Notes

Utah is part of the Intermountain West, a group of seven western states including Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. The Intermountain West is the name given to this region of the United States. A region is an area of land that has common features, such as location, climate and landforms.

Scenic Attractions of the Intermountain West

The states of the Intermountain West all have beautiful scenery that is enjoyed by people from all over the world. We will learn more about Utah's scenic attractions in other issues of this paper, but take a look below and see if you have ever visited any of these scenic attractions in our neighboring states.

Arizona - Utah's neighbor to the south, is famous for the Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon, which measures up to 18 miles across and averages about 1 mile deep, is considered one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. Nearly 5 million people visit the Grand Canyon each year.

Colorado - Located directly to the east of Utah. One of Colorado's most exciting scenic attractions is Mesa Verde State Park. The park covers about 81 square miles and is filled with amazing archaeological sites. Visitors can climb ladders and explore actual cliff dwellings that once belonged to ancient people who lived there between 600 and 1300 A.D.

Idaho - Directly to the north of Utah is the state of Idaho. Idaho is well known as the home of Craters of the Moon National Monument, located near the city of Arco. The area is marked by three major lava fields covering almost half a million acres. The land looks a lot like the surface of the moon, which is how it got its name.

Nevada - Utah's western neighbor, Nevada, is home to Lake Tahoe, a very beautiful and popular scenic attraction. The lake is located in the Sierra Nevada mountains on the border between Nevada and California. It is one of the deepest and bluest lakes in the United States. The area also features restaurants, ski slopes and vacation cabins.

New Mexico - The southeastern tip of Utah touches the northwestern tip of the state of New Mexico. In the Guadalupe Mountains of New Mexico you will find Carlsbad Caverns, a National Park made up of at least 100 known caves. These caves are filled with fascinating geologic formations that began forming around 60 million years ago.

Wyoming - Just to the northeast of Utah is the state of Wyoming. Wyoming is home to the very first National Park in the United States - Yellowstone National Park. Yellowstone, which became a National Park in 1872, covers over 2 million acres in the states of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. The land is marked by towering 10,000 to 14,000-foot mountains, free-roaming wildlife and geysers that shoot hot liquid into the air.



you have heard the word "philanthropy" before. What does it mean? It describes actions that people make for the good of other people. What is a value? It's a way of behaving that people believe is good - like believing it's good to be honest. Is honesty one of your values?

One way you can practice philanthropy today is to help yourself and others learn good values. How do you learn good values? You can learn them from your parents and grandparents, your teachers at school or church and other people you trust.

You can also learn them from people that have been recognized for doing good things for society. An easy way to learn about people that have done good things is to visit values.com. Values.com has lots of stories and short videos that highlight the traits that make each of us better people. They even have billboards on the highway to remind you about good values.

For example, you may have seen a billboard that looks like the one shown here.

This billboard is about Oral Lee Brown, who saved money from her job to send 19 kids to college... all by herself! Wow! Isn't that cool? You can learn about lots of other people who practice philanthropy at values.com. Be sure to look for more of their "billboards" on Page 4 of Studies Weekly this year. We think they're so cool we want to remind you to check them out!