Tooele, Utah
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tooele (pronounced [tuˌwɪlə]) is a city in Tooele County in the U.S. state of Utah. The population was 22,502 at the 2000 census. Its estimated population in 2004 was 27,903.[citation needed] It is the county seat of Tooele County.GR6 The city is well known for Tooele Army Depot and a chemical weapons incinerator located nearby. In the Fox TV show Prison Break, Tooele is the location of five million dollars hidden by notorious hijacker D. B. Cooper. Tooele first appeared in the episode "Map 1213" on September 18th.
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[edit] Geography
Tooele is located at (40.536411, -112.297775)GR1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 54.8 km² (21.2 mi²). 54.8 km² (21.1 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (0.09%) is water.
Tooele is located on the western slopes of the Oquirrh Mountains in the Tooele Valley. Many popular camping and picnic areas surround the city.
The unusual name for the town is thought by some to have evolved from an old Ute Indian word for tumbleweed. This is only one of many unverified explanations, as the name's usage predated the introduction of the Russian thistle to the United States. Other explanations include that the name derives from an Native American chief, but controversy exists about whether such a chief lived. Others hypothesize that the name comes from "tu-wanda", the Goshute word for "bear", or from "tule", a Spanish word of Aztec origins meaning "bulrush".
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 22,502 people, 7,459 households, and 5,825 families residing in the city. The population density was 411.0/km² (1,064.4/mi²). There were 7,923 housing units at an average density of 144.7/km² (374.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 90.96% White, 0.74% African American, 1.32% Native American, 0.56% Asian, 0.15% Pacific Islander, 3.84% from other races, and 2.44% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 10.09% of the population.
There were 7,459 households out of which 46.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.6% were married couples living together, 11.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.9% were non-families. 18.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.98 and the average family size was 3.39.
In the city the population was spread out with 34.1% under the age of 18, 11.0% from 18 to 24, 30.8% from 25 to 44, 15.7% from 45 to 64, and 8.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females there were 98.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $43,862, and the median income for a family was $48,490. Males had a median income of $37,373 versus $24,175 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,580. About 5.0% of families and 6.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.9% of those under age 18 and 6.8% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Industry
The major employer in the area is the Kennecott Binghamm Copper Mine which runs the world's largest open pit excavation mining operation close by. 240 and 320 ton capacity haulage trucks deliver copper ore to the in-pit crusher, where the material is reduced to the size of soccer balls before being loaded onto a five-mile conveyor that carries the ore to the Copperton Concentrator.
[edit] Arts Festival
Since 1985, the Tooele Art's Festival, an annual 3-day event since 1985 falling on the last weekend in June, has drawn visitors from around the country who are looking for one-of-a-kind artwork, including paintings, jewelry, ceramics, photographs, sculptures, and much more.
[edit] Sister city
Tooele has a sister city, as designated by Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI):
[edit] See also
- Deseret Chemical Depot
- Tooele Army Depot
- Tooele Chemical Agent Disposal Facility
- Wendover Air Force Base
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Official Tooele City web site
- Tooele Arts Festival
- Kennecott Utah Copper
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
