Lapoint, Utah

Coordinates: 40°24′14″N 109°47′37″W / 40.40389°N 109.79361°W / 40.40389; -109.79361
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Lapoint, Utah
Lapoint is located in Utah
Lapoint
Lapoint
Location of Lapoint within the State of Utah
Lapoint is located in the United States
Lapoint
Lapoint
Lapoint (the United States)
Coordinates: 40°24′14″N 109°47′37″W / 40.40389°N 109.79361°W / 40.40389; -109.79361
CountryUnited States
StateUtah
CountyUintah
Named forSouthward "point" of the Uinta Mountains
Elevation
5,568 ft (1,697 m)
Time zoneUTC-7 (Mountain (MST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-6 (MDT)
ZIP codes
84039
GNIS feature ID1429476[1]

Lapoint is an unincorporated community in western Uintah County, Utah, United States.[1]

Description[edit]

Historical population
CensusPop.Note
1930579
194064611.6%
1950496−23.2%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau[2]

The community lies along State Route 121, just inside the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation, and west of the city of Vernal (the county seat of Uintah County).[3] Deep Creek, a tributary of the Uinta River flow southwest through Lapoint.[4] The community's elevation is 5,568 feet (1,697 m).[1] Although Lapoint is unincorporated, it has a post office,[5] with the ZIP code of 84039.[6][7]

Originally named Taft in honor of William Howard Taft, its name was changed to Lapoint since it lies on a southward-jutting spur or "point" of the Uinta Mountains.[8][4]

Climate[edit]

According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Lapoint has a semi-arid climate, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps.[9]

Notable people[edit]

Archaeology[edit]

Lapoint was settled on top of a significant Fremont archaeological site known as "Caldwell Village", after the property on which it was found, excavated in 1966 by John Richard Ambler. The site comprised "22 pithouses, nine pits, seven borrow pits, two isolated hearths, nine human burials, two dog burials, and an irrigation ditch," with artifacts including "over 5,000 pottery sherds, 14 restorable vessels, several thousand ground and chipped stone artifacts, over 400 bone, antler and shell artifacts and a few perishable artifacts." A radiocarbon date of 520 AD +/- 70 years was documented from a charred roof timber at one site, however, dating of the pottery traditions suggests an occupation period of 1050 - 1200 AD. The surface of the site was almost entirely destroyed by agricultural plowing and today there are no extant remains visible.[10]

See also[edit]

flag Utah portal

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Lapoint". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  2. ^ "Census of Population and Housing". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 8, 2006. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
  3. ^ Rand McNally. The Road Atlas '08. Chicago: Rand McNally, 2008, p. 103.
  4. ^ a b "MyTopo Maps - Lapoint, UT, USA" (Map). mytopo.com. Trimble Navigation, Ltd. Retrieved February 11, 2018.
  5. ^ "Find Locations: Lapoint". usps.com. United States Postal Service. Retrieved February 11, 2018.
  6. ^ "Look Up a ZIP Code: Default City Name in ZIP Code 84039". usps.com. United States Postal Service. Retrieved February 11, 2018.
  7. ^ Zip Code Lookup
  8. ^ Van Cott, John W. (1990). Utah Place Names: A Comprehensive Guide to the Origins of Geographic Names: A Compilation. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press. p. 222. ISBN 978-0-87480-345-7. OCLC 797284427.
  9. ^ Climate Summary for Lapoint, Utah
  10. ^ Ambler, John Richard (1966). Caldwell Village and Fremont Prehistory (Ph.D., Anthropology). University of Colorado, Boulder. Retrieved May 3, 2021.

External links[edit]

Media related to Lapoint, Utah at Wikimedia Commons