Utah is one state that is known for having a huge variety of scenic diversity. You have the deserts and National Parks of Southern Utah, with the mountainous terrains of the Wasatch Mountains, Uintah Mountains as well. Utah has 5 National Parks, just behind Alaska with 6 and California with 7.
As you look at some of the terrain in Southern Utah, you will notice that you may have seen these formations before on movies. And you have! Southern Utah is home to a lot of big movies, because of it’s unique formations.
It is Utah’s unique geographical features that make it of great interest to film and documentary makers. It was found to offer the perfect backdrop to shoot Westerns such as The Lone Ranger and Stagecoach. Other films including the Planet of the Apes and Arabian Nights were shot here.
There are over 2,000 naturally formed arches at the Arches National Park in Utah. The arches are in natural sandstone and offer spectacular views of the surrounding areas. Folks who have found undocumented arches have had the honor of naming them.
Utah is home to one of the oldest living organisms in the world. Located in the Fishlake National Forest, the trembling giant is a grove of Aspen trees. What makes these trees interesting is that they have a single root system. And this also means that the trees are genetically identical. It is also referred to as Pando. This Latin word means ‘I spread’, and is quite appropriate for the Aspens. The leaves of the trees begin to flutter, even with a slight breeze, and rightly grant the trees their moniker of quaking aspens.
The Great Salt Lake is the largest of its kind in the Western world. Though the size of the lake keeps changing, based on the season, it is spread across about 1700 square miles. The water in the lake has nine times more salt than that found in oceans. Great Salt Lake is salty because it does not have an outlet.
The Kentucky Fried Chicken was first sold in Utah, and not in Kentucky. Utahans were the first to buy and get a taste of KFC. It was at the Harman Cafe in Salk Lake City that Colonel Sanders experienced his first success with the fried chicken recipe.
 Rainbow Bridge, above, (290 feet/88 meters tall and 270 feet/83 meters across), by Lake Powell, is the world’s largest natural bridge. It is considered sacred by Navajo culture.
Utah is home to the largest independent film festival in the country, the Sundance Film Festival. In fact, it was originally known as the Utah Film Festival.
Now let’s provide several great photos taken in Utah:
