List of Utah state symbols
Official State symbols
Table:
Type

Symbol

Description

Adopted

Image

Source

Animal

Rocky Mountain elk
Cervus canadensis nelsoni

Once found over most of the United States and Canada, elk herds have been decimated by hunting and habitat loss. Now, elk are only found in the Rocky Mountains. State owned Hardware Ranch provides feed for 600 elk every winter.[4]

1971

[5]

Astronomical
symbol

Beehive Cluster

The Beehive Cluster is an open cluster of about 1,000 stars and is located in the constellation Cancer. It was named the state's astronomical symbol due to having the same name as the state's emblem and nickname.

1996

[6]

Bird

California gull
Larus californicus

Named the state bird in commemoration of the "miracle of the gulls". In 1848, the pioneers where tending to their first harvest since they arrived in Utah, when Mormon cricket swarmed in and started to devour the crops. California gulls came in and ate the crickets, thus saving the crops.

1955

[7]

Emblem

Beehive

The beehive symbolizes industry, which is the state's motto. Before the state of Utah, the provisional government of the State of Deseret also had the beehive as its emblem. Deseret means honeybee in the Book of Mormon.[8] The first bees brought to modern-day Utah were allegedly carried by Charles Crismon from the Mormon colony in San Bernardino, California.[9]

1959

[10]

Cooking Pot

Dutch Oven

Dutch ovens were the primary cooking vessels of pioneers. The World Championship Dutch Oven Cookoff is held every summer near Logan, Utah.

1997

[11]

Fish

Bonneville Cutthroat Trout
Oncorhynchus clarki Utah

In 1997, the state fish became the Bonneville Cutthroat Trout replacing the Rainbow Trout, which had been the state fish since 1971. The Bonneville Cutthroat Trout is a native species to Utah, unlike the Rainbow Trout, and was an important source of food for the pioneers and Native Americans.

1997

[12]

Flag

The Flag of Utah

The state flag contains a beehive in the middle, the word "industry" above the beehive and Sego Lilies growing on either side of the beehive. The bald eagle, two American flags, the date 1847, representing the year the pioneers arrived in Utah, and the date 1896, the year Utah became a state.

1913

[2]

Flower

Sego Lily
Calochortus nuttallii

The bulbs of the Sego Lily were used as food for the Native Americans and for the Mormon pioneers when food became scarce.

1911

[13]

Dance

Square dance

Andrew Love Neff, in his book History of Utah 1847-1869, says "The Mormons love dancing... almost every third man is a fiddler, and every one must learn to dance... Let it be remembered that only square dances were indulged in."[14]

1994

[15]

Firearm

Browning M1911

Named due to inventor John Browning's ties to Utah.

2011

[16]

Fossil

Allosaurus

A meat eater and the most common Theropod that lived during the late Jurassic period. Utah's Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry contains the densest concentration of Jurassic period fossils ever found and has more Allosaurus fossils have been found at the Quarry than any where else.[17] The University of Utah's Utah Museum of Natural History has the world's largest collection of Allosaurus fossils.[18]

1988

[19]

Fruit

Cherry
Prunus avium

Cherries are a major fruit crop in the state of Utah. Cherry trees, given by Japan just after World War II, line the Utah State Capitol grounds.

1997

[20]

Gem

Topaz

The semiprecious crystal is made from silicon, aluminium and fluorine. Utah topaz can be yellow, gold, red and pink in color. It is found in Juab, Tooele and Beaver counties.

1969

[21]

Grass

Indian Ricegrass
Achnatherum hymenoides

Indian ricegrass is a perennial bunchgrass. The ricegrass is a vital food source for animals as it starts to produces green shoots in late winter and into spring, before other food sources start to grow. Native Americans would turn the seeds into flour for bread.[22]

1990

[23]

Hymn

Utah, We Love Thee

Utah's original state song from 1936 to 2003. The song was written in 1895 by Evan Stephens for celebrations held in 1896, when Utah became a state.

2003

[24]

Insect

Honey Bee
Apis mellifera

Utah's nickname is the beehive state. Utah was first called the State of Deseret with Deseret meaning honeybee in the Book of Mormon.

1983

[25]

Language

English

Utah voters approved Initiative A on the 2000 ballot to make English become the official language.

2000

—

[26][27]

Mineral

Copper

Utah is home to the Bingham Canyon Open Pit Copper Mine, which has produced copper since 1906. The mine has produced more copper than any other mine in history.[28]

1994

[29]

Motto

Industry

The beehive symbolizes industry. Industry appears on the state flag and the Great Seal of the State of Utah.

1959

—

[10]

Reptile

Gila monster
Heloderma suspectum

Named the state reptile following a lobbying campaign by Utah middle schoolers.[30] The Gila monster is the only venomous lizard native to the United States. Although the Gila monster is venomous, its sluggish nature means it represents little threat to humans.

2019

[31]

By analysing the provided table and the textual context listed below.

Give the answer to the question: Who described the first instance of the state fossil of Utah ? Provide just your answer in a JSON object {"answer": "YOUR ANSWER"}. Do not introduce information beyond the provided sources.

