St. George is a city located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Utah on the Utah-Arizona border, and the county seat of Washington County, Utah. It is the principal city of the St. George Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city lies in the northeastern-most part of the Mojave Desert, at the convergence of three distinct geological areas; the Mojave Desert, Colorado Plateau, and Great Basin. It is 117 miles (188 km) northeast of Las Vegas, Nevada and 303 miles (488 km) south-southwest of Salt Lake City on Interstate 15.
As of 2013, St. George had a population of 76,817. In 2005, St. George was the second fastest-growing metropolitan area in the United States, only after Greeley, Colorado. This trend continued through 2007, when growth slowed substantially due to the economic recession. However, growth has since greatly rebounded. In 2014, the St. George metropolitan area (defined as Washington County) had an estimated 151,948 residents.
The hub of southern Utah and Utah's Dixie, a nickname given to the area when Mormon pioneers grew cotton in the warm climate, St. George is the seventh-largest city in Utah and the largest city in the state outside of the Wasatch Front. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, it had the distinction in the late 2000s of having the fastest white population growth in the nation. It has been observed that the conservative social culture of the region shows, on the one hand, friction between "business-driven conservatives" and "anti-illegal immigration social conservatives," and on the other, some tensions between Mormons (by far a majority of the population) and non-Mormons.
History
St. George was founded as a cotton mission in 1861 under the direction of Apostle Erastus Snow, called by Brigham Young, the president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church)--part of a greater church effort to become self-sufficient. While the early settlers did manage to grow cotton, it was never produced at competitive market rates; consequently, cotton farming was eventually abandoned.
At the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861, Brigham Young organized the settlement of what is now Washington County, Utah.
Fearing that the war would take away the cotton supply, he began plans for raising enough in this western country to supply the needs of his people. Enough favorable reports had come to him from this warm country below the rim of the Great Basin, that he was convinced cotton could be raised successfully here. At the general church conference in Salt Lake City on October 6th, 1861, about three hundred families were "called" to the Dixie mission to promote the cotton industry. Most of the people knew nothing of this expedition until their names were read from the pulpit; but in nearly every case, they responded with good will, and made ready to leave within the month's time allotted to them. The families were selected so as to ensure the communities the right number of farmers, masons, blacksmiths, businessmen, educators, carpenters, as needed.
The settlement was named after George A. Smith, an apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Notable events
In April 1877, the LDS Church completed the St. George Utah Temple. It is the Church's third temple, and, currently, its longest continually operating temple.
St. George was the location of the 1997 United States Academic Decathlon national finals.
In January 2005, severe flooding, dubbed a 100 year flood occurred throughout the region due to prolonged heavy rainfall overflowing the Virgin River and Santa Clara River. One person was killed and 28 homes were destroyed by the raging Santa Clara River.
Nuclear contamination
St. George received the brunt of the fallout of above-ground nuclear testing in the Yucca Flats/Nevada Test Site northwest of Las Vegas. Winds routinely carried the fallout of these tests directly through St. George and southern Utah. Marked increases in cancers such as leukemia, lymphoma, thyroid cancer, breast cancer, melanoma, bone cancer, brain tumors, and gastrointestinal tract cancers were reported from the mid-1950s through 1980.
A 1962 United States Atomic Energy Commission report found that "children living in St. George, Utah, may have received doses to the thyroid of radioiodine as high as 120 to 440 rads" (1.2 to 4.4 Gy).
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 64.9 square miles (168.0 km²), of which, 64.4 square miles (166.8 km²) of it is land and 0.5 square miles (1.2 km²) of it (0.72%) is water.
St. George lies in a dry desert valley with most of the city lying below 3,000 feet (900 m). The wildlife and vegetation are typical of the Mojave Desert. Situated near a unique geological transition zone where the Colorado Plateau, Great Basin and Mojave Desert all converge. The Beaver Dam Mountains/Utah Hill lie to the west, Pine Valley Mountains to the north, the Colorado Plateau and Zion National Park to the east and the Arizona Strip and Virgin River Gorge to the south. The Virgin and Santa Clara rivers flow through the city and confluence southwest of downtown near Webb Hill. The Red Cliffs Desert Reserve lies atop a sandstone bluff which creates the northern boundary of the downtown area. Snow Canyon State Park borders the northwest part of the city.
