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The Wasatch Front is a continuous urban area in the U.S. state of Utah that houses more than 75% of the state's population and includes the state capital, Salt Lake City. Bordered on the east by the Wasatch mountain range, the Wasatch Front is 120 miles (193 km) long and an average of 5 miles (8 km) wide, never exceeding a width of approximately 15 miles (24 km).
All of the Wasatch Front cities lie at an elevation of approximately 4,330 feet (1,320 m). To the east, the Wasatch mountain range rises dramatically up to an elevation of 11,752 feet (3,582 m) at Mount Timpanogos (bordering Utah Valley). The area's western boundary is formed by Utah Lake (in Utah County), the Oquirrh Mountains (in Salt Lake County), and the Great Salt Lake (in northwestern Salt Lake, Davis, Weber, and southeastern Box Elder Counties).
The Wasatch Range forms a continuous eastern wall and from south to north, Utah Lake, the Oquirrh Mountains, and the Great Salt Lake form a continuous western wall, all the cities are located in between these natural "walls" and much of the land is completely developed.
The region has experienced considerable growth since the 1950s, with its population increasing 308% from 492,374 to 2,009,595. It encompasses three metropolitan areas and one micropolitan area, as defined by the U.S. Census. From north to south, these are Brigham City, population 44,810; Ogden-Clearfield, population 477,455; Salt Lake City, population 1,018,826; and Provo-Orem, population 412,361. As of 2005, all four together have a population of 2,009,595 residents. Much of the remaining undeveloped land is rapidly being developed. Due to the narrowness of the region, transportation is a major issue.
If it were considered a single metropolitan area, the Wasatch Front would rank as the seventh most populated in the western United States, just behind Denver, Colorado and ahead of Portland, Oregon. Officially, Salt Lake City ranks twelfth, followed by Ogden-Clearfield at twenty-third and Provo-Orem at twenty-eighth in the western region.
The Logan metropolitan area (population 109,666, adjacent to Brigham City) and the Heber micropolitan area (population 18,139, just east of Provo) are sometimes considered part of the larger Wasatch area. These two are situated within the mountains themselves, both about 20 miles from the traditional Wasatch Front. When they are included in state estimates, the total area is referred to as the "northern metropolitan region," comprising a combined population of about 2,200,000.
Cities lying on the other side of the Wasatch Range are sometimes referred to as the "Wasatch Back".
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Geography of Utah | Great Basin | Regions of the United States | Wasatch Front | Metropolitan areas of the United States
"Wasatch Front"