The following are lists of U.S. state , district , and territorial symbols as recognized by the state legislatures , territorial legislatures , or tradition . Some , such as flags , seals , and birds have been created or chosen by all U.S. polities , while others , such as state crustaceans , state mushrooms , and state toys have been chosen by only a few .
The Rocky Mountain elk ( Cervus canadensis nelsoni ) is a subspecies of elk found in the Rocky Mountains and adjacent ranges of Western North America . The winter ranges are most common in open forests and floodplain marshes in the lower elevations . In the summer it migrates to the subalpine forests and alpine basins . Elk have a diverse habitat range that they can reside in but are most often found in forest and forest edge habitat and in mountain regions they often stay in higher elevations during warmer months and migrate down lower in the winter . They may even come down the mountain and leave the forest into some grassland for part of the day but head back into the timber in the evening . The total wild population is about one million individuals . The Rocky Mountain elk was reintroduced in 1913 to Colorado from Wyoming after the near-extinction of the regional herds . While overhunting is a significant contributing factor , the elks near-extinction is mainly attributed to human encroachment and destruction of their natural habitats and migratory corridors . A year later , twenty-one elk from Jackson Hole , Wyoming were reintroduced to South Dakota 's Wind Cave National Park for population increase . Conservation efforts also brought the elk populations in New Mexico from near zero numbers in the late 1800s and early 1900s , to healthy populations in the 1930s in Northern New Mexico . Population numbers of elk in Nebraska continued to increase through the 1970s and 1980s , to a level in which complaints from landowners in the Pine Ridge region led to the implementation of relatively liberal hunting seasons in the late 1980s . Elk numbers continued to increase through the 1990s to the present .
The Rocky Mountains , also known as the Rockies , are a major mountain range located in western North America . The Rocky Mountains stretch 3,000 km ( 1,900 mi ) in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of British Columbia , in western Canada , to New Mexico in the Southwestern United States . The northern terminus is near the Liard River , while the southernmost point is near Albuquerque , adjacent the Sandia-Manzano Mountains . Located within the North American Cordillera , the Rockies are distinct from the Pacific Coast Ranges , Cascade Range , and the Sierra Nevada , which all lie farther to the west . The Rocky Mountains formed 80 million to 55 million years ago during the Laramide orogeny , in which a number of plates began sliding underneath the North American plate . The angle of subduction was shallow , resulting in a broad belt of mountains running down western North America . Since then , further tectonic activity and erosion by glaciers have sculpted the Rockies into dramatic peaks and valleys . At the end of the last ice age , humans began inhabiting the mountain range . After Europeans , such as Sir Alexander Mackenzie , and Americans , such as the Lewis and Clark expedition , began exploring the range , minerals and furs drove the initial economic exploitation of the mountains , although the range itself never experienced a dense population . Of the 100 highest peaks in the Rocky Mountains , 78 ( including the 30 highest ) are located in Colorado , ten in Wyoming , six in New Mexico , and three in Montana . Public parks and forest lands protect much of the mountain range , and they are popular tourist destinations , especially for hiking , camping , mountaineering , fishing , hunting , mountain biking , skiing , and snowboarding .
Hardware Ranch Wildlife Management Area is owned by the State of Utah and managed by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources . It is located in the Blacksmith Fork Canyon , about 15 mi ( 24 km ) east of Hyrum , Utah . Rocky Mountain elk are fed here through the winter to prevent them from coming to inhabited areas further down the canyon in search of food . Horse-drawn sleigh rides and a visitor center are offered from mid December to February .
Astronomy ( from Greek : ἀστρονομία ) is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena . It uses mathematics , physics , and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution . Objects of interest include planets , moons , stars , nebulae , galaxies , and comets . Relevant phenomena include supernova explosions , gamma ray bursts , quasars , blazars , pulsars , and cosmic microwave background radiation . More generally , astronomy studies everything that originates outside Earth 's atmosphere . Cosmology is a branch of astronomy . It studies the Universe as a whole . Astronomy is one of the oldest natural sciences . The early civilizations in recorded history made methodical observations of the night sky . These include the Babylonians , Greeks , Indians , Egyptians , Nubians , Iranians , Chinese , Maya , and many ancient indigenous peoples of the Americas . In the past , astronomy included disciplines as diverse as astrometry , celestial navigation , observational astronomy , and the making of calendars . Nowadays , professional astronomy is often said to be the same as astrophysics .
The Beehive Cluster ( also known as Praesepe ( Latin for manger ) , M44 , NGC 2632 , or Cr 189 ) , is an open cluster in the constellation Cancer . It is one of the nearest open clusters to Earth , containing a larger population of stars than other nearby bright open clusters . Under dark skies , the Beehive Cluster looks like a small nebulous object to the naked eye ; as known since ancient times . Classical astronomer Ptolemy described it as nebulous mass in the breast of Cancer , and it was among the first objects that Galileo studied with his telescope . Age and proper motion coincide with those of the Hyades , suggesting they may share similar origins . Both clusters also contain red giants and white dwarfs , which represent later stages of stellar evolution , along with many main sequence stars . Distance to M44 is often cited to be between 160 and 187 parsecs ( 520-610 light years ) . , but the revised Hipparcos parallaxes ( 2009 ) for Praesepe members and the latest infrared color-magnitude diagram favors an analogous distance of 182 pc . There are better age estimates of around 600 million years , equivalent to about 625 million years , for the Hyades . The diameter of the bright inner cluster core is about 7.0 parsecs ( 23 light years ) . Observationally , the Beehive is easily visible to the naked eye as a small nebulous cloud when Cancer culminates in the early evening sky each year from February to May . At 1.5° across , the cluster easily fits within the field of view of binoculars or low-powered small telescopes .
An open cluster is a group of up to a few thousand stars that were formed from the same giant molecular cloud and have roughly the same age . More than 1,100 open clusters have been discovered within the Milky Way Galaxy , and many more are thought to exist . They are loosely bound by mutual gravitational attraction and become disrupted by close encounters with other clusters and clouds of gas as they orbit the galactic center . This can result in a migration to the main body of the galaxy and a loss of cluster members through internal close encounters . Open clusters generally survive for a few hundred million years , with the most massive ones surviving for a few billion years . In contrast , the more massive globular clusters of stars exert a stronger gravitational attraction on their members , and can survive for longer . Open clusters have been found only in spiral and irregular galaxies , in which active star formation is occurring . Young open clusters may be contained within the molecular cloud from which they formed , illuminating it to create an H II region . Over time , radiation pressure from the cluster will disperse the molecular cloud . Typically , about 10% of the mass of a gas cloud will coalesce into stars before radiation pressure drives the rest of the gas away . Open clusters are key objects in the study of stellar evolution . Because the cluster members are of similar age and chemical composition , their properties ( such as distance , age , metallicity , extinction , and velocity ) are more easily determined than they are for isolated stars .
Cancer is one of the twelve constellations of the zodiac . Its name is Latin for crab and it is commonly represented as one . Its astrological symbol is ( Unicode ♋ ) . Cancer is a medium-size constellation with an area of 506 square degrees and its stars are rather faint , its brightest star Beta Cancri having an apparent magnitude of 3.5 . It contains two stars with known planets , including 55 Cancri , which has five : one super-earth and four gas giants , one of which is in the habitable zone and as such has expected temperatures similar to Earth . Located at the center of the constellation is Praesepe ( Messier 44 ) , one of the closest open clusters to Earth and a popular target for amateur astronomers .
Below is a list of U.S. state birds as designated by each state 's legislature , as well as the District of Columbia 's state bird . The list also contains U.S. territory birds as designated by each territory 's legislature . The selection of state birds began in 1927 , when the legislatures for Alabama , Florida , Maine , Missouri , Oregon , Texas and Wyoming selected their state birds . The last state to choose its bird was Arizona in 1973 . Alaska , California , and South Dakota permit hunting of their state birds . Pennsylvania has adopted a state game bird but not a state bird , while Alabama , Georgia , Massachusetts , Missouri , Oklahoma , South Carolina , and Tennessee have designated an additional state game bird for the purpose of hunting . The northern cardinal is the state bird of seven states , followed by the western meadowlark as the state bird of six states . Several states have extinct official animals , such as state dinosaurs in addition to state insects , state butterflies , state mammals and state reptiles . The District of Columbia designated a district bird in 1938 . Each of the five inhabited territories of the United States has a designated territorial bird ( except for American Samoa ) .
The California gull ( Larus californicus ) , or seagull , is a medium-sized gull , smaller on average than the herring gull but larger on average than the ring-billed gull , though it may overlap in size greatly with both .
