Enter the Sanpete County Photo Tour:
About Sanpete County
Sanpete County comprises Sanpete Valley, part of the valley of the Sevier River, and the mountains which surround them. Elevations along the Sevier River are around 5,000 feet, with Sanpete Valley a few hundred feet higher. The San Pitch River flows southward through Sanpete Valley into the Sevier River. A beautiful farming country covers the valley floors, dotted by pioneer settlements, which are now seeing growth as people look for quieter places out of the larger cities along the Wasatch Front. Foothills covered with sagebrush rise gently from the valley floor, meeting forests of junipers trees on the steeper upper slopes. At high elevations, forest of quaking aspen and evergreens flourish.
Along the eastern boundary of the county lies the Wasatch Plateau, a 10,000 foot, flat-topped mountain, bedecked in forests and meadows. Canyons dropping into Sanpete Valley on its western face are short and steep. The San Pitch Mountains flank Sanpete Valley on the west, dwindling to a point on the south in the valley of the Sevier River. The Valley Mountains rise to the west of the Sevier River.
Soon after Mormon pioneers arrived in Salt Lake City in 1847, they launched a colonization program. Sanpete Valley was one of the early places targeted by the early settlers. Within a decade a number of settlements had been established, including Manti, the county seat. As of the year 2000, Sanpete County has a population of 22,763. It covers 1,603 square miles.