The urban landscape sprawls around numerous hills, mesas, waterways and desert habitat reserves within the area. The central downtown area has a well defined grid, with the center point being at the intersection of Tabernacle and Main Streets, within the city's historic district. All streets parallel to Tabernacle run east-west, and all parallel to Main run north-south. St. George's suburbs are Washington to the east, Santa Clara and Ivins to the west-northwest and the community of Bloomington, which forms the southwestern part of the city.
Geology
In Southwestern Utah, soil and rock formations are red in appearance due to the presence of iron oxide. Although portions of the older section of the city (particularly the southern part near the Virgin River) lie on floodplain alluvium, much of St. George is built directly upon Jurassic, Triassic, and Permian period sedimentary bedrock. The following formations--listed in chronological order--can be found within the city limits.
Kaibab Limestone (Permian): Grey fossiliferious limestone, exposed at the center of the Virgin River anticline along Horseman Park Drive and in the low hills to the south of South Bloomington Hills.
Moenkopi Formation (Triassic): Chocolatey-red and white banded mudstone, shale, limestone, and siltstone containing thick layers of gypsum, exposed at Bloomington, South Bloomington Hills, and the south side of Webb Hill.
Shinarump Conglomerate (Triassic): Yellow to brown cliff-forming sandstone and conglomerate containing fossilized oyster shells and petrified wood. Forms the cliff faces north of Bloomington, on Webb Hill, and along the Virgin River south of 1450 South Street. This is actually the lowest member of the Chinle formation.
Chinle Formation (Triassic): Purple, white, grey and locally green bentonitic shale weathering to clay. Because of the softness of the strata, structures built on this formation run a higher risk of settling or slippage. The Chinle formation underlies large portions of St. George, including North Bloomington Hills, much of Green Valley, and much of the east part of the city around Riverside Drive and Pine View High School.
Moenave Formation (Jurassic): Red and orange sandstone, siltstone, and mudstone. There is some confusion about distinguishing between the Springdale sandstone member of the Moenave formation and the overlying Navajo sandstone, which is similar in appearance, in the St. George area. It is now generally assumed that the red cliffs to the north of the old part of the city (north of Red Hills Parkway) and at the Dixie Red Hills golf course are part of the Moenave formation. Other exposures include cuts into the east and west Black Hills and the southern part of Dixie Downs.
Kayenta Formation (Jurassic): Red, orange, and purple sandstone, shale, and mudstone. Forms slopes below the massive Navajo sandstone in the northern part of the city including northern Dixie Downs and along Snow Canyon Parkway.
Navajo Sandstone (Jurassic): Grey to brown, red, and (in its upper layers) white massive sandstone. Forms cliff faces above Snow Canyon Parkway and white outcrops at Winchester Hills.
Basaltic lava flows from the Quaternary period form the black ridges to the east and west of the old part of St. George city. The volcanic eruptions producing these flows are thought to date back 1.2 million years.
Other points of geologic interest include the Virgin River anticline; the rock has eroded away in the center leaving sheer walls surrounding the "Purgatory Flats" area to the east of St. George. Another geologic feature is Pine Valley Mountain, composed of one solid piece of granite, it is one of the largest laccoliths in the world.
Climate
St. George's climate is significantly warmer on average than the rest of Utah, and typical of the desert southwest, with an arid climate (Köppen BWks or BWhs), featuring long, hot summers and brief, cool winters. The monthly daily average temperature ranges from 41.3 °F (5.2 °C) in December to 87.9 °F (31.1 °C) in July, while there are 60 days with 100 °F (38 °C)+ highs, 122 days with 90 °F (32 °C)+ highs (the average window is April 27 thru October 5), and 61 days where the low reaches freezing (the average window is November 12 thru March 14). The highest temperature statewide, 118 °F (48 °C), was recorded in a remote area south of St. George proper, near the Arizona border, on July 4, 2007, breaking the previous record-holder, in St. George itself, at 117 °F (47 °C) on July 5, 1985. The record high minimum temperature is 89 °F (32 °C), set on July 15, 1970, and July 3, 2013. Nighttime freezes are common during the winter due to radiative cooling. Both the record low temperature of -11 °F (-24 °C) and record low maximum temperature of 17 °F (-8 °C) were set on January 22, 1937; the record low temperature occurred again on January 26, 1937.