The miracle of the gulls is an 1848 event often credited by Latter-day Saints ( Mormons ) for saving the Mormon pioneers ' second harvest in the Salt Lake Valley . While absent in contemporary accounts , later accounts claimed seagulls miraculously saved the 1848 crops by eating thousands of insects that were devouring their fields . The first crop was planted in 1847 just a few days after they entered the valley , which was very late in the growing season and produced a meager but utilizable harvest . The following spring , using seed from the first harvest , they planted their second crop , only to watch in dismay as the crickets attacked . Less than two years prior in October 1846 many of them were saved by quail that flew into their camp , on their trek to the Great Salt Lake and made available as food .
The Mormon pioneers were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ( LDS Church ) , also known as Latter-day Saints , who migrated in the mid-1840s across the United States from the Midwest to the Salt Lake Valley in what is today the U.S. state of Utah . At the time of the planning of the exodus in 1846 , the territory was owned by the Republic of Mexico , which soon after went to war with the United States over the annexation of Texas . Salt Lake Valley became American territory as a result of this war . The journey was taken by about 70,000 people beginning with advance parties sent out by church leaders in March 1846 after the 1844 martyrdom of the church 's leader Joseph Smith made it clear that the group could not remain in Nauvoo , Illinois - which the church had recently purchased , improved , renamed , and developed because of the Missouri Mormon War , setting off the Illinois Mormon War . The well-organized wagon train migration began in earnest in April 1847 , and the period ( including the flight from Missouri in 1838 to Nauvoo ) , known as the Mormon Exodus is , by convention among social scientists , traditionally assumed to have ended with the completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad in 1869 . Not everyone could afford to transport a family by railroad , and the transcontinental railroad network only serviced limited main routes , so wagon train migrations to the far west continued sporadically until the 20th century .
The Mormon cricket ( Anabrus simplex ) is a large insect that can grow to almost 8 cm ( 3 inches ) in length . It lives throughout western North America in rangelands dominated by sagebrush and forbs . Despite its name , the Mormon cricket is actually a shieldbacked katydid , not a cricket . It takes its name from Mormon settlers in Utah , who encountered them while pushing westward , and for the prominent role they play in the miracle of the gulls . Although flightless , the Mormon cricket is capable of traveling up to two kilometers a day in its swarming phase , during which it is a serious agricultural pest and traffic hazard .
An emblem is an abstract or representational pictorial image that represents a concept , like a moral truth , or an allegory , or a person , like a king or saint .
A beehive is an enclosed , man-made structure in which some honey bee species of the subgenus Apis live and raise their young . Though the word beehive is commonly used to describe the nest of any bee colony , scientific and professional literature distinguishes nest from hive . Nest is used to discuss colonies which house themselves in natural or artificial cavities or are hanging and exposed . Hive is used to describe an artificial , man-made structure to house a honey bee nest . Several species of Apis live in colonies , but for honey production the western honey bee ( Apis mellifera ) and the eastern honey bee ( Apis cerana ) are the main species kept in hives . The nest 's internal structure is a densely packed group of hexagonal prismatic cells made of beeswax , called a honeycomb . The bees use the cells to store food ( honey and pollen ) and to house the brood ( eggs , larvae , and pupae ) . Beehives serve several purposes : production of honey , pollination of nearby crops , housing supply bees for apitherapy treatment , and to try to mitigate the effects of colony collapse disorder . In America , hives are commonly transported so that bees can pollinate crops in other areas . A number of patents have been issued for beehive designs .
A beehive is an enclosed , man-made structure in which some honey bee species of the subgenus Apis live and raise their young . Though the word beehive is commonly used to describe the nest of any bee colony , scientific and professional literature distinguishes nest from hive . Nest is used to discuss colonies which house themselves in natural or artificial cavities or are hanging and exposed . Hive is used to describe an artificial , man-made structure to house a honey bee nest . Several species of Apis live in colonies , but for honey production the western honey bee ( Apis mellifera ) and the eastern honey bee ( Apis cerana ) are the main species kept in hives . The nest 's internal structure is a densely packed group of hexagonal prismatic cells made of beeswax , called a honeycomb . The bees use the cells to store food ( honey and pollen ) and to house the brood ( eggs , larvae , and pupae ) . Beehives serve several purposes : production of honey , pollination of nearby crops , housing supply bees for apitherapy treatment , and to try to mitigate the effects of colony collapse disorder . In America , hives are commonly transported so that bees can pollinate crops in other areas . A number of patents have been issued for beehive designs .
The State of Deseret ( /ˌdɛzəˈrɛt/ ( listen ) ) was a provisional state of the United States , proposed in 1849 by settlers from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ( LDS Church ) in Salt Lake City . The provisional state existed for slightly over two years and was never recognized by the United States government . The name derives from the word for honeybee in the Book of Mormon .
Deseret ( /dɛzəˈrɛt/ ( listen ) ; Deseret : 𐐔𐐯𐑅𐐨𐑉𐐯𐐻 ) is a term derived from the Book of Mormon , a scripture of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ( LDS Church ) and other Restoration groups . According to the Book of Mormon , deseret meant honeybee in the language of the Jaredites , a group believed by Mormons to have been led to the Americas following the construction of the Tower of Babel ( see Ether 2:3 ) . LDS scholar Hugh Nibley ( extending the work of Egyptologist Sir Alan Gardiner ) suggested an etymology by associating the word Deseret with the ancient Egyptian dsrt ( Egyptian : 𓂧𓈙𓂋𓏏𓋔 ) , a term referring to the bee crown of the Lower Kingdom .
The Book of Mormon is a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement , which , according to adherents , contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from approximately 2200 BC to AD 421 . It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith as The Book of Mormon : An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi . According to Smith 's account and the book 's narrative , the Book of Mormon was originally written in otherwise unknown characters referred to as reformed Egyptian engraved on golden plates . Smith said that the last prophet to contribute to the book , a man named Moroni , buried it in the Hill Cumorah in present-day Manchester , New York before his death , and then returned to Earth in 1827 as an angel , revealing the location of the plates to Smith , and instructing him to translate the plates into English for use in the restoration of Christ 's true church in the latter days . Critics claim that it was authored by Smith , drawing on material and ideas from contemporary 19th-century works rather than translating an ancient record . The Book of Mormon has a number of original and distinctive doctrinal discussions on subjects such as the fall of Adam and Eve , the nature of the Christian atonement , eschatology , redemption from physical and spiritual death , and the organization of the latter-day church . The pivotal event of the book is an appearance of Jesus Christ in the Americas shortly after his resurrection . The Book of Mormon is the earliest of the unique writings of the Latter-day Saint movement , the denominations of which typically regard the text primarily as scripture , and secondarily as a historical record of God 's dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the Americas . The archaeological , historical , and scientific communities do not accept the Book of Mormon as an ancient record of actual historical events . The Book of Mormon is divided into smaller books , titled after the individuals named as primary authors and , in most versions , divided into chapters and verses . It is written in English very similar to the Early Modern English linguistic style of the King James Version of the Bible , and has since been fully or partially translated into 111 languages . As of 2011 , more than 150 million copies of the Book of Mormon had been printed .
San Bernardino ( /ˌsæn ˌbɜːrnəˈdiːnoʊ/ ) is a city located in the Inland Empire and that serves as the county seat of San Bernardino County , California , United States . As one of the Inland Empire 's anchor cities , San Bernardino spans 81 square miles ( 210 km2 ) on the floor of the San Bernardino Valley and as of 2017 has a population of 216,995 . San Bernardino is the 17th-largest city in California and the 102nd-largest city in the United States . The governments of Guatemala and Mexico have established consulates in the downtown area of the city . California State University , San Bernardino is located in the northwestern part of the city . The university also hosts the Coussoulis Arena . Other attractions in San Bernardino include ASU Fox Theatre , the McDonald 's Museum , which is located on the original site of the world 's first McDonald 's , California Theatre , the San Bernardino Mountains , and San Manuel Amphitheater , the largest outdoor amphitheater in the United States . In addition , the city is home to the Inland Empire 66ers baseball team ; they play their home games at San Manuel Stadium in downtown San Bernardino . In August 2012 , San Bernardino became the largest city to file for protection under Chapter 9 of the U.S. Bankruptcy code ; this was superseded by Detroit 's filing in July 2013 . San Bernardino 's case was filed on August 1 . On December 2 , 2015 , a workplace shooting left 14 people dead and 22 seriously injured .
