Mormon corridor

The Mormon culture region generally follows the path of the Rocky Mountains of North America, with most of the population clustered in the United States. Beginning in Utah, the corridor extends northward through western Wyoming and eastern Idaho to parts of Montana and the deep south regions of the Canadian province of Alberta. It reaches south to San Bernardino, California on the west and through Tucson, Arizona on the east, reaches west to the Jordan Valley, Oregon area extending southward to Eldorado, Texas, and finally the U.S.-Mexico border, with isolated settlements in Baja California, Chihuahua, and Sonora. Settlements in Utah, south of the Wasatch Front, stretched from St. George in the southwest to Nephi in the northeast, including the Sevier River valley. The corridor is roughly congruent with the area between present-day Interstate 15 and U.S. Route 89. Outside of the Wasatch Front, and Utah's Cache Valley, most of the population of the state resides in this corridor. ==History==

The larger chain of Mormon settlements, ranging from Canada to Mexico, were initially established as agricultural centers or to gain access to metals and other materials needed by the expanding Mormon population. The communities also served as waystations for migration and trade centered on Salt Lake City during the mid to late 19th century. Communities in the generally fertile but relatively dry valleys of the Great Basin, Southeastern Idaho, Nevada, and Arizona were dependent on water supplies. Irrigation systems, including wells, dams, canals, headgates, and ditches were among the first projects for a new community. Road access to timber in the mountains and pasturage for stock were important, as were carefully tended crops, gardens, and orchards. Initial settlements Brigham Young, LDS Church president (1847–1877), personally supervised the founding of many outlying communities. Exploring parties were sent out to find settlement sites, and to identify sources of appropriate minerals, timber, and water. Historian Leonard J. Arrington asserted that within ten years of the LDS arrival in the Salt Lake Valley, "...nearly 100 colonies had been planted; by 1867, more than 200; and by the time of (Young's) death in 1877, nearly 400 colonies." These colonies had four distinct purposes: "...first, settlements intended to be temporary places of gathering and recruitment, such as Carson Valley in Nevada; second, colonies to serve as centers for production, such as iron at Cedar City, cotton at St. George, cattle in Cache Valley, and sheep in Spanish Fork, all in Utah; third, colonies to serve as centers for proselytizing and assisting Indians, as at Harmony in southern Utah, Las Vegas in southern Nevada, Fort Lemhi (north-central Idaho near the Lemhi Pass), and present-day Moab in eastern Utah; fourth, permanent colonies in Utah and nearby states and territories to provide homes and farms for the hundreds of new immigrants arriving each summer." Communities were also established in eastern and southeastern Utah and western Colorado, primarily populated by LDS Church converts from the southern United States. Historians James B. Allen and Glen M. Leonard estimate that at least 120 new LDS-based settlements were founded between 1876 and 1879. =="Jell-O Belt"==

The Mormon corridor has been nicknamed the "Jell-O belt" due to the popularity of Jell-O in the region. One of the official pins for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City was a green Jell-O jiggler in the shape of the state. According to the Los Angeles Times, "Salt Lake City is America's Jell-O-eating capital. Every man, woman and child in Salt Lake City buys two boxes of the stuff annually, or twice the national average, says Mary Jane Kinkade of Jell-O brand gelatin-maker Kraft Foods. Utah residents also eat twice as much lime Jell-O as anyone else on the planet." ==See also==