San Juan County, Utah

San Juan County ( ) is a county in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Utah. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 14,518. Its county seat is Monticello, while its most populous city is Blanding. The Utah State Legislature named the county for the San Juan River, itself named by Spanish explorers (in honor of Saint John). San Juan County borders Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico at the Four Corners.

History

The Utah Territory authorized the creation of San Juan County on February 17, 1880, with territories annexed from Iron, Kane, and Piute counties. There has been no change in its boundaries since its creation. Monticello was founded in 1887, and by 1895 it was large enough to be designated the seat of San Juan County.

Geography

San Juan County lies in the southeastern corner of the state of Utah. Its borders coincide with the borders of the states of Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona with Utah.''San Juan County UT'' Google Maps (accessed March 31, 2019)
/ref> The convergence point of these borders, Four Corners Monument, is located at the extreme southeastern corner of the county.

The county's terrain generally slopes to the west and the south, with its highest point, Mount Peale, at above sea level. The county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.4%) is water. It is the largest county by area in Utah.

The county's western and southern boundaries lie deep within gorges carved by the Colorado and San Juan Rivers. Tributary canyons, cutting through rock layers of the surrounding deserts, have carved the land up with chasms, cliffs, and plateaus. In the center of the county is Cedar Mesa, Comb Wash, Natural Bridges, and Hovenweep National Monuments. Canyonlands National Park lies mainly within the county borders. The Eastern side of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area / Lake Powell is also in the county.

The Blue (Abajo) Mountains and the La Sal Mountains exceed in elevation. Both ranges are covered with lush forests, contrasting the scenery below. The elevation change within the county is from nearly in the La Sal Mountains to at Lake Powell, a difference of about .

The county's towns lie primarily on a north-south axis along U.S. routes 191 and 163 from La Sal in the north to Monument Valley in the south.

Natural resources

In 2018, the only operating uranium processing plant in the United States was located in the town of Blanding; however, the plant was moved to be on standby in 2019.

San Juan County is home to numerous oil and gas fields, including Squaw Canyon Oil Field, that produce primarily from the Desert Creek and Ismay Formations.

Major highways

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Adjacent counties

* Grand County - north
* Mesa County, Colorado - northeast
* Montrose County, Colorado - northeast
* San Miguel County, Colorado - east
* Dolores County, Colorado - east
* Montezuma County, Colorado - east
* San Juan County, New Mexico - southeast
* Apache County, Arizona - south
* Navajo County, Arizona - south
* Coconino County, Arizona - southwest
* Kane County - west
* Garfield County - west
* Wayne County - west
* Emery County - northwest

San Juan County is bordered by more counties than any other county in the United States, at 14.

Protected areas

* Bears Ears National Monument
* Canyonlands National Park (part)
* Dark Canyon Wilderness
* Edge of the Cedars State Park
* Four Corners Monument Navajo Tribal Park (part)
* Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (part)
* Grand Gulch Primitive Area
* Goosenecks State Park
* Hovenweep National Monument (part)
* Manti-La Sal National Forest (part)
* Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park (part)
* Natural Bridges National Monument
* Navajo Mountain
* Rainbow Bridge National Monument
* Valley of the Gods

Demographics

As of 2017, San Juan County was the poorest county (per capita) in Utah and one of the poorest in the United States.

2020 census

According to the 2020 United States census and 2020 American Community Survey, there were 14,518 people in San Juan County with a population density of 1.9 people per square mile (0.7/km²). Among non- Hispanic or Latino people, the racial makeup was 6,038 (41.6%) White, 32 (0.2%) African American, 7,186 (49.5%) Native American, 34 (0.2%) Asian, 51 (0.4%) Pacific Islander, 26 (0.2%) from other races, and 404 (2.8%) from two or more races. 747 (5.1%) people were Hispanic or Latino.

There were 7,269 (50.07%) males and 7,249 (49.93%) females, and the population distribution by age was 4,176 (28.8%) under the age of 18, 8,104 (55.8%) from 18 to 64, and 2,238 (15.4%) who were at least 65 years old. The median age was 34.6 years.