California is a state in the Pacific Region of the United States . With 39.5 million residents across a total area of about 163,696 square miles ( 423,970 km2 ) , California is the most populous U.S. state and the third-largest by area . The state capital is Sacramento . The Greater Los Angeles Area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nation 's second- and fifth-most populous urban regions , with 18.7 million and 9.7 million residents respectively . Los Angeles is California 's most populous city , and the country 's second-most populous , after New York City . California also has the nation 's most populous county , Los Angeles County , and its largest county by area , San Bernardino County . The City and County of San Francisco is both the country 's second most densely populated major city after New York City and the fifth most densely populated county , behind only four of the five New York City boroughs . California 's economy , with a gross state product of $ 3.0 trillion , is the largest sub-national economy in the world . If it were a country , California would be the fifth-largest economy in the world ( larger than the United Kingdom , France , or India ) , and the 36th-most populous as of 2017 [ update ] . The Greater Los Angeles Area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nation 's second- and third-largest urban economies ( $ 1.3 trillion and $ 1.0 trillion respectively as of 2018 [ update ] ) , after the New York metropolitan area . The San Francisco Bay Area PSA had the nation 's highest gross domestic product per capita in 2018 ( $ 106,757 ) among large primary statistical areas , and is home to three of the world 's ten largest companies by market capitalization and three of the world 's ten richest people . California culture is considered a global trendsetter in popular culture , communication , information , innovation , environmentalism , economics , politics , and entertainment .
Cookware and bakeware are types of food preparation containers , commonly found in a kitchen . Cookware comprises cooking vessels , such as saucepans and frying pans , intended for use on a stove or range cooktop . Bakeware comprises cooking vessels intended for use inside an oven . Some utensils are considered both cookware and bakeware . The choice of material for cookware and bakeware items has a significant effect on the item 's performance ( and cost ) , particularly in terms of thermal conductivity and how much food sticks to the item when in use . Some choices of material also require special pre-preparation of the surface - known as seasoning - before they are used for food preparation . Both the cooking pot and lid handles can be made of the same material but will mean that , when picking up or touching either of these parts , oven gloves will need to be worn . In order to avoid this , handles can be made of non-heat-conducting materials , for example bakelite , plastic or wood . It is best to avoid hollow handles because they are difficult to clean or to dry . A good cooking pot design has an overcook edge which is what the lid lies on . The lid has a dripping edge that prevents condensation fluid from dripping off when handling the lid ( taking it off and holding it 45° ) or putting it down .
A Dutch oven is a thick-walled cooking pot with a tight-fitting lid . Dutch ovens are usually made of seasoned cast iron ; however , some Dutch ovens are instead made of cast aluminium , or ceramic . Some metal varieties are enameled rather than being seasoned . Dutch ovens have been used as cooking vessels for hundreds of years . They are called casserole dishes in English-speaking countries other than the United States ( casserole means pot in French ) , and cocottes in French . They are similar to both the Japanese tetsunabe and the sač , a traditional Balkan cast-iron oven , and are related to the South African potjiekos , the Australian Bedourie oven and Spanish cazuela .
Logan is a city in Cache County , Utah , United States . The 2010 census recorded the population was 48,174 , with an estimated population of 51,619 in 2018 . By 2050 the population of Logan is expected to double . Logan is the county seat of Cache County and the principal city of the Logan metropolitan area , which includes Cache County and Franklin County , Idaho . The Logan metropolitan area contained 125,442 people as of the 2010 census . and was declared by Morgan Quitno in 2005 and 2007 to be the safest in the United States in those years . Logan also is the location of the main campus of Utah State University .
This is a list of official and unofficial U.S. state fishes :
The Bonneville cutthroat trout ( Oncorhynchus clarki utah ) is a subspecies of cutthroat trout native to tributaries of the Great Salt Lake , U.S.A . Most of the fish 's current and historic range is in Utah , but they are also found in Idaho , Wyoming , and Nevada . This is one of 14 or so recognized subspecies of cutthroat trout native to the western United States . In 1997 , the Bonneville cutthroat was designated the official state fish of Utah , replacing the rainbow trout . It was important to the Native Americans and the Mormon pioneers as a source of food .
The rainbow trout ( Oncorhynchus mykiss ) is a trout and species of salmonid native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America . The steelhead ( sometimes called steelhead trout ) is an anadromous ( sea-run ) form of the coastal rainbow trout ( O. m. irideus ) or Columbia River redband trout ( O. m. gairdneri ) that usually returns to fresh water to spawn after living two to three years in the ocean . Freshwater forms that have been introduced into the Great Lakes and migrate into tributaries to spawn are also called steelhead . Adult freshwater stream rainbow trout average between 1 and 5 lb ( 0.5 and 2.3 kg ) , while lake-dwelling and anadromous forms may reach 20 lb ( 9 kg ) . Coloration varies widely based on subspecies , forms and habitat . Adult fish are distinguished by a broad reddish stripe along the lateral line , from gills to the tail , which is most vivid in breeding males . Wild-caught and hatchery-reared forms of this species have been transplanted and introduced for food or sport in at least 45 countries and every continent except Antarctica . Introductions to locations outside their native range in the United States ( U.S. ) , Southern Europe , Australia , New Zealand and South America have damaged native fish species . Introduced populations may affect native species by preying on them , out-competing them , transmitting contagious diseases ( such as whirling disease ) , or hybridizing with closely related species and subspecies , thus reducing genetic purity . The rainbow trout is included in the list of the top 100 globally invasive species . Nonetheless , other introductions into waters previously devoid of any fish species or with severely depleted stocks of native fish have created sport fisheries such as the Great Lakes and Wyoming 's Firehole River . Some local populations of specific subspecies , or in the case of steelhead , distinct population segments , are listed as either threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act .
Native Americans , also known as American Indians , Indigenous Americans and other terms , are the indigenous peoples of the United States , except Hawaii and territories of the United States . More than 570 federally recognized tribes live within the US , about half of which are associated with Indian reservations . The term American Indian excludes Native Hawaiians and some Alaskan Natives , while Native Americans ( as defined by the US Census ) are American Indians , plus Alaska Natives of all ethnicities . The US Census does not include Native Hawaiians or Chamorro , instead being included in the Census grouping of Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander . The ancestors of living Native Americans arrived in what is now the United States at least 15,000 years ago , possibly much earlier , from Asia via Beringia . A vast variety of peoples , societies and cultures subsequently developed . Native Americans were greatly affected by the European colonization of the Americas , which began in 1492 , and their population declined precipitously overwhelmingly due to introduced diseases as well as warfare , including biological warfare , territorial confiscation and slavery . After its creation , the United States , as part of its policy of settler colonialism , waged war and perpetrated massacres against many Native American peoples , removed them from their ancestral lands , and subjected them to one-sided treaties and to discriminatory government policies into the 20th century . Since the 1960s , Native American self-determination movements have resulted in changes to the lives of Native Americans , though there are still many contemporary issues faced by Native Americans . Today , there are over five million Native Americans in the United States , 78% of whom live outside reservations . When the United States was created , established Native American tribes were generally considered semi-independent nations , as they generally lived in communities separate from British settlers . The federal government signed treaties at a government-to-government level until the Indian Appropriations Act of 1871 ended recognition of independent native nations , and started treating them as domestic dependent nations subject to federal law .
The flags of the U.S. states , territories , and the District of Columbia exhibit a variety of regional influences and local histories , as well as different styles and design principles . Nonetheless , the majority of the states ' flags share the same design pattern consisting of the state seal superimposed on a monochrome background , commonly a shade of blue . The most recently adopted state flag is the Flag of Utah , which was updated on February 16 , 2011 to fix incorrectly located text . The most recently adopted territorial flag is that of the Northern Mariana Islands , and was adopted on July 1 , 1985 .
The flag of the State of Utah was adopted in February 2011 and consists of the seal of Utah encircled in a golden circle on a background of dark navy blue . It replaced a previous , albeit rather similar flag that had been in use since 1913 .
Calochortus nuttallii - known as sego lily - is a bulbous perennial which is endemic to the Western United States . It is the state flower of Utah .
