The Utah Quiz — Find out how much you really know about the Beehive State
Back home, Superintendent Brown of the Western Union Telegraph Co. was the first to get the word. He rushed into the street to shoot off his shotgun, and the celebration began.
A parade was whipped up, comprised of a platoon of police, carriages full of present and former territorial officials, surviving pioneers of 1847, as many bands as could be gathered up in short order and anyone else who wanted to march.
This day had been a long time coming. Although the original Mormon pioneers left Nauvoo intending to get away from the United States, it did not take them long to realize the necessity of joining the union. The Territory of Utah was created in 1850 — and severely whittled down as states and territories were created around the Mormons. Nearly 50 years and seven official petitions later, Utah got its own star on the flag.
Some 112 years later — with a newly refurbished Capitol building to its credit — the state is going strong. In honor of Statehood Day, here's a chance to see what you know about our state and its history — and maybe learn some new things along the way.
a. 23
b. 16
c. 19
d. 26
2. Can you identify Utah's state:
a. hymn
b. rock
c. tree
d. gem
e. animal
f. fish
3. The first Europeans to travel into the territory that is now Utah were Spaniard Franciscans Francisco Atanasio Dominguez and Silvestre Velez de Escalante. In what year did their explorations take place?
a. 1776
b. 1540
c. 1820
d. 1720
4. Where did the name Utah come from?
a. "Yutah," a Shoshone word for mountains.
b. "Utahah," an Anasazi word for people of the north.
c. "Ewtah," a Navajo name for Shoshones who lived in the area.
d. "Uttah," a Book of Mormon word for mountains.
5. All states are allowed to have two statues of famous residents in the Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol. For a long time, Utah's only statue was Brigham Young. In 1990, a second statue was added of:
a. Philo T. Farnsworth
b. Ab Jenkins
c. Reva Beck Bosone
d. Maurice Abravanel
6. What was the name of the pre-historic lake that covered most of what is now Utah, and who was it named for?
7. The first white person known to have visited the Great Salt Lake came by in 1825. He was:
a. John C. Fremont
b. Kit Carson
Recent comments
Need to add Weber Acadamy to the list that started as a church-owned...
What About Weber? | Jan. 4, 2008 at 4:41 p.m.
"Utah, This is the Place" is the state song of Utah. It...
Wikipedia says... | Jan. 4, 2008 at 4:11 p.m.
I bet fewer than 1% of Utahns could answer these questions with a...
This is bogus | Jan. 4, 2008 at 3:56 p.m.