The city has abundant sunshine year-round, and averages over 300 sunny days per year with 8.80 inches (224 mm) of precipitation annually. Precipitation is fairly evenly distributed throughout the year, except a dry period from late April through June (after the Pacific storm season but before the southwest monsoon). Precipitation mostly comes from the Pacific Ocean from late fall through early spring. The storm track usually lifts north of the city by mid-April. The North American Monsoon (southwest monsoon) can bring localized but often intense thunderstorms from mid-July through mid-September. The greatest rainfall in 24 hours was 2.40 in (61.0 mm) on August 31, 1909. Snowfall is rare, with many seasons recording no measurable accumulation; the normal seasonal snowfall is 1.4 in (3.6 cm). It has been recorded as early as October 29 (in 1971) and as late as April 11 (in 1927). The record single day snowfall is 10.0 in (25 cm), set on January 5, 1974.
Government and infrastructure
The St. George city government is organized under a council-manager form of government. As of January, 2014, the mayor of St. George is Jon Pike. The city manager of 37 years is Gary Esplin, Assistant City Manager is Marc M. Mortensen, and council members are Gil Almquist, Jimmy Hughes, Michele Randall, Joe Bowcutt, and Bette Arial, who was appointed on Jan. 23 by the other four members to fill the seat that Jon Pike vacated when he was sworn in as mayor. City Council meetings are held on the first and third Thursdays of each month at the City Council Chambers.
The U.S. Federal Courthouse, Washington County Justice Court, Juvenile Court and the Fifth District Courthouse are located downtown.
Healthcare
Dixie Regional Medical Center is an Intermountain Health Care hospital offering a 24-hour trauma center and basic emergency services for the tri-state region of southern Utah, northwest Arizona and southeastern Nevada.
Utilities
St. George is served by City of St. George Utilities, which serves most of the city, and Dixie Power, which serves southern areas of the city. Rocky Mountain Power serves parts of the greater St. George area.
Arts and culture
St. George is home to several museums and art galleries, some notable ones include the St. George Art Museum, St. George Children's Museum the Rosenbruch Wildlife Museum, and the St. George Dinosaur Discovery Site. Coyote Gulch Art Village is in nearby Ivins.
The city is home to the Southwest Symphony Orchestra and Southern Utah Heritage Choir. The St. George Arts Festival occurs each Spring, and the city sponsors an Art in the Park and a Concerts in the Park series offering a variety of music and bands at Vernon Worthen Park each summer season.
Dixie State University features the Celebrity Concert Series and annual Spring Break Concert Fest.
The Huntsman World Senior Games and the Boston-qualifying St. George Marathon, the 13th largest marathon in the country, attracts thousands of participants and tourists in October. Other notable events include the St. George Ironman Triathlon and the Fall Fuel Fest featuring Nitro Circus. The Washington County Fair is held each August in the County Regional Park just east of the city in Hurricane. The week-long St. George Parade of Homes showcases the area's high-end homes and architectural features each February. St. George hosts the bi-annual U.S. Navy Blue Angels airshow,' 'Thunder Over Utah' ' at the municipal airport.
Notable venues include the St. George Opera House, Dixie State University is home to Burns Arena, Cox Auditorium and O.C. Tanner Amphitheater. The Dixie Convention Center, the city's largest venue, hosts concerts, meetings, and major events such as UFC Cage Fighting, The Spring Home and Garden Expo, What Women Want Expo and the Dixie Regional Transportation Expo. An older historic venue offering a local music scene is The Electric Theater located on historic Tabernacle Street. Tuacahn Amphitheater features shows and concerts throughout the season in an outdoor setting amidst the red cliff walls of Snow Canyon.
Economy
SkyWest Airlines is headquartered in St. George, and is the primary airline provider at the city's municipal airport. Walmart has a large distribution center just outside the city and Family Dollar recently opened a distribution center in the Fort Pierce Industrial Park to better serve the southwest region of the U.S.
The Washington County School District main offices are based in the city.