The bald eagle ( Haliaeetus leucocephalus ) is a bird of prey found in North America . A sea eagle , it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle ( Haliaeetus albicilla ) . Its range includes most of Canada and Alaska , all of the contiguous United States , and northern Mexico . It is found near large bodies of open water with an abundant food supply and old-growth trees for nesting . The bald eagle is an opportunistic feeder which subsists mainly on fish , which it swoops down and snatches from the water with its talons . It builds the largest nest of any North American bird and the largest tree nests ever recorded for any animal species , up to 4 m ( 13 ft ) deep , 2.5 m ( 8.2 ft ) wide , and 1 metric ton ( 1.1 short tons ) in weight . Sexual maturity is attained at the age of four to five years . Bald eagles are not actually bald ; the name derives from an older meaning of the word , white headed . The adult is mainly brown with a white head and tail . The sexes are identical in plumage , but females are about 25 percent larger than males . The beak is large and hooked . The plumage of the immature is brown .
The flag of the United States of America , often referred to as the American flag or U.S. flag , is the national flag of the United States . It consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red ( top and bottom ) alternating with white , with a blue rectangle in the canton ( referred to specifically as the union ) bearing fifty small , white , five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows , where rows of six stars ( top and bottom ) alternate with rows of five stars . The 50 stars on the flag represent the 50 states of the United States of America , and the 13 stripes represent the thirteen British colonies that declared independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain , and became the first states in the U.S. Nicknames for the flag include the Stars and Stripes , Old Glory , and the Star-Spangled Banner .
This is a list of U.S. state , federal district , and territory flowers :
This is a list of official U.S. state , federal district , and territory dances :
A square dance is a dance for four couples ( eight dancers in total ) arranged in a square , with one couple on each side , facing the middle of the square . Square dances were first documented in 16th-century England but were also quite common in France and throughout Europe . They came to North America with the European settlers and have undergone considerable development there . In some countries and regions , through preservation and repetition , square dances have attained the status of a folk dance . The Western American square dance may be the most widely known form worldwide , possibly due to its association in the 20th century with the romanticized image of the American cowboy . Square dancing is , therefore , strongly associated with the United States . Nineteen U.S. states have designated it as their official state dance . The various square dance movements are based on the steps and figures used in traditional folk dances and social dances from many countries . Some of these traditional dances include English country dance , Caledonians and the quadrille . In most American forms of square dance , the dancers are prompted or cued through a sequence of steps ( square dance choreography ) by a caller to the beat ( and , in some traditions , the phrasing ) of music . In some forms of traditional square dancing , the caller may be one of the dancers or musicians , but in modern Western square dancing the caller will be on stage , giving full attention to directing the dancers . Modern Western square dances are not learned as complete routines ; the dancers learn basic movements , each with its own distinctive call , but do not know in what order they will be called .
A state firearm has only been designated by eight of the fifty States in the United States : Alaska , Arizona , Utah , Indiana , Kentucky , Pennsylvania , West Virginia , and Tennessee .
The M1911 , also known as the Colt Government or Government , is a single-action , semi-automatic , magazine-fed , recoil-operated pistol chambered for the .45 ACP cartridge . It served as the standard-issue sidearm for the United States Armed Forces from 1911 to 1986 . It was widely used in World War I , World War II , the Korean War , and the Vietnam War . The pistol 's formal designation as of 1940 was Automatic Pistol , Caliber .45 , M1911 for the original model of 1911 or Automatic Pistol , Caliber .45 , M1911A1 for the M1911A1 , adopted in 1924 . The designation changed to Pistol , Caliber .45 , Automatic , M1911A1 in the Vietnam War era . The U.S. procured around 2.7 million M1911 and M1911A1 pistols in military contracts during its service life . The M1911 was replaced by the 9 mm Beretta M9 pistol as the standard U.S. sidearm in October 1986 , but due to its popularity among users , it has not been completely phased out . Modernized derivative variants of the M1911 are still in use by some units of the U.S. Army Special Forces and the U.S. Navy . Designed by John Browning , the M1911 is the best-known of his designs to use the short recoil principle in its basic design . The pistol was widely copied , and this operating system rose to become the preeminent type of the 20th century and of nearly all modern centerfire pistols . It is popular with civilian shooters in competitive events such as USPSA , IDPA , International Practical Shooting Confederation , and Bullseye shooting . Compact variants are popular civilian concealed carry weapons in the U.S. because of the design 's relatively slim width and the stopping power of the .45 ACP cartridge .
John Moses Browning ( January 23 , 1855 - November 26 , 1926 ) was an American firearms designer who developed many varieties of military and civilian firearms , cartridges , and gun mechanisms - many of which are still in use around the world . He made his first firearm at age 13 in his father 's gun shop , and was awarded the first of his 128 firearm patents on October 7 , 1879 , at the age of 24 . He is regarded as one of the most successful firearms designers of the 19th and 20th centuries , and pioneered the development of modern automatic and semi-automatic firearms . Browning influenced nearly all categories of firearms design . He invented , or made significant improvements to , single-shot , lever-action , and pump-action rifles and shotguns . Arguably , his most significant contributions were in the area of autoloading firearms . He developed the first reliable and compact autoloading pistols by inventing the telescoping bolt , then integrating the bolt and barrel shroud into what is known as the pistol slide . Browning 's telescoping bolt design is now found on nearly every modern semi-automatic pistol , as well as several modern fully automatic weapons . He also developed the first gas-operated firearm , the Colt-Browning Model 1895 machine gun - a system that surpassed mechanical recoil operation to become the standard for most high-power self-loading firearm designs worldwide . He also made significant contributions to automatic cannon development . Browning 's most successful designs include the M1911 pistol , the water-cooled M1917 , the air-cooled M1919 , and heavy M2 machine guns , the Browning Automatic Rifle , and the Browning Auto-5 - the first semi-automatic shotgun . Some of these arms are still manufactured , often with only minor changes in detail and cosmetics to those assembled by Browning or his licensees .
Most American states have made a state fossil designation , in many cases during the 1980s . It is common to designate one species in which fossilization has occurred , rather than a single specimen , or a category of fossils not limited to a single species . Some states that lack an explicit state fossil have nevertheless singled out a fossil for formal designation as a state dinosaur , rock , gem or stone .
Allosaurus ( /ˌæləˈsɔːrəs/ ) is a genus of carnivorous theropod dinosaur that lived 155 to 145 million years ago during the late Jurassic period ( Kimmeridgian to late Tithonian ) . The name Allosaurus means different lizard alluding to its unique concave vertebrae ( at the time of its discovery ) . It is derived from the Greek ἄλλος ( allos ) ( different , other ) and σαῦρος ( sauros ) ( lizard / generic reptile ) . The first fossil remains that could definitively be ascribed to this genus were described in 1877 by paleontologist Othniel Charles Marsh . As one of the first well-known theropod dinosaurs , it has long attracted attention outside of paleontological circles . Allosaurus was a large bipedal predator . Its skull was large and equipped with dozens of sharp , serrated teeth . It averaged 9.5 metres ( 31 ft ) in length , though fragmentary remains suggest it could have reached over 12 m ( 39 ft ) . Relative to the large and powerful hindlimbs , its three-fingered forelimbs were small , and the body was balanced by a long and heavily muscled tail . It is classified as an allosaurid , a type of carnosaurian theropod dinosaur . The genus has a complicated taxonomy , and includes 5-6 valid species ( later whittled down to three valid species as of 2020 ) , the best known of which is A. fragilis . The bulk of Allosaurus remains have come from North America 's Morrison Formation , with material also known from Portugal .
Theropoda ( /θɪəˈrɒpədə/ from Greek θηρίον wild beast and πούς , ποδός foot ) or theropods are a dinosaur clade that is characterized by hollow bones and three-toed limbs . They are generally classed as a group of saurischian dinosaurs . Theropods were ancestrally carnivorous , although a number of theropod groups evolved to become herbivores , omnivores , piscivores , and insectivores . Theropods first appeared during the Carnian age of the late Triassic period 231.4 million years ago ( Ma ) and included the sole large terrestrial carnivores from the Early Jurassic until at least the close of the Cretaceous , about 66 Ma . In the Jurassic , birds evolved from small specialized coelurosaurian theropods , and are today represented by about 10,500 living species .
The Jurassic ( /dʒʊˈræs.ɪk/ juu-RASS-ik ; from the Jura Mountains ) is a geologic period and system that spanned 56 million years from the end of the Triassic Period 201.3 million years ago ( Mya ) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period 145 Mya . [ note 1 ] The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of the Mesozoic Era , also known as the Age of Reptiles . The start of the period was marked by the major Triassic-Jurassic extinction event . Two other extinction events occurred during the period : the Pliensbachian-Toarcian extinction in the Early Jurassic , and the Tithonian event at the end ; neither event ranks among the Big Five mass extinctions , however . The Jurassic period is divided into three epochs : Early , Middle , and Late . Similarly , in stratigraphy , the Jurassic is divided into the Lower Jurassic , Middle Jurassic , and Upper Jurassic series of rock formations . The Jurassic is named after the Jura Mountains within the European Alps , where limestone strata from the period were first identified . By the beginning of the Jurassic , the supercontinent Pangaea had begun rifting into two landmasses : Laurasia to the north , and Gondwana to the south . This created more coastlines and shifted the continental climate from dry to humid , and many of the arid deserts of the Triassic were replaced by lush rainforests . On land , the fauna transitioned from the Triassic fauna , dominated by both dinosauromorph and crocodylomorph archosaurs , to one dominated by dinosaurs alone . The first birds also appeared during the Jurassic , having evolved from a branch of theropod dinosaurs . Other major events include the appearance of the earliest lizards , and the evolution of therian mammals , including primitive placentals .
