Seismicity and earthquake hazards of the Wasatch Front, Utah

Abstract

The impressive topographic break at the base of the Wasatch Range immediately east of Salt Lake City, Utah, marks the location where Mormon colonizer Brigham Young said in 1847. "This is the place" Actually, "the place" is termed the Wasatch Front because the Wasatch Range to the east, which rises to heights of 3,600 m, fronts the valleys to the west. The densely settled Wasatch Front area has about 900,000 people, 80 percent of Utah's total population. This population is centered around Salt Lake City, a rapidly growing industrial and tourist center.