Saint George City, Utah - an oasis in the desert

St George, Utah, is inside the northeastern corner of Mojave Desert, and in the center of the Intermountain West:  650 miles west of Denver, 400 miles north of Phoenix, 400 miles northeast of Los Angeles, 500 miles east of San Francisco, 300 miles south of Salt Lake City, and 117 miles northeast of Las Vegas, Nevada.  The valley containing St George is surrounded by Pine Valley Mountains, Beaver Dam Mountains, and by lava flows Foremaster Ridge and old airport hill.

St. George lies in a dry desert valley in the northeastern-most stretch of the Mojave Desert, with most of the city lying below 3,000 feet (900 m), situated in a geological transition zone where the Colorado Plateau, Great Basin, and Mojave Desert converge.  The desolate desert in the Arizona Strip separates St George from the Grand Canyon North Rim.

St George is the hub of the southern Utah area known as Utah's Dixie - a nickname given to the area when LDS pioneers grew cotton in the warm climate.  It is the seventh-largest city in Utah and the largest city in the state outside of the Salt Lake/Weber/Utah counties metropolitan area.  St George was the fastest-growing metropolitan area in the United States from 2000 to 2004 - 2nd behind Greeley, Colorado, in 2005  The population in the 1980s when we arrived was 11,350; the population in 2012 is 75,561 and still growing.  The official elevation is 2,860' (872m).

Several publications list St George as one of the best places in the US to live.  Some reasons for coming here might be the abilty to golf 365 days, Zion and other nearby National and State Parks, the LDS Temple, and a temperate climate:  January's average high temperature is 50+°F (10°C).  The hot summer months on the desert (100+°F, 38°C) are tempered by low humidity (+/- 10%).  Annual snowfall is 0.2 inch, but December 2013 saw a 100-year snowfall of 8 inches and temperatures hovering at 0°F  (-18°C).

The Photo gallery contains photos of St George, including photos of the unusual 2013 snowfall, with an auto-show of the photos.

Area history gives a brief history of St George and Washington County with some additional information.

Select Combined maps for St George in southwestern Utah, the Mojave Desert, and a wide-area map with Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Salt Lake City.