Big Water is a town in Kane County,

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, United States. The population was 449 at the 2020 census, down from 475 at the 2010 census. It is located northwest of

Page, Arizona Page is a city in Coconino County, Arizona, United States, near the Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city was 7,247. History Page was founded in 1957 as a housing community for workers and their f ...

, on US-89 near

Lake Powell Lake Powell is a reservoir on the Colorado River in Utah and Arizona, United States. It is a major vacation destination visited by approximately two million people every year. It holds of water when full, second in the United States to only the ...

and the

Glen Canyon Dam Glen Canyon Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the southwestern United States, located on the Colorado River in northern Arizona, near the city of Page. The dam was built by the Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) from 1956 to 1966 and forms L ...

. It was originally called Glen Canyon City and housed workers who built the dam in the 1950s. Big Water made news in the 1980s as a

polygamous Polygamy (from Late Greek , "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, it is called polygyny. When a woman is married to more than one h ...

colony of the Joseph clan. It also made news in 1986, when the mayor

Alex Joseph Alex Joseph (June 24, 1936 – September 27, 1998) (born Alec Richard Joseph; also referred to as Ronald Ellison) was an American outspoken polygamist and founder of the Confederate Nations of Israel, a Mormon fundamentalist sect. As mayor of ...

and the city council left the Republican Party to join the Libertarian Party. This made Joseph the first Libertarian mayor in the history of the U.S. Subsequently, Willy Marshall, also a Libertarian, was elected as the state's first openly gay mayor in 2001. It was the first place in the United States with a city council where every member was in the Libertarian Party.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of , all of it land.

Climate

According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Big Water has a

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 se ...

, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps.Climate Summary for Big Water, Utah
/ref>

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 417 people, 171 households, and 117 families residing in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...

was 68.7 people per square mile (26.5/km²). There were 264 housing units at an average density of 43.5 per square mile (16.8/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 94.00%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 2.88% Native American, 0.24% Asian, 0.48%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 1.20% from other races, and 1.20% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 5.28% of the population. There were 171 households, out of which 32.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.6% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 12.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.0% were non-families. 26.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44, and the average family size was 2.97. In the town, the population was spread out, with 28.5% under 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 31.2% from 45 to 64, and 7.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.4 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 106.9 males. The median income for a household in the town was $30,278, and the median income for a family was $37,917. Males had a median income of $29,091 versus $17,917 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $15,026. About 11.0% of families and 14.5% 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 ...

, including 16.1% of those under age 18 and 22.2% of those aged 65 or over.

References

External links

* {{authority control Towns in Kane County, Utah Towns in Utah Populated places established in 1983

Geography

Climate

Demographics

See also

References

External links