The Cafe Rio restaurant chain was started in St. George in 1997.
A large part of the local economy comes from tourism, due to its proximity to Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, and Grand Canyon National Park as well as several state parks and recreational areas. Year-round golf and other world-recognized events are also large contributors to the city's economy.
ArrayTransportation
St. George Municipal Airport, remotely located southeast of downtown off Southern Parkway, opened in January 2011 at a cost of approximately $175 million, replacing the previous smaller airport that was located on a land-locked mesa in the center of town. Currently, the city is served with daily jet service to Salt Lake City and Denver (as of June 2013).
St. George currently has no rail service. The Union Pacific line between Salt Lake City and Las Vegas is about 60 miles (97 km) north and west of the city.
Public transportation:
SunTran is the local public transit system and operates six fixed-routes with over 140 bus stops currently serving St. George-Ivins.
Major highways:
- Interstate 15 connects St. George to Salt Lake City, Las Vegas and southern California. The western terminus of Interstate 70, 125 miles (201 km) to the north, connects St. George to Denver and points east.
Access to Interstate 10 and Interstate 40 via U.S. Route 93, 120 miles (190 km) to the southwest, connects St. George to Phoenix.
- SR-7 is a partially constructed beltway, with a seven mile spur connecting I-15 to the city's airport.
- U.S. Highway 91, prior to the construction of I-15, was the only major U.S. highway serving the city. Today it is referred to as Old Highway 91.
- SR-8 (Sunset Boulevard)
- SR-34 (St. George Boulevard)
- SR-18 (Bluff Street)
Religion
- LDS - 62.5%
- Catholic - 4.1%
- Protestant - 2.8%
- Other - 30.5%
Sports
The St. George community has been the home to two minor-league independent baseball teams. The first, the St. George Pioneerzz (originally the Zion Pioneerzz), played in the independent Western Baseball League from 1999 to 2001, winning the league championship in 2000. A new franchise, managed by former major league player Darell Evans, was awarded to Utah's Dixie in 2007. The team, the St. George Roadrunners, played in the independent Golden Baseball League before being taken over by the league and moved to Henderson, Nevada in 2010.
The city's four high schools (Dixie, Desert Hills, Pine View, and Snow Canyon) play in 3A state competition. Dixie State University, formerly Dixie State College, participates in the NCAA Division II Pacific West Conference. Some famous DSU athletes are Corey Dillon, Anton Palepoi, Reno Mahe, and Scott Brumfield, who all played in the NFL. Marcus Banks, Lionel Hollins, Keon Clark, and Mo Baker are Dixie players who played in the NBA, and former Rebels Bradley Thompson and Brandon Lyon currently play in the major leagues. Former Boston Red Sox pitcher Bruce Hurst played at Dixie High School, and later managed the now defunct Zion Pioneerzz in its inaugural season (1999).
Parks and recreation
St. George is home to many parks, several award-winning golf courses and recreation areas, as well as over 65 miles of urban trail system. Notable parks and sites include the Canyons Softball Complex; Little Valley Softball Complex; Pioneer Park, Tonaquint Nature Center; St. George Motocross Park a.k.a. SGMX. The Washington County Regional Park and fairgrounds is just east of the city in Hurricane. The St. George area has several recreation centers; the St. George Rec Center; Washington City Rec Center in neighboring Washington, and the Sand Hollow Aquatics Center. The city also has several dog parks, splash pads, urban fishing ponds and two skateparks.
Media
Radio
Newspapers
The Spectrum, which is owned by Gannett, is the local, daily newspaper; The Independent newspaper offers a monthly print edition featuring local news, arts, entertainment & events coverage. "The Independent" also provides free online daily news and an online community events calendar. St. George News (stgnews.com) is a free-access online newspaper focusing on local and regional news. The Salt Lake Tribune, Deseret Morning News, and Las Vegas Review-Journal / Las Vegas Sun are also heavily distributed in St. George and offer home delivery.