Jurassic National Monument , at the site of the Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry , well known for containing the densest concentration of Jurassic dinosaur fossils ever found , is a paleontological site located near Cleveland , Utah , in the San Rafael Swell , a part of the geological layers known as the Morrison Formation . Well over 15,000 bones have been excavated from this Jurassic excavation site and there are many thousands more awaiting excavation and study . It was designated a National Natural Landmark in October 1965 . The John D. Dingell , Jr. Conservation , Management , and Recreation Act , signed into law March 12 , 2019 , named it as a national monument . All of these bones , belonging to different species , are found disarticulated and indistinctly mixed together . It has been hypothesised that this strong concentration of mixed fossilised bones is due to a predator trap , but any kind of definitive scientific consensus has n't been reached yet and debates still continue to the present day .
The University of Utah ( U of U , UofU , or simply The U ) is a public research university in Salt Lake City , Utah . As the state 's flagship university , it offers more than 100 undergraduate majors and more than 92 graduate degree programs . The university is classified among Doctoral Universities - Very High Research Activity with selective , higher transfer-in admissions . Graduate studies include the S.J . Quinney College of Law and the School of Medicine , Utah 's first medical school . As of Fall 2018 , there were 24,735 undergraduate students and 8,251 graduate students , for an enrollment total of 32,994 . The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret ( /ˌdɛzəˈrɛt/ ( listen ) ) by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret , making it Utah 's oldest institution of higher education . It received its current name in 1892 , four years before Utah attained statehood , and moved to its current location in 1900 . The university ranks 61st among U.S. universities by total research expenditures with over $ 380 million spent in 2017 . 22 Rhodes Scholars , four Nobel Prize winners , two Turing Award winners , eight MacArthur Fellows , various Pulitzer Prize winners , two astronauts , Gates Cambridge Scholars , and Churchill Scholars have been affiliated with the university as students , researchers , or faculty members in its history . In addition , the university 's Honors College has been reviewed among 100 leading national Honors Colleges in the U.S . The university 's athletic teams , the Utes , participate in NCAA Division I athletics ( FBS for football ) as a member of the Pac-12 Conference .
The Natural History Museum of Utah ( NHMU ) is a museum located in Salt Lake City , Utah , United States . The museum shows exhibits of natural history subjects , with an emphasis on Utah and the Intermountain West . The mission of the museum is to illuminate the natural world and the place of humans within it . The new building , named the Rio Tinto Center , opened in November 2011 . The museum is part of the University of Utah and located in the University 's Research Park .
This is a list of official U.S. state foods :
A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus Prunus , and is a fleshy drupe ( stone fruit ) . Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species , such as the sweet Prunus avium and the sour Prunus cerasus . The name 'cherry ' also refers to the cherry tree and its wood , and is sometimes applied to almonds and visually similar flowering trees in the genus Prunus , as in ornamental cherry or cherry blossom . Wild cherry may refer to any of the cherry species growing outside cultivation , although Prunus avium is often referred to specifically by the name wild cherry in the British Isles .
Japan ( Japanese : 日本 , Nippon [ ɲippoꜜɴ ] ( listen ) or Nihon [ ɲihoꜜɴ ] ( listen ) ) is an island country located in East Asia . It is bordered by the Sea of Japan to the west and the Pacific Ocean to the east , and spans more than 3,000 kilometers ( 1,900 mi ) along the coast of the continent from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Philippine Sea in the south . Part of the Pacific Ring of Fire , Japan encompasses a stratovolcanic archipelago of about 6,852 islands , with five main islands ( Hokkaido , Honshu , Kyushu , Shikoku , and Okinawa ) comprising 97% of the country 's total area of 377,975 square kilometers ( 145,937 sq mi ) . Japan is officially divided into 47 prefectures and traditionally into eight regions . Approximately two-thirds of the country 's terrain is mountainous and heavily forested , and less than one-eighth of land is suitable for agriculture . Consequently , Japan is among the most densely populated and urbanized countries in the world , with over 90% of its population living in urban areas . The largest of these is the metropolitan area centered on the capital city of Tokyo , which is the most populous in the world and home to more than 38 million people . Japan itself is the world 's eleventh most populous country with a population of 126.2 million , of which 97.8% are ethnically Japanese . The kanji ( or Chinese characters ) that make up the name of Japan in the Japanese language mean sun origin ; in the Western world , the country is often known by the sobriquet Land of the Rising Sun . Periods of influence from other regions , primarily China , followed by periods of isolation , particularly from Western Europe , have characterized the history of Japan . While archaeological evidence indicates that Japan was inhabited as early as the Upper Paleolithic period , the first written mention of the archipelago appears in Chinese texts from the first century AD . Between the fourth and ninth centuries , the kingdoms of Japan became gradually unified under an Emperor and imperial court based in Heian-kyō ( modern Kyoto ) .
The Utah State Capitol is the house of government for the U.S. state of Utah . The building houses the chambers and offices of the Utah State Legislature , the offices of the Governor , Lieutenant Governor , Attorney General , the State Auditor and their staffs . The capitol is the main building of the Utah State Capitol Complex , which is located on Capitol Hill , overlooking downtown Salt Lake City . The Neoclassical revival , Corinthian style building was designed by architect Richard K.A . Kletting , and built between 1912 and 1916 . The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 . Beginning in 2004 , the capitol underwent a major restoration and renovation project . The project added two new buildings to the complex while restoring many of the capital 's public spaces to their original appearance . One of the largest projects during the renovation was the addition of a base isolation system which will allow the building to survive as much as a 7.3 magnitude earthquake . After completion of the renovations , the building was rededicated and resumed normal operation in January 2008 .
Leaders of states in the U.S. which have significant mineral deposits often create a state mineral , rock , stone or gemstone to promote interest in their natural resources , history , tourism , etc . Not every state has an official state mineral , rock , stone and/or gemstone , however . In the chart below , a year which is listed within parentheses represents the year during which that mineral , rock , stone or gemstone was officially adopted as a state symbol or emblem .
Topaz is a silicate mineral of aluminium and fluorine with the chemical formula Al2SiO4 ( F , OH ) 2 . Topaz crystallizes in the orthorhombic system , and its crystals are mostly prismatic terminated by pyramidal and other faces . It is one of the hardest naturally occurring minerals ( Mohs hardness of 8 ) and is the hardest of any silicate mineral . This hardness combined with its usual transparency and variety of colors means that it has acquired wide use in jewellery as a cut gemstone as well as for intaglios and other gemstone carvings .
Silicon is a chemical element with the symbol Si and atomic number 14 . It is a hard and brittle crystalline solid with a blue-grey metallic lustre ; and it is a tetravalent metalloid and semiconductor . It is a member of group 14 in the periodic table : carbon is above it ; and germanium , tin , and lead are below it . It is relatively unreactive . Because of its high chemical affinity for oxygen , it was not until 1823 that Jöns Jakob Berzelius was first able to prepare it and characterize it in pure form . Its melting and boiling points of 1414 °C and 3265 °C respectively are the second-highest among all the metalloids and nonmetals , being only surpassed by boron . Silicon is the eighth most common element in the universe by mass , but very rarely occurs as the pure element in the Earth 's crust . It is most widely distributed in dusts , sands , planetoids , and planets as various forms of silicon dioxide ( silica ) or silicates . More than 90% of the Earth 's crust is composed of silicate minerals , making silicon the second most abundant element in the Earth 's crust ( about 28% by mass ) after oxygen . Most silicon is used commercially without being separated , and often with little processing of the natural minerals . Such use includes industrial construction with clays , silica sand , and stone . Silicates are used in Portland cement for mortar and stucco , and mixed with silica sand and gravel to make concrete for walkways , foundations , and roads .
