah 4 yrs ago,the salt lake area air pollution is horrible,with mountsins on both sides,the smog has nowhere to go,and as far as polygamy goes,i can barely deal with one wife,why would someone want 4 of them?

[@MrWhipple42]

Latter-day Saints haven't practiced polygamy for over 120 years, and the vast majority of us today agree with your statement. 😁

[@Trancymind]

Latter-days founder had around 30 wives and even married some 14-16 year old stepdaughters as a 36 year old man. He would have more wives if he lived longer.

[@jackshaftoe1715]

Major population centers are unfeasible in a desert. Don't buy real estate in the desert south west.

[@Sacto1654]

In a way, Utah is like Nevada--mostly desert-like conditions that are not suitable for large-scale settlement. That's why in much of Utah, it's effectively just as empty as Nevada.

[@Nicky-hr1qz]

It's not really that empty though the Census Bureau is off it's actually 4 million people now 4 million people they're not they're not accurate on the on the Census Bureau its 4 million people trust me I live here I see it all the time I live in Layton and yeah somebody that doesn't live here doesn't know that it's not empty I kind of wish it was but it's not

[@Nicky-hr1qz]

KZbin staff Marxist can go to hell they keep trying to remove my free speech Utah's not empty I live in Layton and it's more the whole state as a whole is now just over 4 million people it's far from empty trust me

[@Nicky-hr1qz]

It's not empty at all it's actually grown big I don't know when you were here last but no Utah has not been empty for a long time I wish it was but no we're like just over 4 million people now in our state it's anything but empty

[@EdgedShadow]

Murray UT checking in

[@SLCplanter]

as a utahn i aprove of this vid

[@robertsabharwal9787]

Are you still going to travel somewhere?

[@timothysteiner8330]

I wondered about the title if you had ever been to Utah!? LOL

[@workingmothercatlover6699]

Without even watching more than the first minute, I know the answer to the question. I am a born and raised Utahn. I live in Utah county, my grandparents on Mom's side lived in St. George. If you've ever taken that 4 hour drive, the question would not be why so few live in the rest of the state. It would be how can anyone live out here. 😊 I love my state, but even getting the population centers looking livable took the early settlers a lot of work.

[@dplj4428]

Does terraform work?

[@susanmoore9839]

What do the heavy metals come from that are exposed in the dried up bed of the Great Salt Lake?

[@asherjackson7]

Some are natural, others are due to it being a terminal lake used to dump mining activity runoff into for 150 or so years.

[@spyderlogan4992]

I must have missed you mentioning how much of Utah is owned and managed by the Federal Government. That would be 63.1%.

[@gregparrott]

No. According to BLM records 42% of Utah is owned by the feds. The 63% figure matches that of Nevada. (Click on each state to see the numbers) www.blm.gov/about/what-we-manage#:~:text=The%20BLM%20administers%20a%20variety,42%20percent%20of%20the%20state.

[@koltoncrane3099]

It’s obvious why few people live outside of the Wasatch front. If you include St. George area and the Wasatch front like 90% of move ins went to those areas. Utah has concentrated cities cause of railroad development up north and water. There’s less water or rain in other areas which is required for homesteading cause if there’s no water you can’t bend the knee and follow the law to homestead. Honestly I don’t know how massive dry desert ranches happened in New Mexico where it’s impossible to homestead. In Texas dry ranches are private cause when Texas joined the U.S. Texas was allegedly a separate country or republic so it kept its land and didn’t bend the knee. But Utah like all other states but three gave all its unsold land to the federal government. But the federal government never gave it back to the state like it did with other states and it ended homesteading. 65% of Utah is public land or owned by congress not we the people as it continues to be locked up with roads closed. You can’t even metal detect in recreation areas.

[@gregparrott]

I see the 60+% number mentioned, but never cited with a source. Can you cite a source? According to the government's BLM website. 42% of Utah is owned by the feds. www.blm.gov/about/what-we-manage#:~:text=The%20BLM%20administers%20a%20variety,42%20percent%20of%20the%20state. I visited Utah for 9 consecutive Summers, primarily for off road riding (~10k miles total). While there are some areas being blocked, like around Moab and Bears Ears, there is a L O T of land that is wide open to visit. I don't mind that a few percent is protected in order to maintain its pristine condition.

