犹他州小档案:
人口:约210万
面积:约219,931平方公里,排名第11位
州府:盐湖城Salt Lake City
犹他州,取名于印第安人某一部落的名称。其意义为“山地人”Hill Dwellers。
1847年开始殖民。1896年1月4日成为美国第45州。以百合花Sego Lily为州花。本州别名叫做“蜂窝之州”Beehive State。本州箴言:“工业”Industry。
州府是盐湖城Salt Lake City,位于大盐湖东南方。本州高等学府有犹他大学,创于1850个,地点在盐湖城。
本州特征有二:第一,它是美国境内最大的内陆盆地。大盐湖Great Salt Lake是一个内陆湖,位于本州西北部,在大盆地之内,窝塞赤山脉西麓,面积约为5000平方公里,盐度22%,其中无鱼。这是古代包内维湖Bonneville L.的残余部分。第二,它有美国最大的铜矿。这个大铜矿在盐湖城Salt Lake City西南方之宾汉Bingham,叫做宾汉铜矿,露天开采(产铜最多之地是亚利桑那州)。
本州主要矿产是铜、金、银、钼及石油。工业较矿业之收入为多,尤其是火箭工业,发展迅速。旅游业很发达。因为本州南部有三个著名的国家公园。天堂国家公园Zion National Park。布莱斯峡谷国家公园Bryce Canyon Nqtional Park,和峡谷区国家公园Canyonlands National Park。
天堂公园是以狭谷的峡谷著名。最著名的狭窄峡谷,宽度不过十多公尺,却有500公尺之深。断崖峭壁,窄谷深沟。这个公园地区气候甚干。由于地块上升,发生断裂,形成巨缝,加上骤雨时迳流的强力冲刷,才出现这一种惊人的狂窄深谷。布莱斯峡谷公园之内,有世界上最大的粉红色峡谷。断崖绝壁由粉红色石灰岩、页岩及砂岩构成。早晨及傍晚,当阳光照射之时,美观极了。盆地内有天然桥、尖塔、岩窗、土柱及其他由于侵蚀而形成的小地形。峡谷区公园在本州东南部,跨科罗拉多河两岸,两侧岩层壁立,岩层是红色,好像火焰。通过流水切割,有孤立的石柱、孤立的岩墙,高大的石门及天空之岛The Island in the Sky。
Introduction简介
Utah presents an uncommon landscape with three major land formations(physiographic provinces).They are the Rocky Mountain,Colorado Plateau(高原),and Basin and Range provinces.The Rocky Mountain Province takes up a V-shaped section of northeastern Utah.In this area are the Uinta and Wasatch mountains.The Colorado Plateau Province lies in the east central and southeastern area of Utah.It includes the area from the Uinta Basin south to Canyonlands.The Basin and Range Province is an area of deserts and mountain ranges.They are separated by broad valleys.
Within these three areas,Utah varies in elevation from the lowest point at Beaver Dam Wash,2,350feet above sea level in the south,to the highest point on Kings Peak in the Uinta Mountains,13,528feet above sea level.Most of Utah’s cities are located between 3,000and 7,000feet above sea level.
In each of these areas there are different kinds of plants and animals.At 3,000feet you will find sagebrush(山艾树),Joshua trees and the horned rattlesnake(〈美〉[动]响尾蛇).Around 4,000feet you can look at junipers([植]刺柏属丛木或树木)and herds of mule deer([动]长耳鹿,黑尾鹿).In the higher mountains you will see quaking aspen(白杨),douglas fir(花旗松),the Canada lynx([动]猞猁)and North American elk([动]麋鹿).At the very top of the mountains,past 8,000feet,you can find alpine fir and Engleman spruce(云杉)trees.
Utah’s temperatures vary widely.The mountains and high valleys are cooler,while the lower elevations and southern parts of the state have higher temperatures.The highest temperature ever recorded is 117F on July 5,1985,at St.George,Utah.On February 1,1985,at Peter’s Sink in Logan the temperature sank to -69F,the lowest recorded temperature in Utah.
Precipitation(降雨量)in Utah varies greatly.The Great Salt Lake Desert gets an average of less than 5inches in a year.Some places in the Wasatch Mountains get more than 60inches in a year.The average annual rainfall is between 10and 15inches per year.The greatest amount of rain to fall in one hour in Utah was 5inches in Morgan[摩根马(美国佛蒙特州轻型马,与美国快马相似)],Utah,on August 16,1958.In fact the greatest amount to fall in two and three hours also happened in Morgan,on the same day:a total of 15inches in three hours.That is a whole years’worth of water in one afternoon.
In the decades following World War II,Utah has continued to grow.Cultural institutions like the Utah Symphony,Mormon Tabernacle Choir,Utah Opera Company,Ballet West,and Utah Festival Opera(Logan),to name a few,have a solid reputation both locally and nationally.Utah’s research centers continue to lead in a variety of scientific and medical innovations.
Utah is a leader in information technology.It is home to numerous high tech companies including Iomega,and Novell.Even after WordPerfect moved to Canada and Novell laid off several hundred workers,programmers,engineers and executives reinvested their severance(切断)money in new companies that have hastened(加速)the growth of Utah’s high tech industry.
The announcement in 1996that Salt Lake City would host the 2002Winter Olympics spurred the construction of new sports venues and facilities.In 1998Scarborough Research Corp.stated that Salt Lake City had more personal computers per household than any other city in the United States.
Tourism has become a major economic factor year round with the development of Utah’s ski industry,national parks,and recreation areas such as Lake Powell and the Grand StaircaseEscalante National Monument created in 1996.Southwestern Utah is booming(急速发展的),due to its warm climate which is attractive to older people.
Another growing multimillion(数百万)dollar industry in Utah is that film and television production.Popular television shows produced in Utah include“Promised Land”and“Touched by an Angel.”Motion pictures filmed in Utah include:2001:A Space Odyssey(1968),Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid(1969),Footloose(1984),Thelma and Louise(1991),Forrest Gump(1994),Independence Day(1996)and The Wild Wild West(1999).
A major issue in Utah is that of transportation.An evergrowing population along the Wasatch front has spurred the reconstruction of freeway(高速公路)system(I-15mainly),and construction of light rail(Provo-Salt Lake City)and TRAX .
Nevertheless(然而,不过),as a modern state,Utah faces the same kinds of problems that face other states:adequate funding for all levels education and other public needs,environmental protection,increased opportunities for women and minorities,preservation of the historic and cultural heritage,continuing economic development of rural areas,conservation of natural resources and areas of natural beauty,and urban renewal(更新,复兴).How these and future challenges are met will fill tomorrow’s history books.
Governor州长
州长Jon Huntsman1960年3月26日出生在加州的Palo Alto。他毕业于宾夕法尼亚州州立大学,并获取学士学位。作为商业者,他在Huntsman集团占据几个领导席位,像控股公司的主席和执行总裁。他普通话说得很流利。他还领养了一个中国孩子。
Jon Huntsman,Jr.was born on March 26,1960in Palo Alto,California.He attended the University of Utah and graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania.