Alta, Utah
title: "Alta, Utah" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["towns-in-salt-lake-county,-utah", "salt-lake-city-metropolitan-area", "mining-communities-in-utah", "populated-places-established-in-1865"] topic_path: "general/towns-in-salt-lake-county-utah" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alta,_Utah" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| official_name | Alta, Utah |
| settlement_type | Town |
| image_skyline | Alta ski lessons - Feb 21, 2011.jpg |
| image_caption | Alta Ski Area, February 2011 |
| image_flag | Flag of Alta, Utah.svg |
| image_map | Salt Lake County Utah incorporated and unincorporated areas Alta highlighted.svg |
| map_caption | Location in Salt Lake County and the state of Utah. |
| image_map1 | Map of USA UT.svg |
| map_caption1 | Location of Utah in the United States |
| pushpin_map | |
| pushpin_label_position | |
| subdivision_type | Country |
| subdivision_name | United States |
| subdivision_type1 | State |
| subdivision_name1 | Utah |
| subdivision_type2 | County |
| subdivision_name2 | Salt Lake |
| government_type | Mayor/Council |
| leader_title | Mayor |
| leader_name | Roger Bourke (2021) |
| established_title | Settled |
| established_date | 1865 |
| established_title2 | Incorporated |
| established_date2 | 1970 |
| established_title3 | |
| named_for | Spanish for 'high' |
| unit_pref | Imperial |
| area_footnotes | |
| area_total_sq_mi | 4.1 |
| area_land_sq_mi | 4.1 |
| area_water_sq_mi | 0.01 |
| population_as_of | 2020 |
| population_total | 228 |
| population_density_sq_mi | auto |
| timezone | MST |
| utc_offset | -7 |
| timezone_DST | MDT |
| utc_offset_DST | -6 |
| coordinates | |
| elevation_footnotes | |
| elevation_ft | 8560 |
| postal_code_type | ZIP code |
| postal_code | 84092 |
| area_codes | 385, 801 |
| blank_name | FIPS code |
| blank_info | 49-00650 |
| blank1_name | GNIS feature ID |
| blank1_info | 1437483 |
| website | www.townofalta.com |
| :: |
| official_name = Alta, Utah | nickname = | settlement_type = Town | motto = | image_skyline = Alta ski lessons - Feb 21, 2011.jpg | imagesize = | image_caption = Alta Ski Area, February 2011 | image_flag = Flag of Alta, Utah.svg | flag_size = | image_seal = | seal_size = | image_shield = | shield_size = | image_blank_emblem = | blank_emblem_size = | image_map = Salt Lake County Utah incorporated and unincorporated areas Alta highlighted.svg | map_caption = Location in Salt Lake County and the state of Utah. | image_map1 = Map of USA UT.svg | mapsize1 = | map_caption1 = Location of Utah in the United States | image_dot_map = | dot_mapsize = | dot_map_caption = | dot_x = | dot_y = | pushpin_map = | pushpin_label_position = | pushpin_map_caption = | pushpin_mapsize = | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = United States | subdivision_type1 = State | subdivision_name1 = Utah | subdivision_type2 = County | subdivision_name2 = Salt Lake | subdivision_type3 = | subdivision_name3 = | subdivision_type4 = | subdivision_name4 = | government_footnotes = | government_type = Mayor/Council | leader_title = Mayor | leader_name = Roger Bourke (2021) | established_title = Settled | established_date = 1865 | established_title2 = Incorporated | established_date2 = 1970 | established_title3 = | established_date3 = | named_for = Spanish for 'high' | unit_pref = Imperial | area_footnotes = | area_total_sq_mi = 4.1 | area_land_sq_mi = 4.1 | area_water_sq_mi = 0.01 | area_water_percent = | area_urban_km2 = | area_urban_sq_mi = | area_metro_km2 = | area_metro_sq_mi = | population_as_of = 2020 | population_footnotes = | population_note = | population_total = 228 | population_density_sq_mi = auto | population_metro = | population_density_metro_sq_mi = | population_urban = | population_density_urban_sq_mi = | population_blank1_title = | population_blank1 = | population_density_blank1_sq_mi = | timezone = MST | utc_offset = -7 | timezone_DST = MDT | utc_offset_DST = -6 | coordinates = | elevation_footnotes = | elevation_ft = 8560 | postal_code_type = ZIP code | postal_code = 84092 | area_codes = 385, 801 | blank_name = FIPS code | blank_info = 49-00650 | blank1_name = GNIS feature ID | blank1_info = 1437483 | website = www.townofalta.com | footnotes = | pop_est_as_of = | pop_est_footnotes = | population_est = Alta is a town in eastern Salt Lake County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Salt Lake City, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 228 at the 2020 census, a large decrease from the 2010 figure of 383.