[@donaldjones9830]

Thanks for using the correct name of the Church in Utah and being fair and honest

[@tavanweerd]

Because its uninhabitable desert with very little water. I love the emptiness of the lands And am able to be in the middle of nowhere in minutes. UTAH needs to find the balance between the annual water levels and its growth. Its hit its limit in my opinion

[@nickzz12]

I enjoy your videos but for some reason they have way more ads than normal. It's annoying enough to almost make me click off the video

[@ellagallagher9877]

Cool video. I just want to say that, in case anyone going to Zion reads this, locals call it Zi-un, not Zi-on (I'm not saying that you have to say it like that though).

[@markmiller5614]

Utah I-15 exit 100 looks like a trash dump. Tower road exit south of Scipio looks like a garage dump. Piss bottles from over the road drivers and bags of garbage everywhere. Disgusting!

[@louhak5592]

Isn't the air filled with arsenic due to the drying up of the lake. ???? Does anyone know ???

[@MrWhipple42]

Not yet. If the Great Salt Lake continues to shrink, that's a definite likelihood, though.

[@LordGertz]

The Utah population boot.

[@jds1275]

You missed the fact that a ridiculous amount of land area in the state is directly owned by the feds. Eliminating a lot of space that could be used to build new communities. A lot of the western US land use problems stem from being hemmed in by the federal government. Unlike the east that can make use of most of their state.

[@jayk.2276]

Would like to keep it that way. There’s no where else in the lower 48 like the Intermountain west. There’s a reason people are flooding to states like ours from the major cities. The outdoor public access is unparalleled in most places. There’s plenty of other places to “build communities”. Maybe everyone just needs to assimilate to ones we already have. The state doesn’t have the funds to properly manage such large swaths of land, but the federal government does. They manage it for all of the public, should the state be allowed to sell it off, it will benefit the few, the rich. Keeping eastern ideals, in the east.

[@Dan007UT]

Do you even live here? If so you would see how unhospitable most of that federal land is

[@asherjackson7]

One thing you missed... The Wasatch Front is the world's largest fault line of its kind and is roughly 100 years overdue for a devastating earthquake. The majority of structures built along this fault line are pre-modern earthquake building code (i.e. unreinforced masonry), and those that are modern structures (i.e. more so in the valley) are built on an ancient lake bed (Lake Bonneville), not bedrock, and are therefore vulnerable to liquefaction in the event of such an earthquake. The valley's water and gas mains criss-cross the fault line... And the epicenter of damage will lakely destroy I-15, I-215, and I-80 (the three freeway systems around and in/out of the valley). The valley's most capable hospital, the UofU Hospital, sits right on top of the fault line. Several offshoots of this fault line and others all intersect directly underneath downtown SLC. Modeling shows the quake could permanently tilt the valley floor causing Utah Lake to flood north through the corridor between Draper and Bluffale and the Great Salt Lake to flood into downtown SLC and part of the Ogden area. Uncontrolled fires throughout the valley from ruptured gas lines, loss of drinking water, destroyed roadways are all initial expectations immediately following. The loss of life, casualties, and ultimate economic devastation will make this one of the worst natural disasters in US history. The factors at play are a perfect storm. If you're going to move to Utah, I would think very carefully about where you live and in what kind of structure... As well as your financial support system should the local economy take such a hit as those who can afford to flee the valley (state analysis expects 10-20 years to return to pre-earthquake population / economy).

[@joes6525]

Actually the Federal Government took most of Utahs lands. In fact Western U.S. is in the same predicament.

[@relaxing_white_noises_by_j1980]

They should try to find a way to bring the salt lake back to the original Lake Bonneville size. An inland sea would be very profitable for the area!

[@jcarp8471]

No thank you. Filling up Lake Bonneville would submerge just about all of the 2.3 million people living in the Greater Salt Lake area. If you visit the area, you can still see the ancient shoreline ringing above the cities on the sides of the mountains and hills.

[@jander6121]

Utah should be the first state to openly support RV Life. Allow the roaming nomads to register as a Utah Resident to help with taxes.

[@lewatoaofair2522]

And just when Utah got an NHL team.

[@alexchene4064]

"Why do so few people live __"? The answer always boils down to the area cannot support crops, or can support very few

[@digitalfootballer9032]

And/or is unnavigable or not suited for building. It's usually either desert, tundra, or mountains.

