Blanding () is a city in San Juan County,

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

, United States. The population was 3,375 at the 2010 census, making it the most populated city in San Juan County. It was settled in the late 19th century by Mormon settlers, predominantly from the famed Hole-In-The-Rock expedition. Economic contributors include mineral processing, mining, agriculture, local commerce, tourism, and transportation. Blanding is located near both the Navajo and White Mesa Ute Native American reservations and a significant percentage of Blanding's population has family ties to these nearby cultures. Blanding is a gateway to an abundance of nearby natural and archaeological resources, including The Dinosaur Museum,

Natural Bridges National Monument Natural Bridges National Monument is a U.S. National Monument located about northwest of the Four Corners boundary of southeast Utah, in the western United States, at the junction of White Canyon and Armstrong Canyon, part of the Colorad ...

, Monument Valley, and the Four Corners area,

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (shortened to Glen Canyon NRA or GCNRA) is a national recreation area and conservation unit of the United States National Park Service that encompasses the area around Lake Powell and lower Cataract Canyon ...

(Lake Powell),

Cedar Mesa Cedar Mesa is a plateau in San Juan County in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Utah. It extends from Elk Ridge in the north, Comb Wash to the east, the gorge of the San Juan River to the south, and Grand Gulch to the west, an ar ...

archaeological and wilderness area, the San Juan River including

Goosenecks State Park Goosenecks State Park is a state park in the U.S. state of Utah, overlooking a deep meander of the San Juan River. The park is located near the southern border of the state a short distance from Mexican Hat, Utah. Millions of years ago, the Mo ...

, and the Needles district of Canyonlands National Park. It is located approximately 1 hour south of the popular recreation hub of Moab and

Arches National Park Arches National Park is a national park in eastern Utah, United States. The park is adjacent to the Colorado River, north of Moab, Utah. More than 2,000 natural sandstone arches are located in the park, including the well-known Delicate Arch, ...

History

First known as Grayson (after Nellie Grayson Lyman, wife of settler Joseph Lyman), the town changed its name in 1914 when a wealthy easterner,

Thomas W. Bicknell Thomas Williams Bicknell (September 6, 1834 – October 6, 1925) was an American educator, historian, and author. Early life and career Thomas W. Bicknell was born in Barrington, Rhode Island to Harriet Byron Kinnicutt (September 1, 1791 – ...

, offered a thousand-volume library to any town that would adopt his name. Grayson competed with Thurber, Utah (renamed Bicknell) for the prize. Grayson was renamed Blanding after the maiden name of Bicknell's wife, and each town received 500 books. On the morning of June 10, 2009, sixteen Blanding residents were arrested in more than a dozen raids performed by federal agents and indicted as part of an undercover investigation of violations of the

Archeological Resources Protection Act The Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 ( as amended, , codified at ), also referred to as ARPA, is a Law of the United States, federal law of the United States passed in 1979 and amended in 1988. It governs the excavation of archaeologi ...

. Eight others around the Four Corners region were also indicted. The raid was the largest undercover sting of its kind in the country. The raid was the conclusion of a two-year investigation by FBI and BLM agents code-named "Cerberus Action" in which an undercover agent was able to purchase 256 artifacts for $335,685. One indicted resident, Dr. James DeMar Redd, died by suicide on June 11. The undercover informant, Ted Gardiner, died by suicide on March 1, 2010.

Geography

Blanding is located at (37.623199, -109.478943) in the Four Corners area of the Colorado Plateau. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...

, the city has a total area of 2.4 square miles (6.1 km²), all land.

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2010, there were 3,375 people, 1,013 households, and 785 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was 1,332.7 people per square mile (515.1/km²). There were 1,110 housing units at an average density of 417.7 per square mile (161.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 66.1%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 0.3%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 29.4% Native American, 0.09%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.01%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, .5% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 3.3% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 3.8% of the population. There were 1,013 households, out of which 43.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59% were married couples living together, 14.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.5% were non-families. 20.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.19, and the average family size was 3.71. In the city, the population was spread out, with 39.2% under the age of 19, 9.87% from 20 to 24, 22% from 25 to 44, 18.8% from 45 to 64, and 11.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 26.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.3 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 88.3 males. The median income for a household in the city was $43,946, and the median income for a family was $50,833. Males had a median income of $42,667 versus $21,615 for females. About 14.1% of families and 11.1% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 34.0% of those under age 18 and 10.9% of those aged 65 or over.

Education

The

San Juan School District San Juan School District (SJSD) is a school district headquartered in Blanding, Utah, United States. The district has twelve schools. 3,193 students were enrolled. History As of 2017 teachers in communities of the southern part of the scho ...

operates Blanding Elementary School, Albert R. Lyman Middle School, and San Juan High School in Blanding.

Utah State University Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Utah ...

has a campus in Blanding.

Climate

According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

system, Blanding has a

cold semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...

, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps. The hottest temperature recorded in Blanding was on June 22, 1905, while the coldest temperature recorded was on February 8, 1933.

References

External links

Blanding City Chamber of Commerce
{{authority control Cities in Utah Populated places established in 1905 Cities in San Juan County, Utah 1905 establishments in Utah