Uintah County - UEN - Utah Education Network

Back to Counties Uintah County Wikimedia Commons Uintah County Facts:

County Website: Uintah County Area: 4,501 square miles Population: 37,747 (2023) County Seat: Vernal Origin of County Name: after the Uinta-Ats Utes Cities/Towns: Ballard, Naples, Vernal Economy: cattle, hay and alfalfa, lumber, oil, gas, and oil shale Points of Interest: Dinosaur National Monument, Ouray National Wildlife Refuge, Red Fleet Reservoir, Steinaker Reservoir, Stewart Lake Waterfowl Management Area, Utah Field House of Natural History

About Uintah County:

The history of Uintah County goes back to the dinosaur age. Evidences of Dinosaurs, such as bones and fossilized footprints, have been left in the region. Much later, the Fremont Indians and, more recently, the Ute Indians have inhabited this area. Rock art can be seen on many of the canyon walls even today. In 1776 the Dominguez and Escalante expedition stopped here. The Ashley valley was named after William Henry Ashley, one of the early trappers, who traveled many times through the area. In 1861 a group sent by Brigham Young to explore the area declared it a “waste and valueless.” Then in 1873 a group of people entered the Ashley valley to raise livestock an industry that has become very important to the area. Vernal, the county seat, was set up around 1880 when the residents of the area were protecting themselves from a group of hostile Indians.

Today, many visitors visit the area to see the Dinosaur National Monument, a national monument established to protect a major quarry and the surrounding area. In the city of Vernal visitors can see the remarkable Utah Field House of Natural History State Park with indoor and outdoor exhibits. Uintah County provides many scenic drives, such as the Red Cloud/Dry Fork Scenic Backway that provides beautiful vistas, early rock art, and forest views. Nearby Fantasy Canyon provides the visitor a look at rock formations that you’re sure you’ve seen before in storybooks. Two state parks in the county, Red Fleet and Steinaker State Park, help provide water and recreation throughout the year.

Resources:

More information for Uintah County can be found at the following sites:

• UOPL: Uintah County Profile
• Dinosaur National Monument
• Ghost Towns in Uintah
• Go-Utah.com - Vernal
• Uintah Basin Teaching American History Project
• Utah.com - Red Fleet State Park
• Utah.com - Vernal
• Utah Counties Profile - Uintah County
• Utah History Encyclopedia - Uintah County
• Utah History for Kids - Uintah County
• U.S. Census Quickfacts - Uintah County
• Vernal Area Chamber of Commerce
• Visit Utah - Vernal

Gallery: Historic Fenn Bullock Home located in Vernal Utah. Image from Wikimedia Commons 1898 Victorian Queen Anne, William and Emily Siddoway House, Vernal, Utah. Image from Wikimedia Commons The White River. Image from Wikimedia Commons The Book Cliffs are a series of desert mountains and cliffs in eastern Utah. Image from Wikimedia Commons Steinaker Dam and Reservoir. Image from Wikimedia Commons Bittercreek in Uintah, Utah. Image from Wikimedia Commons A Stegosaurus model in front of the Visitor Center at Dinosaur National Monument. Image from Wikimedia Commons Dinosaur National Monument is located along the Utah Colorado border. Image from Wikimedia Commons The pink Sauropod greets visitors to Vernal, the main population center in northeastern Utah. Image from Wikimedia Commons Allosaurus skeletal reconstruction (cast), on display at the Utah Field House of Natural History State Park Museum in Vernal, Utah. Image from Wikimedia Commons This rock art panel sits on a private ranch in Vernal, Utah. These Fremont carvings and drawings are centuries old. Image from Wikimedia Commons

A depiction of small to large-sized petroglyphs of lizards near the Dinosaur National Monument. Image from Wikimedia Commons

Differentially cemented & eroded sandstone in the Eocene of Fantasy Canyon, Utah. Image from Wikimedia Commons Stacked arches in Fantasy Canyon, Utah. Image from Wikimedia Commons Rock formations in the Ouray National Wildlife Refuge. Image from Wikimedia Commons Uinta Basin Hookless Cactus (Sclerocactus wetlandicus) in bloom on Ouray National Wildlife Refuge. Image from Wikimedia Commons