Television
St. George has only one television station licensed to the city, KMYU Channel 12, a MyNetworkTV/ThisTV affiliate. The station carries the second half of CBS This Morning and CBS Face the Nation, as well as Family Feud, and has its own newscast at 7:00 p.m. each weeknight. It is carried in HD on Dish Network and DirecTV, as well as on Comcast Ch. 643 in Salt Lake City, and on Ch. 20 on local Baja Cable. KMYU (known as My Utah TV) is sister station to KUTV-DT, and is operated out of KUTV's offices in Salt Lake City, although the station has a news bureau with a reporter and photographer based in St. George.
Also in St. George are the offices of Cedar City, UT-licensed KCSG Channel 14, a MeTV affiliate, which broadcasts local news at 7:00PM and 9:00PM. The city also receives local TV channels from Salt Lake City with broadcast translators in the St. George area.
The Las Vegas NBC affiliate, KSNV-DT, has a local translator owned by Cherry Creek Radio, KVBT-LP channel 41, on which some of its programming airs two hours later than the same programming broadcast on Salt Lake City NBC affiliate KSL-TV.
Education
St. George is home to Dixie State University, a four-year institution, of about 9,000 students (as of 2012), and Dixie Applied Technology College. In addition to the colleges, the city is also home to the College Education Centers of University of Phoenix and lesser known Stevens-Henager College.
The city of St. George is a part of the Washington County School District. St. George has four public high schools: Dixie High School, Pine View High School, Desert Hills High School, and Snow Canyon High School, as well as Millcreek Alternative High School. The city has four middle schools, three intermediate schools and numerous elementary schools.
Neighboring Ivins is home to Utah's first charter high school, Tuacahn High School for the Performing Arts, which provides an alternative education with no tuition costs to any Utah resident.
Demographics
In 2012, the city's population was estimated at 75,561. In September 2005, St. George was declared the second fastest-growing metropolitan area in the United States.
As of 2011, there were 27,552 households. The population density was 1,135 people per square mile. As of 2010, there were 32,089 housing units at an average density of per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 87.2% White, 0.7% African-American, 1.5% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 1.0% Pacific Islander, and 8.9% from other races. 12.8% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.
As of the 2000 census, there were 17,367 households out of which 34.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.6% were married couples living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.9% were non-families. 19.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.2% have someone living alone who is 65 years old or older. The average household size was 2.81 individuals and the average family size was 3.21.
In the city the age distribution of the population shows 28.4% under the age of 18, 13.7% from 18 to 24, 22.0% from 25 to 44, 16.8% from 45 to 64, and 19.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 94.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $36,505, and the median income for a family was $41,788. Males had a median income of $31,106 versus $20,861 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,022. About 7.4% of families and 11.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.4% of those under age 18 and 4.4% of those age 65 or over. A significant portion of the population is "snow birds", who live in St. George during the winter months. They tend to be near or beyond retirement age, to be more affluent than the general population, and are mainly non-LDS. They contribute to the arts and recreation communities and are often drawn to St. George by recreational opportunities (12 golf courses) and the nearby National parks.
Notable people
- Juanita Brooks, Mormon writer, editor and historian
- Jeffrey R. Holland, LDS general authority
- Bruce Hurst, former Major League Baseball pitcher
- Asia Carrera, adult film star
- Doug Jolley, NFL tight end
- Tracy Hickman, fantasy author
- Jay Don Blake, NCAA golfer
- LaVell Edwards, former BYU football coach
- Dia Frampton, Runner-up in the inaugural season of The Voice
- John "Cat" Thompson (1906-1990) - basketball player; member of the Basketball Hall of Fame
- Amanda Righetti (b. 1983) - actress (The OC, Reunion, The Mentalist)
- Robert Adamson (b. 1985) - actor (Lincoln Heights)
- Meg and Dia - singing group
- J. Edwin Seegmiller (1923-1986) - physician and medical researcher, member of the National Academy of Sciences, faculty member at the UCSD Medical School
- Tanya Tucker - Country Music Singer
- The Piano Guys (2010-present) - Classical Music Group
Popular culture
Some movies that were filmed in St. George:
- The Conqueror
- Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
- The Car
- Harry's War
- The Electric Horseman
- Jeremiah Johnson
- Romancing the Stone
- High School Musical 2
- The Flyboys
- On Our Own
See also
References
External links
- City of St. George official website
- St. George Area Chamber of Commerce
- Spectrum Newspaper local newspaper
- St. George News free online newspaper
Interesting Informations
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