[@JTA1961]

Went up at night from Az...not impressed. Came back in the day...(I stand corrected) impressed.

[@pradeepmagan6951]

They are using Salt Lake up and the lake is running dry

[@geraldmeehan8942]

My mother had an aunt in Manti

[@geechie-don7157]

The hills have eyes…

[@cowboyfinleys2757]

Tooele city Heber city is growing

[@lomeoNS]

I knew it was the 10-Speeder’s fault 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@BobbyJamescomposer]

Also, the Federal government owns 71 percent of the land in Utah.

[@JayKey1505]

Everyone in Utah wants to live close to the Utah Yetis

[@KathyJvanest]

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[@Kelompok16SistemMultimedia]

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[@KathyJvanest]

Thanks to my co-worker (Alex) who suggested Ms Angela Christine Derle.

[@KathyJvanest]

After I raised up to 325k trading with her l bought a new House and a car here in the states 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 E also paid for my son's surgery (Andy). Glory to God.shalom.

[@StaffSpecial]

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[@KathyJvanest]

Sure! She engages on what's Apk using the digit

[@Bum_Hip]

He gets to the point at about 8:10

[@thooper4380]

Yeah, that whole US/Mexico "at war" map isn't accurate. Texas WAS its own independent country until the end of 1845, then the Mexican American war started in 1846.

[@WackyChu]

The western/midwest states in general are empty. There’s like nothing interesting there. There’s no NYC, Atlanta or Illinois. The terrain also makes it more difficult. And on a historical record we started at the 13 colonies rather than the lefter side of the US or Midwest.

[@MrKim-kv2vv]

That’s OK, you can keep the mega-urban concrete jungles.

[@PartTimeBuddhist]

Just got back from visiting my friend in Cedar City, UT. First thing I said when I got to his place was, "So where the hell are all the beehives?" The nearest large airport is Las Vegas. I mean, talk about a culture clash. I get off the plane to signs saying, "Get ready to party!" Really, in Cedar City? I don't think the signs knew where I was actually going.

[@timoteo8024]

Funny pueblo were not Anasazi! Duh

[@skidogleb]

Welcome to Utah, where the liquor stores are closed on Sundays, the weather changes seasons every 3 hours, and the house prices just keep going up.

[@JoshJones-37334]

Sounds like Tennessee

[@Mcfunface]

That's not special to Utah

[@JoshJones-37334]

@@Mcfunface when I was there in 2008 they only sold 3% beer. And you had to have a “membership” at the bar to even drink. That’s pretty unique.

[@skidogleb]

@@JoshJones-37334 now they have 5% beer at stores, and I’ve never seen a members only bar

[@JoshJones-37334]

@@skidogleb lol at 5%!! In Alabama we can buy 13%. But we aren’t little kittens who wear magic underwear. It was members only at every bar at ever ski resort in the Wasatch. I either had to buy a membership or be “sponsored” by a member, which I took to be a plot to get locals free drinks.

[@Nicky-hr1qz]

I live in Layton Utah which is 30 mins north of downtown Salt Lake city area and Layton has grown ridiculously layton like orem or provo is grown dramatically

[@digitalfootballer9032]

Because most of the state is desert, rocks, and buttes, there just saved you 15 minutes 😂

[@MC_aigorithm]

metro St. George is like "uhm empty says what?"

[@revinhatol]

Cedar City/Parowan: "What about us?"

[@Wh3nth3wick3drul3]

I've lived in UT for the majority of my life, a mission and jr. college is all I have left for. We've never had a drought until they started burying the water via giant pipe work and I think that it's purpose is for their population control by the year 2030 or sooner. That's only been in recent years. Then God made it snow almost as much as when we had flooding in the 1980's. So their pipes couldn't keep the water contained. Blah, ha, ha, ha! So there's a bit of exaggeration about our situation.

[@pyhead9916]

The lake is drying up because it's full of salt.

[@jeffah3103]

About the shrinking lake, has anyone ever mentioned how the lake got there in the first place? It is a mere mud puddle, considering it used be the Ancient Lake Bonneville, many millions of times larger covering vast amounts of the Great Basin. The lake shrinks and grows based on the length of droughts. It's no surprise. Yes, it can be a problem, but that's what happens when you depend on a muddle puddle hanging around.