Alta is centered in the Alta Ski Area, a ski resort that has 500,000 annual visitors. It is known for its powder skiing and its decision to not allow snowboarding.
History
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/UTHA1879_pg67_ALTA_CITY_AND_EMMA_MINE.jpg" caption="The Emma Silver Mine and the City (c.1875)"] ::
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/Cecret_Lake_Panorama_Albion_Basin_Alta_Utah_July_2009.jpg" caption="Cecret Lake near Alta"] ::
Alta has been important to the development of skiing in Utah. Alta was founded about 1865 to house miners from the Emma mine, the Flagstaff mine, and other silver mines in Little Cottonwood Canyon. Sensationally rich silver ore in the Emma mine enabled its owners to sell the mine at an inflated price to British investors in 1871. The subsequent exhaustion of the Emma ore body led to the recall of the American ambassador to Great Britain, who was a director of the company, and to Congressional hearings in Washington DC on the transaction.
An alleged incident that occurred in the town in 1873 was adapted by Rod Serling for the episode entitled "Mr. Garrity and the Graves" of his television series The Twilight Zone. The legend was also used as the basis for an episode of Death Valley Days, entitled “Miracle at Boot Hill” (S10 E10).
An 1878 fire and an 1885 avalanche destroyed most of the original mining town, though some mining activity persisted into the 20th century. By the 1930s, only one resident, George Watson, remained in the town. Facing back taxes on mining claims that he owned, Watson donated much of his land in Alta to the U.S. Forest Service, stipulating that the land be used to construct a ski area. In 1935, Norwegian skiing legend Alf Engen was hired to help develop the area, and Alta opened its first ski lift in 1938. By the end of the twentieth century, up to 7,000 people per day could be found on the Alta slopes, and traffic in the Little Cottonwood Canyon was nearing gridlock proportions.
Today, Alta is a small town centered around the Alta Ski Area.
During the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent government-mandated economic restrictions, Alta briefly gained national attention when it was the only ski resort included in a detailed study of disease-transmission probabilities. The university-based study concluded that buses to the site could be made safe, traveling on ski lifts was safe, and queueing at ski lifts was safe. However, no amount of compensating factors could make indoor-dining at restaurants acceptably safe, and locker rooms could only be considered safe if occupants used "quiet voices".
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 4.1 square miles (10.5 km2), of which 0.25% is water.
At 8950 ft, Alta is one of the highest cities in Utah and one of the highest in America.
Demographics
|align=right |1970= 93 |1980= 381 |1990= 397 |2000= 370 |2010= 383 |2020= 228 |footnote=US Decennial Census As of the 2010 United States census, there were 386 people in 156 households in the town. The racial makeup of the town was 93 percent white and 4 percent Hispanic or Latino.
The population was 67 percent male and 33 percent female. The population was 4.7 percent under the age of 18, and 2.6 percent was 65 or older.
