1. Salt Lake City was founded by Brigham Young and Mormon pioneers seeking religious freedom, and it remains the headquarters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).
 

2. The city is named after the Great Salt Lake, which is the largest saltwater lake in the Western Hemisphere.
 

3. Salt Lake City hosted the 2002 Winter Olympics, and its world-class ski resorts often get over 500 inches of snow per year.
 

4. The streets in downtown Salt Lake City are unusually wide because Brigham Young wanted them to be large enough for a horse-drawn wagon to turn around without backing up.
 

5. The city is home to the largest genealogy library in the world, the Family History Library, which attracts researchers from around the globe.