Salt Lake City (population 186,440) is the capital city of Utah. Salt Lake City or SLC, as it is sometimes referred to, is the most heavily populated city in the state of Utah. It is part of the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, population roughly 1,124,200. The larger urban region wherein Salt Lake is located is called the Wasatch Front, that has a population of over 2 million. The Wasatch Front and the city of Reno, in Nevada State, are the two biggest urban regions within the Great Basin.
Mormon leader Brigham Young together with his followers established the community in the year 1847. The Mormon settlers changed an arid valley with cultivation and irrigation. Until the year 1868 Salt Lake was called "Great Salt Lake City" after Great Salt Lake nearby. Salt Lake City is home to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) world head office. Mormons comprise roughly half the population of the city.
Salt Lake City was known as the Crossroads of the West. The economy was boosted by immigration of LDS Church members from abroad, mining booms and a railroad boom. During 1913, the city of Salt Lake became the point of intersection of the Lincoln Highway, the very first transcontinental highway and the transcontinental railroad. These days, the I-15 and I-80, two main cross-country freeways, intersect within the city.
The city is also recognized internationally for its skiing facilities and was fortunate to host the 2002 Winter Olympics. The outdoor recreation tourist business is vital to the economy of Salt Lake City. People looking for outdoor adventure come to go to the Wasatch Mountains nearby.
The city of Salt Lake has a thriving culture and arts sector. The city has a plethora of museums: The Children's Museum of Utah, The Utah Museum of Fine Arts, The Red Butte garden and Arboretum, The Utah Museum of natural History and The Clark Planetarium.
Local, federal and state government agencies hire many local residents. Other than government, the main industries in Salt Lake City are professional and business services, and transportation and utilities and trade. Industrial banking is a main economic sector. Most of the industrial banks in the country have head office within the area of Salt Lake. Furthermore, Salt Lake City has a lot of convention centers, regional distribution centers and call centers.
Both the Intermountain Healthcare and the University of Utah are main employers in the city of Salt Lake. Other key companies headquartered in the city consist of Alpha Graphics, Sinclair Oil Corporation, Smith's Food and Drug and Zions Bancorporation.