Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city in the state of Utah. The Salt Lake City metropolitan area spans Salt Lake, Summit and Tooele counties, and is home to approximately 1,099,973 residents.
Salt Lake City is often noted for its connection to Brigham Young, the Mormon pioneer who founded the city in 1847 after fleeing persecution in the Midwest. Today, the city is still home to the headquarters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also known as the Mormon Church).
Because of its unique geography, Salt Lake City has developed a strong outdoor recreation tourist industry. Winter sports, such as skiing and snowboarding, are popular activities in this area; eight ski resorts lie within 50 miles of the city. Summer activities such as hiking, camping, rock climbing, mountain biking, boating and fishing are also popular in the nearby Wasatch Mountains.
Salt Lake City houses the Museum of Church History and Art, which is operated by the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This voluminous museum contains collections of artifacts, documents, art, photographs, tools, clothing and furniture from the history of the LDS Church, which spans nearly two centuries.
Local fans cheer on their NBA team, the Utah Jazz, at EnergySolutions Arena. They have been one of the most successful teams in the regular season during the last 25 years, making the playoffs in 22 of them, although they have yet to win a championship. College sports are also of great interest in the area, especially the historic rivalry between The University of Utah’s and Brigham Young University’s football teams.
Salt Lake City was host to the 2002 Winter Olympics and is also the industrial banking center of the United States.