Geographic location

Salt Lake is the largest metropolitan area in Utah. Salt Lake is used to refer to both the city and the county. The city is bordered by the Great Salt Lake and the snow-capped Wasatch Range. Meanwhile, the county stretches from the suburbs of North Salt Lake to Bluffdale and is ringed by the Oquirrh (pronounced “oaker”) and Wasatch ranges.

位置

Salt Lake lies in a mountain valley with the Wasatch Mountains to the east and north, and the Oquirrh (pronounced “oaker”) Mountains to the west. State Street runs north to south at the bottom of the valley floor. The area was once covered by the ancient Lake Bonneville. This huge lake once stretched across Utah, Nevada, and Idaho. The eastern parts of the city were built on ancient beaches of this lake and are now called, “benches” in the foothills of the Wasatch Mountains. The Great Salt Lake is the last remaining remnant of Lake Bonneville. Its shores form the northwest border of Salt Lake.

Climate

Salt Lake is an arid mountain desert. The air is thin, dry, and ranges between hot and freezing throughout the year. The area does experience four full seasons.

Salt Lake City, Utah gets 20 inches of rain, on average, per year. The US average is 38 inches of rain per year.

Salt Lake City averages 54 inches of snow per year. The US average is 28 inches of snow per year.

On average, there are 222 sunny days per year in Salt Lake City. The US average is 205 sunny days.

Salt Lake City gets some kind of precipitation, on average, 91 days per year. Precipitation is rain, snow, sleet, or hail that falls to the ground. In order for precipitation to be counted you have to get at least .01 inches on the ground to measure.

Weather Highlights

Summer High: the July high is around 91 degrees

Winter Low: the January low is 23

Rain: averages 20 inches of rain a year

Snow: averages 54 inches of snow a year

Climate

Four major land-use types:

Commercial / Industrial / Educational / Residential.

On average, for the areas studied, vegetation covers about 46% of the area (ranging 44–51%), roofs cover about 21% (ranging 15–24%), and paved surfaces about 26% (ranging 21–28%). For the most part, trees shade streets, parking lots, grass, and sidewalks. In most non-residential areas, paved surfaces cover 46–66% of the area. In residential areas, on average, paved surfaces cover about 32% of the area.