The state of Utah was once almost its own country - the Mormon theocracy of Deseret. Salt Lake City is now both the state capital and the worldwide center of the LDS church and is full of historical monuments. Cities and towns spread north and south along the Wasatch front, their characteristic wide streets attesting to their nineteenth century Mormon roots. The guidebook to Salt Lake City and Northern Utah encompasses the clean prosperous towns, the mountain ranges in between, and the wide open western deserts.

The Colorado Plateau occupies the southern third of the state, a scenic wonderland of red rock monuments and canyons, with five national parks. The guidebook to Southwestern Utah centers on fabulous Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks. East from there the vast Canyonlands of Utah area spreads to the Four Corners and includes Capitol Reef, Canyonlands, and Arches National Parks, plus Rainbow Bridge and Natural Bridges National Monuments.