Vernal is the county seat of and the largest city in Uintah County, Utah, approximately 175 miles (280km) east of Salt Lake City and 20 miles (32km) west of the Colorado border.[4] As of the 2020 census, the city population was 10,079. The population has since grown to 10,432 as of the 2022 population estimate.[5]
Vernal, unlike most Utah towns, was not settled by Mormons moving west, or across the state. Brigham Young sent a scouting party to the area Uintah Basin in 1861 and received word back that the area was good for nothing but nomad purposes, hunting grounds for Indians, and "to hold the world together." That same year, President Abraham Lincoln set the area aside as the Uintah Indian Reservation, with Captain Pardon Dodds appointed as Indian agent.[6] Dodds later built the first cabin erected by a white man in the Uintah Basin around 1868. Settlers began to filter in after that and built cabins in various spots on or near Ashley Creek. In 1879, many came close to perishing during the infamous "Hard Winter" of that same year.
Geography
Vernal is in the Uintah Basin, bordered on the north by the Uinta Mountains, one of the relatively few mountain ranges which lie in an east–west rather than the usual north-to-south direction. The Tavaputs Plateau lies to the south and Blue Mountain to the east, while Vernal itself lies in Ashley Valley. The valley is named in honor of William H. Ashley, an early fur trader who entered the area in 1825 by floating down the Green River in a bull boat made of animal hides.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.6 square miles (11.9km2), all land.
Climate
Vernal has a cold desert climate (Köppen: BWk) with low humidity. The average annual temperature is 46.9°F (8.3°C) with a mean high of 59.8°F (15.4°C) and a mean low of 34.0°F (1.1°C).[7]
Climate data for Vernal, Utah, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1894–present
As of the 2020 census, Vernal had a population of 10,079. The median age was 29.8 years. 31.0% of residents were under the age of 18 and 11.2% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 96.1 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 90.3 males age 18 and over.[9]
99.9% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.1% lived in rural areas.[10]
There were 3,796 households in Vernal, of which 39.3% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 44.0% were married-couple households, 18.6% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 29.5% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 28.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[9]
There were 4,461 housing units, of which 14.9% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 3.9% and the rental vacancy rate was 16.9%.[9]
Tourism also plays a role in Vernal's economy due to the town's roots in the Old West and being a large site of ancient dinosaur fossils.[12] Vernal and the surrounding area are popular among outdoor enthusiasts as they are situated near plentiful spots for fishing, fly fishing, hunting, and other outdoor activities.
Education
Vernal's public schools include Ashley Valley Education Center, Uintah High, Uintah Middle School, Vernal Middle, Ashley Elementary, Discovery Elementary, and branches of Utah State University and Uintah Basin Technical College. In 2015, the Terra Academy opened as a K–12 charter school. Private schools include White House Academy and Uintah Basin Christian Academy. In 2007, Uintah School District built new buildings for two elementary schools, Maeser and Naples Elementary, in the nearby communities to accommodate increased enrollment and eliminate unsafe older buildings. Other area schools include Davis Elementary, Lapoint Elementary, and Eagle View Elementary (pre-K–8). The National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) Rocky Mountain River Base.
Media
The Vernal Express is the newspaper of the city. It was first published in 1891 as the Uintah Papoose.[13]
Transportation
Highways
Vernal is along an east–west federal highway, U.S. Route 40, and a north–south federal highway, U.S. Route 191. (The two highways overlay each other heading west from the city.)
Vernal is served by two out of the three Basin Transit Association routes,[16] the Vernal - Roosevelt route (connection available to the Duchesne route in Roosevelt), and the Vernal Circulator, as well as a Salt Lake Express route to Salt Lake City[17]
Attractions
Special events
The Dinosaur Roundup Rodeo is an annual PRCA rodeo held in Vernal during the second weekend of July. It has been running since the 1930s. This event has been nominated as one of the top five large outdoor rodeos of the year multiple times, and attracts over 500 contestants each year.[citation needed]
Dinah "Soar" Days & Hot Air Balloon Festival features a growing multi-day hot air balloon festival along with numerous other community events, many of which have a hot air balloon theme.[citation needed]
The John Wesley Powell River Festival celebrates the exploration and history of the region with live music, food trucks and activities that focus on local history.[citation needed]
Games, Anime, and More (G.A.M.) is a biannual fan convention. It is a multi-genre convention having video games, card games, cartoons, costumes, tournaments, tabletop gaming, and similar activities. The G.A.M. Convention is held during March and August in Uintah County, Utah. In 2015 it was the first anime convention held in Vernal as well as the first gaming convention held there, making it the first convention of its type in Vernal.[18] In 2016 it was held in Naples, Utah, for the first time, making G.A.M. the first convention of its type in the city of Naples.
The Uintah County Fair occurs Thursday through Saturday each year in the second week of June.
Point of interest
Lookout Point rests on the western edge overlooking Ashley Valley, the valley in which Vernal is situated.
Notable buildings
Bank of Vernal (2010)
The Bank of Vernal (a.k.a. the 'Parcel Post' Bank) Building (3 West Main Street) is a registered historical building in the Uintah County Landmark Register.[19] Also known as "the Bank that was sent by Mail", the Bank of Vernal was constructed in 1916–1917 by William H. Coltharp, a Vernal businessman and entrepreneur. Coltharp took advantage of inexpensive Parcel Post rates to ship some 80,000 masonry bricks in fifty-pound (22.6kg) packages via the U.S. Post Office the 180 miles (290km) from Salt Lake City to Vernal.[20][21] The Parcel Post brick shipments were transported from Salt Lake to Mack, Colorado by Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, then proceeded to Watson via the narrow gaugeUintah Railway, finally Vernal by wagon freight through steep roads. The full trip was over 420 miles (675.9km) long.[22] After completing delivery of the bricks, the U.S. Post Office hastily changed its regulations, establishing a limit of 200 pounds (91kg) per day per sender. The United States Postmaster GeneralAlbert Sidney Burleson explicitly stated in a letter that "it is not the intent of the United States Postal Service that buildings be shipped through the mail".[23] Today the building is used as a branch office of Zions Bank.
The Quarry Visitor Center in Dinosaur National Monument, and the Vernal Utah Temple are other historic Vernal buildings. The Vernal Temple is a small LDS temple in the old Vernal Tabernacle. It was built as the result of a local movement to save the old tabernacle when it was scheduled for demolition.
.jpg)