Climate
Alta experiences a high altitude humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb), which borders on a subalpine climate (Dfc), due to its high elevation. Due to its proximity to the Great Salt Lake, the town receives very heavy snows, averaging over 507 in per year. During the very wet season of 1982/1983, Alta received as much as 900 in of snow, leading to record flooding of Wasatch streams as the snow melted during May and June that year. Alta's total precipitation of 108.54 in during 1983 is a record for a calendar year in any state of the Mountain West.
|location = Alta, Utah, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1906–present |single line = Yes
|Jan record high F = 59 |Feb record high F = 58 |Mar record high F = 65 |Apr record high F = 69 |May record high F = 76 |Jun record high F = 82 |Jul record high F = 94 |Aug record high F = 84 |Sep record high F = 86 |Oct record high F = 85 |Nov record high F = 64 |Dec record high F = 59
|Jan avg record high F = 47.8 |Feb avg record high F = 46.5 |Mar avg record high F = 52.6 |Apr avg record high F = 58.3 |May avg record high F = 67.6 |Jun avg record high F = 75.8 |Jul avg record high F = 80.5 |Aug avg record high F = 78.6 |Sep avg record high F = 73.9 |Oct avg record high F = 65.3 |Nov avg record high F = 54.7 |Dec avg record high F = 46.9 |year avg record high F = 81.0
|Jan high F = 30.7 |Feb high F = 30.7 |Mar high F = 36.8 |Apr high F = 42.3 |May high F = 52.6 |Jun high F = 64.4 |Jul high F = 72.9 |Aug high F = 71.3 |Sep high F = 62.2 |Oct high F = 49.5 |Nov high F = 37.4 |Dec high F = 30.2 |year high F =
|Jan mean F = 22.9 |Feb mean F = 23.0 |Mar mean F = 28.5 |Apr mean F = 33.6 |May mean F = 43.0 |Jun mean F = 53.3 |Jul mean F = 61.6 |Aug mean F = 60.2 |Sep mean F = 51.7 |Oct mean F = 40.3 |Nov mean F = 29.1 |Dec mean F = 22.3 |year mean F =
|Jan low F = 15.0 |Feb low F = 15.4 |Mar low F = 20.2 |Apr low F = 24.8 |May low F = 33.4 |Jun low F = 42.2 |Jul low F = 50.3 |Aug low F = 49.1 |Sep low F = 41.1 |Oct low F = 31.0 |Nov low F = 20.7 |Dec low F = 14.5 |year low F =
|Jan avg record low F = -3.1 |Feb avg record low F = -1.5 |Mar avg record low F = 3.3 |Apr avg record low F = 9.1 |May avg record low F = 18.2 |Jun avg record low F = 28.3 |Jul avg record low F = 39.5 |Aug avg record low F = 38.6 |Sep avg record low F = 25.3 |Oct avg record low F = 13.6 |Nov avg record low F = 1.0 |Dec avg record low F = -3.7 |year avg record low F = -7.2
|Jan record low F = -26 |Feb record low F = -19 |Mar record low F = -8 |Apr record low F = 1 |May record low F = 10 |Jun record low F = 20 |Jul record low F = 31 |Aug record low F = 30 |Sep record low F = 16 |Oct record low F = -4 |Nov record low F = -16 |Dec record low F = -25
|precipitation colour = green |Jan precipitation inch = 6.37 |Feb precipitation inch = 5.40 |Mar precipitation inch = 6.17 |Apr precipitation inch = 4.78 |May precipitation inch = 3.47 |Jun precipitation inch = 1.96 |Jul precipitation inch = 1.48 |Aug precipitation inch = 2.07 |Sep precipitation inch = 2.58 |Oct precipitation inch = 3.50 |Nov precipitation inch = 4.17 |Dec precipitation inch = 5.13 |year precipitation inch =
