Cedar City, Utah, United States

🇺🇸 Cedar City is the largest city in Iron County, Utah, United States. It is located 250 miles south of Salt Lake City, and 170 miles north of Las Vegas on Interstate 15. It is the home of Southern Utah University, the Utah Shakespeare Festival, the Utah Summer Games, the Simon Fest Theatre Co., and other events.

History The presence of prehistoric people in the Cedar City area is revealed by rock art found in Parowan Gap to the north and Fremont sites dated to A.D. 1000 and 1300. Ancestors of the present-day Southern Paiute people met the Domínguez–Escalante expedition in this area in 1776. Fifty years later, in 1826, mountain man and fur trader Jedediah Smith traveled through the area, exploring a route from Utah to California.

Cedar City was originally settled in late 1851 by Mormon pioneers originating from Parowan, Utah, who were sent to build an iron works. The site, known as "Fort Cedar" or "Cedar City", was equidistant from vast iron deposits 10 miles (16 km) west and coal resources 10 miles (16 km) east up Cedar Canyon, but was named after the abundant local trees (which are actually junipers instead of cedar). Two companies of men led by Henry Lunt reached the fort site in a blizzard on November 11, 1851, making that date the official founding. In 1855, a new site, closer to the iron works and out of the flood plain of Coal Creek, was established at the suggestion of Brigham Young. A furnace operated from September 1852 for three years, producing about 25 tons of pig iron, using iron ore deposits located in the Iron Mountain District.

The iron works closed in 1858, though mining continued in the area until the 1980s. The completion of a railroad connection to Cedar City in 1923 established the area as a tourism gateway to nearby Bryce Canyon National Park, Zion National Park, Grand Canyon National Park, and Cedar Breaks National Monument. Cedar City continues to be a centre of tourism, commercial development, education, and the arts in south-western Utah.

The city has shared in the rapid growth of much of south-western Utah since the late 1980s.

In 2017 the Cedar City Utah Temple was dedicated.

Geography Cedar City is located in the south-east Great Basin, and is approximately 20 miles (32 km) north of the north-eastern edge of the Mojave Desert. Its elevation of 5,846 feet (1,782 m) gives it a cooler and less arid climate compared to the nearby Dixie region, but it retains its cultural ties to St. George—the two cities, for example, share a daily newspaper. A branch line of the Union Pacific Railroad serves customers on the western outskirts of the city. The branch connects to the railway's main line at Lund.

Economy The economy is mostly centered on a small manufacturing hub, tourism, Southern Utah University, and home construction. The largest employers in Cedar City include: Southern Utah University; Iron County School District (Public Education); Intermountain Healthcare; Cedar City Corporation (Government Services); Genpak (Packaging Manufacturing); Federal Government (Government Services); State of Utah (Government Services); Wal-Mart.

Transport Interstate 15 connects the city with St. George (50 miles) and Las Vegas (170 miles) to the south-west, and to Interstate 70 (75 miles) and Salt Lake City (250 miles) to the north. State roads connect Cedar City with Panaca, Nevada, near US 93 (80 miles); and to Kanab, via US-89 (80 miles). Similar to St. George, the city enjoys an excellent location on the West's regional transportation network. Los Angeles is 439 miles (707 km) south-west and San Diego is 500 miles (800 km) south-west on Interstate 15, Phoenix is 465 miles (748 km) south via Interstate 15 and US-93, and Denver is 580 miles (930 km) north-east via Interstates 15 and 70.

A branch line of the Union Pacific Railroad serves customers on the city's western outskirts. The branch connects to the railway's main line at Lund.

Cedar City Regional Airport offers flights via Delta Connection.

Cedar City is served by a local bus system.