Garfield County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

in south central

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. As of the

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators serving ...

the population was 5,172, making it the fifth-least populous county in Utah; with about 0.98 inhabitants per square mile, it is also the least densely populated county in Utah. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...

and largest city is

Panguitch Panguitch ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Garfield County, Utah, United States. The population was 1,520 at the 2010 census, and was estimated in 2018 to be 1,691. The name Panguitch comes from a Southern Paiute word meaning “Big Fis ...

History

The

Utah Territory The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah, the 45th state ...

legislature created the county on March 9, 1882, with areas partitioned from Iron County. It was named for James A. Garfield, the twentieth

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...

, who had died six months earlier. The border with Iron County was adjusted in 1884, and Garfield County's boundaries have remained intact since then.

Geography

The

Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid watershed that encompasses parts of seven U.S. s ...

, flowing southwestward through a deep gorge, forms the eastern boundary. The

Dirty Devil River The Dirty Devil River is an tributary of the Colorado River, located in the U.S. state of Utah. It flows through southern Utah from the confluence of the Fremont River and Muddy Creek before emptying into the Colorado River at Lake Powell. Co ...

flows southward through the east end of the county to discharge into Colorado at the county's border. Westward, the cliffs of tributary canyons give way to the barren stretches of the San Rafael Desert, beyond which a variety of mountains, plateaus, and canyons make up the terrain. Most of

Bryce Canyon National Park Bryce Canyon National Park () is an American national park located in southwestern Utah. The major feature of the park is Bryce Canyon, which despite its name, is not a canyon, but a collection of giant natural amphitheaters along the eastern ...

lies in the southwestern part of the county, and the northern half of the Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument occupies the middle of the county. A large portion of Capitol Reef National Park lies in the east-central part of the county. A very small part of

Canyonlands National Park Canyonlands National Park is an American national park located in southeastern Utah near the town of Moab. The park preserves a colorful landscape eroded into numerous canyons, mesas, and buttes by the Colorado River, the Green River, and their ...

lies in the northeast corner of the county. The terrain of Garfield County is arid, rough, and carved with erosion.''Garfield County UT'' Google Maps (accessed 28 March 2019)
/ref> The county terrain generally slopes to the south and to the east. The county's highest point is Mount Ellen, in the Henry Mountains, near the county's north border, at 11,522' (3512m) ASL. The county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.6%) is water. It is the fifth-largest county in Utah by area.

Airports

* Bryce Canyon Airport (BCE)

Major highways

US Highway 89 * Utah Highway 12 * Utah Highway 22 * Utah Highway 63 * Utah Highway 95 * Utah Highway 143 * Utah Highway 276

Adjacent counties

* Wayne County - northeast * San Juan County - east * Kane County - south * Iron County - west * Beaver County - northwest * Piute County - north

Protected areas

(part) *

(part) * Capitol Reef National Park (part) * Carcass Canyon Wilderness Study Area * Dixie National Forest (part) * Escalante Petrified Forest * Fishlake National Forest (part) *

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (shortened to Glen Canyon NRA or GCNRA) is a national recreation area and conservation unit of the United States National Park Service that encompasses the area around Lake Powell and lower Cataract Canyo ...

(part) * Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument (part) * Mammoth Cave (US Forest Service)

Lakes

Lake Powell Lake Powell is an artificial reservoir on the Colorado River in Utah and Arizona, United States. It is a major vacation destination visited by approximately two million people every year. It is the second largest artificial reservoir by maximu ...

(part) * Panguitch Lake * Wide Hollow Reservoir

Demographics

As of the

2000 United States Census The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 c ...

, there were 4,735 people, 1,576 households, and 1,199 families in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

was 0.91/sqmi (0.35/km²). There were 2,767 housing units at an average density of 0.53/sqmi (0.21/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 94.95%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

, 0.17%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 1.84% Native American, 0.40% Asian, 0.04%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 1.12% from other races, and 1.48% from two or more races. 2.87% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race. There were 1,576 households, out of which 38.40% had children under 18 living with them, 66.40% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

living together, 6.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.90% were non-families. 20.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.92, and the average family size was 3.43. The county population contained 32.60% under the age of 18, 7.80% from 18 to 24, 23.10% from 25 to 44, 22.40% from 45 to 64, and 14.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.60 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 102.20 males. The median income for a household in the county was $35,180, and the median income for a family was $40,192. Males had a median income of $30,239 versus $20,408 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the county was $13,439. About 6.10% of families and 8.10% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 8.80% of those under age 18 and 10.40% of those aged 65 or over. the largest self-identified ancestry groups in Garfield County are: * English - 46.2% * German - 14.8% * Irish - 10.1% * Danish - 6.6% * Scottish - 4.9% * Welsh - 3.9% * Scotch-Irish - 2.5% * Swedish - 2.3% * Norwegian - 2.2%

Politics and Government

Garfield County has traditionally voted Republican. In no national election since 1936 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate (as of 2020).

Communities

Cities

* Escalante *

(county seat)

Towns

Antimony Antimony is a chemical element with the symbol Sb (from la, stibium) and atomic number 51. A lustrous gray metalloid, it is found in nature mainly as the sulfide mineral stibnite (Sb2S3). Antimony compounds have been known since ancient ti ...

* Bryce Canyon City *

Boulder In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive. In ...

* Cannonville * Hatch * Henrieville *

Tropic The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

Unincorporated communities

* Hillsdale * Ticaboo * Widtsoe

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 1882 establishments in Utah Territory States and territories established in 1882