The valley is bisected almost north and south by the Jordan River, which flows from the fresh-water Utah Lake in Utah County, north to the Great Salt Lake. About 1.8 million of Utah's approximately 2 million residents live and work along the Wasatch Front. In the last one hundred years, the economy of Salt Lake City and the surrounding areas has developed from agrarian and mining to industrial and technological. Mining still plays a part in the area with Kennecott Copper Cooperation operating the world's largest open-pit copper mine in the Oquirrh Mountains, about 25 miles southwest of the center of Salt Lake City. Salt Lake City has a semi-arid continental climate, with four well defined seasons.
Summers are generally hot and dry.
However, the high temperatures during this season are usually not oppressive since the relative humidity is generally low, and the nights usually cool. July is the hottest month with average maximum temperatures in the lower 90s. Temperatures above 100 do occur but are infrequent. Salt Lake City's record high is 107 degrees. Winters are cold, but usually not severe.