Aluminium ( aluminum in American and Canadian English ) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13 . It is a silvery-white , soft , non-magnetic and ductile metal in the boron group . By mass , aluminium makes up about 8% of the Earth 's crust , where it is the third most abundant element ( after oxygen and silicon ) and also the most abundant metal . Occurrence of aluminium decreases in the Earth 's mantle below , however . The chief ore of aluminium is bauxite . Aluminium metal is highly reactive , such that native specimens are rare and limited to extreme reducing environments . Instead , it is found combined in over 270 different minerals . Aluminium is remarkable for its low density and its ability to resist corrosion through the phenomenon of passivation . Aluminium and its alloys are vital to the aerospace industry and important in transportation and building industries , such as building facades and window frames . The oxides and sulfates are the most useful compounds of aluminium . Despite its prevalence in the environment , no known form of life uses aluminium salts metabolically , but aluminium is well tolerated by plants and animals . Because of these salts ' abundance , the potential for a biological role for them is of continuing interest , and studies continue .
Fluorine is a chemical element with the symbol F and atomic number 9 . It is the lightest halogen and exists as a highly toxic pale yellow diatomic gas at standard conditions . As the most electronegative element , it is extremely reactive , as it reacts with all other elements , except for argon , neon , and helium . Among the elements , fluorine ranks 24th in universal abundance and 13th in terrestrial abundance . Fluorite , the primary mineral source of fluorine which gave the element its name , was first described in 1529 ; as it was added to metal ores to lower their melting points for smelting , the Latin verb fluo meaning flow gave the mineral its name . Proposed as an element in 1810 , fluorine proved difficult and dangerous to separate from its compounds , and several early experimenters died or sustained injuries from their attempts . Only in 1886 did French chemist Henri Moissan isolate elemental fluorine using low-temperature electrolysis , a process still employed for modern production . Industrial production of fluorine gas for uranium enrichment , its largest application , began during the Manhattan Project in World War II . Owing to the expense of refining pure fluorine , most commercial applications use fluorine compounds , with about half of mined fluorite used in steelmaking . The rest of the fluorite is converted into corrosive hydrogen fluoride en route to various organic fluorides , or into cryolite , which plays a key role in aluminium refining . Molecules containing a carbon-fluorine bond often have very high chemical and thermal stability ; their major uses are as refrigerants , electrical insulation and cookware , the last as PTFE ( Teflon ) . Pharmaceuticals such as atorvastatin and fluoxetine contain C-F bonds .
Juab County ( /ˈdʒuːæb/ JOO-ab ) is a county in western Utah , United States . As of the 2010 United States Census , the population was 10,246 . Its county seat and largest city is Nephi . Juab County is part of the Provo-Orem , Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area , which is also included in the Salt Lake City-Provo-Orem , Utah Combined Statistical Area .
Tooele County ( /tuˈɪlə/ too-IL-ə ) is a county in the U.S. state of Utah . As of the 2010 United States Census , the population was 58,218 . Its county seat and largest city is Tooele . The county was created in 1850 and organized the following year . Tooele County is part of the Salt Lake City , UT Metropolitan Statistical Area . A 2008 CNNMoney.com article identified Tooele as the U.S. county experiencing the greatest job growth since 2000 . The western half is mostly covered by the Great Salt Lake Desert . The eastern half , across the Cedar Mountains , contains small towns outside Salt Lake City as well as the Dugway Proving Ground .
Beaver County is a county in west central Utah , United States . As of the 2010 United States Census , the population was 6,629 . Its county seat and largest city is Beaver . The county was named for the abundance of beavers in the area .
The following is a list of official U.S. state grasses .
Oryzopsis hymenoides ( Synonym : Stipa hymenoides , common names : Indian ricegrass and sand rice grass ) is a perennial cool-season [ citation needed ] bunchgrass with very narrow , rolled leaf blades . It is native to western North America east of the Cascades from British Columbia and Alberta south to southern California , northeastern Mexico , and Texas . In the wild , it typically grows 4 to 24 in ( 10 to 61 cm ) tall and 8 to 12 in ( 20 to 30 cm ) wide . O. hymenoides grows in a variety of habitats from desert scrub to ponderosa pine forests . It can live in soils from sand to clay , but it does particularly well in sand , where it is the dominant grass growing with sagebrush , and may occur almost unmixed with other plants . It helps stabilize shifting sand . :151
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years . Some sources cite perennial plants being plants that live more than three years . The term ( per- + -ennial , through the years ) is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials . The term is also widely used to distinguish plants with little or no woody growth from trees and shrubs , which are also technically perennials . Perennials - especially small flowering plants - that grow and bloom over the spring and summer , die back every autumn and winter , and then return in the spring from their rootstock , are known as herbaceous perennials . However , depending on the rigors of local climate , a plant that is a perennial in its native habitat , or in a milder garden , may be treated by a gardener as an annual and planted out every year , from seed , from cuttings or from divisions . Tomato vines , for example , live several years in their natural tropical/subtropical habitat but are grown as annuals in temperate regions because they do n't survive the winter . There is also a class of evergreen , or non-herbaceous , perennials , including plants like Bergenia which retain a mantle of leaves throughout the year . An intermediate class of plants is known as subshrubs , which retain a vestigial woody structure in winter , e.g . Penstemon . The local climate may dictate whether plants are treated as shrubs or perennials . For instance , many varieties of Fuchsia are shrubs in warm regions , but in colder temperate climates may be cut to the ground every year as a result of winter frosts .
Tussock grasses or bunch grasses are a group of grass species in the family Poaceae . They usually grow as singular plants in clumps , tufts , hummocks , or bunches , rather than forming a sod or lawn , in meadows , grasslands , and prairies . As perennial plants , most species live more than one season . Tussock grasses are often found as forage in pastures and ornamental grasses in gardens . Many species have long roots that may reach 2 meters ( 6.6 ft ) or more into the soil , which can aid slope stabilization , erosion control , and soil porosity for precipitation absorption . Also , their roots can reach moisture more deeply than other grasses and annual plants during seasonal or climatic droughts . The plants provide habitat and food for insects ( including Lepidoptera ) , birds , small animals and larger herbivores , and support beneficial soil mycorrhiza . The leaves supply material , such as for basket weaving , for indigenous peoples and contemporary artists . Tussock and bunch grasses occur in almost any habitat where other grasses are found , including : grasslands , savannas and prairies , wetlands and estuaries , riparian zones , shrublands and scrublands , woodlands and forests , montane and alpine zones , tundra and dunes , and deserts .
Forty-nine of the fifty U.S. states that make up the United States of America have one or more state songs , a type of regional anthem , which are selected by each state legislature , and/or state governor , as a symbol ( or emblem ) of that particular U.S. state . Some U.S. states have more than one official state song , and may refer to some of their official songs by other names ; for example , Arkansas officially has two state songs , plus a state anthem , and a state historical song . Tennessee has the most state songs , with 9 official state songs and an official bicentennial rap . Arizona has a song that was written specifically as a state anthem in 1915 , as well as the 1981 country hit Arizona , which it adopted as the alternate state anthem in 1982 . Two individuals , Stephen Foster , and John Denver , have written or co-written two state songs . Foster 's two state songs , Old Folks at Home ( better known as Swanee Ribber or Suwannee River ) , adopted by Florida , and My Old Kentucky Home are among the best-known songs in the U.S. On March 12 , 2007 , the Colorado Senate passed a resolution to make Denver 's trademark 1972 hit Rocky Mountain High one of the state 's two official state songs , sharing duties with its predecessor , Where the Columbines Grow . On March 7 , 2014 , the West Virginia Legislature approved a resolution to make Denver 's Take Me Home , Country Roads one of four official state songs of West Virginia . Governor Earl Ray Tomblin signed the resolution into law on March 8 , 2014 . Additionally , Woody Guthrie wrote or co-wrote two state folk songs - Roll On , Columbia , Roll On and Oklahoma Hills - but they have separate status from the official state songs of Washington and Oklahoma , respectively . Other well-known state songs include Yankee Doodle , You Are My Sunshine , Rocky Top , and Home on the Range ; a number of others are popular standards , including Oklahoma ( from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical ) , Hoagy Carmichael 's Georgia on My Mind , Tennessee Waltz , Missouri Waltz , and On the Banks of the Wabash , Far Away . Many of the others are much less well-known , especially outside the state . New Jersey has no official state song , while Virginia 's previous state song , Carry Me Back to Old Virginny , adopted in 1940 , was later rescinded in 1997 due to its racist language by the Virginia General Assembly .
Utah We Love Thee is the official state hymn of Utah . The song was written by Utah resident Evan Stephens in 1895 . It was performed at celebrations held in 1896 when Utah became the 45th state . Evan Stephens was the Mormon Tabernacle Choir conductor from 1890 to 1916 . The Utah State legislature made Utah We Love Thee the official Utah state song in 1937 . In 2003 , the Utah legislature voted to replace it with a new state song , Utah…This Is The Place , and make Utah , We Love Thee the official state hymn .
Evan Stephens ( 28 June 1854 - 27 October 1930 ) was a Latter-day Saint composer and hymn writer . He was also the director of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir for 26 years ( 1890-1916 ) .
