Ibapah ( ) is a small
unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...
in far western
Tooele 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 its ...
, United States, near the
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
state line.
Description
The settlement is located near the
Deep Creek Mountains
The Deep Creek Range, (often refereed to as the Deep Creek Mountains (Goshute: Pi'a-roi-ya-bi), are a mountain range in the Great Basin located in extreme western Tooele and Juab counties in Utah, United States.
The range trends north-south (wi ...
. The site was originally established in 1859 by
Mormon
Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into se ...
missionaries sent to teach the local Native Americans farming methods. A
Pony Express
The Pony Express was an American express mail service that used relays of horse-mounted riders. It operated from April 3, 1860, to October 26, 1861, between Missouri and California. It was operated by the Central Overland California and Pike ...
station operated here in 1860 and 1861, and the town was on an early alignment of the
Lincoln Highway
The Lincoln Highway is the first transcontinental highway in the United States and one of the first highways designed expressly for automobiles. Conceived in 1912 by Indiana entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, and formally dedicated October 31, 191 ...
. A post office operated here from 1883 to 1980. Ibapah is currently inhabited mostly by
Goshute people
The Goshutes are a tribe of Western Shoshone Native Americans. There are two federally recognized Goshute tribes today:
* Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Reservation, located in Nevada and Utah
* Skull Valley Band of Goshute Indians of Utah of ...
, with scattered farmlands and a trading post belonging to more recent settlers. The community is the headquarters of the
Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Reservation
The Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Reservation is located in Juab County, Utah, Tooele County, Utah, and White Pine County, Nevada, United States. It is one of two federally recognized tribes of Goshute people, the other being the Skull Vall ...
, a
federally recognized tribe
This is a list of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States of America. There are also federally recognized Alaska Native tribes. , 574 Indian tribes were legally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the Unite ...
.
Originally named Deep Creek for a creek of the same name in the area, the name was later changed to ''Ibapah'', an anglicized form of the
Goshute
The Goshutes are a tribe of Western Shoshone Native Americans. There are two federally recognized Goshute tribes today:
* Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Reservation, located in Nevada and Utah
* Skull Valley Band of Goshute Indians of Utah o ...
word ''Ai-bim-pa'' or ''Ai'bĭm-pa'' which means "White Clay Water".
The University of Utah - Shoshoni Dictionary
/ref>
The town is isolated and is usually reached by going out of Utah into Nevada and back into Utah.
Climate
The climate is typical of that of a high elevation Great Basin
The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic watersheds, those with no outlets, in North America. It spans nearly all of Nevada, much of Utah, and portions of California, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, and Baja California. It is noted fo ...
location, being semi-arid and featuring, in consequence, large differences in temperature between day and night.
See also
References
External links
{{authority control
Unincorporated communities in Tooele County, Utah
Unincorporated communities in Utah
Populated places established in 1859
Pony Express stations
Goshute
1859 establishments in Utah Territory