|unit precipitation days = 0.01 in |Jan precipitation days = 14.1 |Feb precipitation days = 13.9 |Mar precipitation days = 13.0 |Apr precipitation days = 11.9 |May precipitation days = 10.7 |Jun precipitation days = 6.2 |Jul precipitation days = 6.9 |Aug precipitation days = 8.6 |Sep precipitation days = 8.5 |Oct precipitation days = 9.6 |Nov precipitation days = 11.2 |Dec precipitation days = 14.7
|Jan snow inch = 74.7 |Feb snow inch = 81.2 |Mar snow inch = 71.4 |Apr snow inch = 50.0 |May snow inch = 15.9 |Jun snow inch = 4.4 |Jul snow inch = 0.0 |Aug snow inch = 0.0 |Sep snow inch = 2.6 |Oct snow inch = 24.4 |Nov snow inch = 53.9 |Dec snow inch = 79.8 |year snow inch =
|unit snow days = 0.1 in |Jan snow days = 13.6 |Feb snow days = 13.1 |Mar snow days = 12.2 |Apr snow days = 10.0 |May snow days = 4.9 |Jun snow days = 1.3 |Jul snow days = 0.0 |Aug snow days = 0.0 |Sep snow days = 0.8 |Oct snow days = 5.1 |Nov snow days = 9.7 |Dec snow days = 14.0
|Jan snow depth inch = 87.3 |Feb snow depth inch = 101.6 |Mar snow depth inch = 107.5 |Apr snow depth inch = 99.6 |May snow depth inch = 66.7 |Jun snow depth inch = 17.8 |Jul snow depth inch = 0.7 |Aug snow depth inch = 0.0 |Sep snow depth inch = 2.7 |Oct snow depth inch = 15.3 |Nov snow depth inch = 36.4 |Dec snow depth inch = 60.6 |year snow depth inch = 115.3
|source 1 = NOAA |url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&stations=USC00420072&format=pdf&dataTypes=MLY-TMAX-NORMAL,MLY-TMIN-NORMAL,MLY-TAVG-NORMAL,MLY-PRCP-NORMAL,MLY-SNOW-NORMAL |publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |title = U.S. Climate Normals Quick Access – Station: Alta, UT |access-date = January 26, 2023 |source 2 = National Weather Service |url = https://www.weather.gov/wrh/climate?wfo=slc |publisher = National Weather Service |title = NOAA Online Weather Data – NWS Salt Lake City |access-date = January 26, 2023
References
References
- "Town of Alta Town Council".
- "2019 US Gazetteer Files". US Census Bureau.
- "US Census website". US Census Bureau.
- (25 October 2007). "US Board on Geographic Names". [[United States Geological Survey]].
- (17 January 2020). "The 11 Unspoken Rules of Powder Skiing". Outdoor Magazine.
- "Emma Mine". mineswindles.com.
- (1955). "The Infamous Emma Mine: A British Interest in the Little Cottonwood District, Utah Territory". Utah Historical Quarterly, Vol. 23.
- Dan Plazak, ''A Hole in the Ground with a Liar at the Top'', Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 2006, {{ISBN. 978-0-87480-840-7, pp. 39-77.
- (2000-03-31). "'Resurrecting' Utah's biggest April Fools' hoaxes".
- [https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn85058130/1885-02-15/ed-1/?sp=12&q=Alta Latest Alta Horror] ''Salt Lake Herald'' 1885-Feb-15 p12
- (17 January 2021). "Governor considers gondola to solve canyon gridlock". Deseret News.
- (18 November 2020). "How Will Covid-19 Change Utah's Ski Season?". ABC4 News, Salt Lake City UT.
- (16 December 2020). "Alta Mayor calls for quiet after study at resort shows how loud talking can spread coronavirus". Salt Lake Tribune.
- "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov.
- "US Census website". US Census Bureau.
- "Archived copy".
- "Utah Battles Floods, Mud"; in ''[[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]]''; June 3, 1983; p. 30
- [http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/noaa_documents/NWS/NWS_WR/TM_NWS_WR_28rev2nd.pdf "Weather Extremes"]
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::