State insects are designated by 48 individual states of the fifty United States . Some states have more than one designated insect , or have multiple categories ( e.g. , state insect and state butterfly , etc. ) . More than half of the insects chosen are not native to North America , because of the inclusion of three European species ( European honey bee , European mantis , and 7-spotted ladybird ) , each having been chosen by multiple states .
The western honey bee or European honey bee ( Apis mellifera ) is the most common of the 7-12 species of honey bees worldwide . The genus name Apis is Latin for bee , and mellifera is the Latin for honey-bearing , referring to the species ' production of honey . Like all honey bee species , the western honey bee is eusocial , creating colonies with a single fertile female ( or queen ) , many normally non-reproductive females or workers , and a small proportion of fertile males or drones . Individual colonies can house tens of thousands of bees . Colony activities are organized by complex communication between individuals , through both pheromones and the dance language . The western honey bee was one of the first domesticated insects , and it is the primary species maintained by beekeepers to this day for both its honey production and pollination activities . With human assistance , the western honey bee now occupies every continent except Antarctica . Because of its wide cultivation , this species is the single most important pollinator for agriculture globally [ citation needed ] . Western honey bees are threatened by pests and diseases , especially the Varroa mite and colony collapse disorder . As of 2019 , the western honey bee is listed as Data Deficient on the IUCN Red List , as numerous studies indicate that the species has undergone significant declines in Europe ; however , it is not clear if they refer to population reduction of wild or managed colonies . Further research is required to enable differentiation between wild and non-wild colonies in order to determine the conservation status of the species in the wild . Western honey bees are an important model organism in scientific studies , particularly in the fields of social evolution , learning , and memory ; they are also used in studies of pesticide toxicity , to assess non-target impacts of commercial pesticides .
This is a complete list of the official languages of countries and dependent territories of the world . It includes all languages that have official language status either statewide or in a part of the state , or that have status as a national language , regional language , or minority language .
English is a West Germanic language that was first spoken in early medieval England and eventually became a global lingua franca . It is named after the Angles , one of the Germanic tribes that migrated to the area of Great Britain that later took their name , as England . Both names derive from Anglia , a peninsula in the Baltic Sea . The language is closely related to Frisian and Low Saxon , and its vocabulary has been significantly influenced by other Germanic languages , particularly Norse ( a North Germanic language ) , and to a greater extent by Latin and French . English has developed over the course of more than 1,400 years . The earliest forms of English , a group of West Germanic ( Ingvaeonic ) dialects brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the 5th century , are collectively called Old English . Middle English began in the late 11th century with the Norman conquest of England ; this was a period in which the language was influenced by French . Early Modern English began in the late 15th century with the introduction of the printing press to London , the printing of the King James Bible and the start of the Great Vowel Shift . Modern English has been spreading around the world since the 17th century by the worldwide influence of the British Empire and the United States . Through all types of printed and electronic media of these countries , English has become the leading language of international discourse and the lingua franca in many regions and professional contexts such as science , navigation and law . English is the largest language by number of speakers , and the third most-spoken native language in the world , after Standard Chinese and Spanish . It is the most widely learned second language and is either the official language or one of the official languages in almost 60 sovereign states .
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu ( from Latin : cuprum ) and atomic number 29 . It is a soft , malleable , and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity . A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orange color . Copper is used as a conductor of heat and electricity , as a building material , and as a constituent of various metal alloys , such as sterling silver used in jewelry , cupronickel used to make marine hardware and coins , and constantan used in strain gauges and thermocouples for temperature measurement . Copper is one of the few metals that can occur in nature in a directly usable metallic form ( native metals ) . This led to very early human use in several regions , from c. 8000 BC . Thousands of years later , it was the first metal to be smelted from sulfide ores , c. 5000 BC , the first metal to be cast into a shape in a mold , c. 4000 BC and the first metal to be purposefully alloyed with another metal , tin , to create bronze , c. 3500 BC . In the Roman era , copper was principally mined on Cyprus , the origin of the name of the metal , from aes сyprium ( metal of Cyprus ) , later corrupted to сuprum ( Latin ) , whence coper ( Old English ) and copper , first used around 1530 . Commonly encountered compounds are copper ( II ) salts , which often impart blue or green colors to such minerals as azurite , malachite , and turquoise , and have been used widely and historically as pigments . Copper used in buildings , usually for roofing , oxidizes to form a green verdigris ( or patina ) . Copper is sometimes used in decorative art , both in its elemental metal form and in compounds as pigments . Copper compounds are used as bacteriostatic agents , fungicides , and wood preservatives .
The Bingham Canyon Mine , more commonly known as Kennecott Copper Mine among locals , is an open-pit mining operation extracting a large porphyry copper deposit southwest of Salt Lake City , Utah , in the Oquirrh Mountains . The mine is the largest man-made excavation in the world and is considered to have produced more copper than any other mine in history - more than 19 million tons . The mine is owned by Rio Tinto Group , a British-Australian multinational corporation . The copper operations at Bingham Canyon Mine are managed through Kennecott Utah Copper Corporation which operates the mine , a concentrator plant , a smelter , and a refinery . The mine has been in production since 1906 , and has resulted in the creation of a pit over 0.6 miles ( 970 m ) deep , 2.5 miles ( 4 km ) wide , and covering 1,900 acres ( 3.0 sq mi ; 7.7 km2 ) . It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966 under the name Bingham Canyon Open Pit Copper Mine . The mine experienced a massive landslide in April 2013 and a smaller slide in September 2013 .
All of the United States ' 50 states have a state motto , as do the District of Columbia , and 3 U.S. territories . A motto is a phrase intended to formally describe the general motivation or intention of an organization . State mottos can sometimes be found on state seals or state flags . Some states have officially designated a state motto by an act of the state legislature , whereas other states have the motto only as an element of their seals . The motto of the United States itself is In God We Trust , proclaimed by Congress and signed into law by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on July 30 , 1956 . The motto E Pluribus Unum ( Latin for One from many ) was approved for use on the Great Seal of the United States in 1782 , but was never adopted as the national motto through legislative action . South Carolina has two official mottos , both of which are in Latin . Kentucky , North Dakota , and Vermont also have two mottos , one in Latin and the other in English . All other states and territories have only one motto , except for Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands , which do not have any mottos . English and Latin are the most-used languages for state mottos , each used by 25 states and territories . Seven states and territories use another language , of which each language is only used once . Eight states and two territories have their mottos on their state quarter ; thirty-eight states and four territories have their mottos on their state seals .
Twenty-seven U.S. states have named an official state reptile . As with other state symbols , states compare admirable aspects of the reptile and of the state , within designating statutes . Schoolchildren often start campaigns promoting their favorite reptile to encourage state legislators to enact it as a state symbol . Many secretaries of state maintain educational web pages that describe the state reptile . Oklahoma was the first state to name an official reptile , the common collared lizard , in 1969 . Only two states followed in the 1970s , but the ensuing decades saw nominations at a rate of almost one per year . State birds are more common , with all fifty states naming one , and they were adopted earlier , with the first one selected in 1927 . Before their formal designation as state reptiles , Florida 's alligator , Maryland 's terrapin , and Texas 's horned lizard were all mascots of a major in-state university . West Virginia 's timber rattlesnake was an early American flag element dating back to 1775 . Because of their cold-blooded nature , reptiles are more common in warmer climates , and nineteen of the twenty-seven state reptiles represent southern states . Six states chose a species named after the state . A turtle was chosen by more than half of the states .
The Gila monster ( Heloderma suspectum , /ˈhiːlə/ HEE-lə ) is a species of venomous lizard native to the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexican state of Sonora . A heavy , typically slow-moving lizard , up to 60 cm ( 2.0 ft ) long , the Gila monster is the only venomous lizard native to the United States and one of only two known species of venomous lizards in North America , the other being its close relative , the Mexican beaded lizard ( H. horridum ) . Although the Gila monster is venomous , its sluggish nature means it represents little threat to humans . However , it has acquired a fearsome reputation , and is sometimes killed despite being protected by state law in Arizona . In 2019 , the state of Utah made the Gila monster its official state reptile , despite the very small range of the Gila monster in the state .