There were 4,649 households in San Juan County with an average size of 3.12 of which 3,397 (73.1%) were families and 1,252 (26.9%) were non-families. Among all families, 2,359 (50.7%) were married couples, 317 (6.8%) were male householders with no spouse, and 721 (15.5%) were female householders with no spouse. Among all non-families, 1,070 (23.0%) were a single person living alone and 182 (3.9%) were two or more people living together. 1,848 (39.8%) of all households had children under the age of 18. 3,708 (79.8%) of households were owner-occupied while 941 (20.2%) were renter-occupied.

The median income for a San Juan County household was $49,690 and the median family income was $57,401, with a per-capita income of $20,088. The median income for males that were full-time employees was $48,259 and for females $34,092. 22.8% of the population and 18.1% of families were below the poverty line.

In terms of education attainment, out of the 9,192 people in San Juan County 25 years or older, 1,313 (14.3%) had not completed high school, 2,801 (30.5%) had a high school diploma or equivalency, 3,316 (36.1%) had some college or associate degree, 1,156 (12.6%) had a bachelor's degree, and 606 (6.6%) had a graduate or professional degree.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 14,746 people and 4,505 households in San Juan County. The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 50.4% Native American, 45.8% White, 0.3% Asian, 0.2% African American and 2.3% reporting two or more races. 4.4% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Politics and government

San Juan County has supported Republican presidents since voting for Wendell Willkie in 1940. It supported a Democrat for president in 1896 (William Jennings Bryan), 1916 (Woodrow Wilson), and 1936 (Franklin D. Roosevelt). Though a Republican vote currently secures elections, the area has voted less Republican than the rest of Utah in many national elections. In 2004, for example, George W. Bush won 60.02% in San Juan County versus 71.54% in the state. In 2020, Democrat Joe Biden needed 6.13% more votes to win the county from Donald Trump, who secured 51.2% in the county as opposed to 58.13% in the state as a whole. The county is more competitive at the state level due to its high Native American population, which leans Democratic. Notably, the county voted for the Democratic candidates in the 1988 and 2000 gubernatorial elections, both of which Republican candidates won.

Federally mandated commissioner districts put many Navajo voters in one district. The San Juan County Board of Commissioners has been majority white for many years. In 2016, a Federal District Court decision found voting districts violated the 1965 Voting Rights Act and the U.S. Constitution. Before the 2016 court decision, the county used an at-large voting system to elect commissioners.

In 2018, the first-ever majority-Navajo commission was seated. Two of the three county commissioners, Willie Grayeyes and Kenneth Maryboy, are board members of Utah Diné Bikeyah, which supported the creation of Bears Ears National Monument. In a 2019 special election, Proposition 10, which would have changed the structure of the county government to include five county commissioners, was blocked needing 153 more popular votes. The proposition, spearheaded by Blanding Mayor Joe Lyman, was characterized by opponents as an effort to undermine the Navajo-majority county commission. Mayor Joe Lyman characterized the proposition as a way to restore representation to Blanding, the county's largest city. He states, "I don't like how we arrived at the commissioners we have because it felt like a judicial appointment," and that "the vote is very evenly split."

As of March 2020, efforts were underway to bring municipal water and electrical service to the 29-home Diné (Navajo) community of Westwater, which has existed for decades with neither just outside the city limits of Blanding.

Communities

Cities

* Blanding
* Monticello (county seat)

Town

* Bluff

Census-designated places

* Aneth
* Halchita
* Halls Crossing
* La Sal
* Mexican Hat
* Montezuma Creek
* Navajo Mountain
* Oljato-Monument Valley
* Spanish Valley
* Tselakai Dezza
* White Mesa

Unincorporated communities

* Eastland
* Ucolo

See also

* List of counties in Utah
* National Register of Historic Places listings in San Juan County, Utah

References

External links

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{{Authority control

1880 establishments in Utah Territory
Populated places established in 1880