Sweetwater

  

Area of Sweetwater
— Area of the Deseret —
Flag Seal
Nickname(s): The Cowboy Territory
Motto(s): Strong we ride
Capital	Green River
Largest city	Rock Springs
Area	Ranked 8th
• Total	27,452.23 sq mi (71,100.94 km2)
Population	Ranked 38th
• Total	217,525 (2020)
• Density	7.92/sq mi  (3.05/km2) Ranked
Elevation
• Highest point	TBD 9,797 ft (2,986 m)
• Lowest point	5,617 ft (1,712 m)
Admission to the Union	March 6, 2021 (45th)
Lord Superintendent	Morris Penney
Governor	Herbert Rigdon
Lieutenant Governor	Eli Abrams
Legislature	Area Council of Sweetwater
• Upper house	None
• Lower house	None
K.S. Senators	Veronica Petito (CD) Alan Dutton (CD) Naomi Grimes (CD)
K.S. House delegation	1 Member of Parliament Michael Owens (CD)
Time zone	UTC-11 Mountain Time Zone
Abbreviations	SW,
Category • Topics

Sweetwater is a subnational area of the Deseret located in the northeast corner of the constituent nation within the wider Kingdom of Sierra. It is the largest area in the Deseret and the 8th largest PSA in the Kingdom of Sierra by total area. It is the 4th most populous area in the Deseret and the 38th most populous PSA in the Kingdom. It is bordered by Wasatch and West Colorado to the south; New Oneida and Wasatch to the west; and by the Superian state of Wyoming. The capital of Sweetwater is Green River and the most populous city is Rock Springs. Sweetwater is divided into three counties: Natrona, Teton, and Uinta. The southern half of Sweetwater is characterized with the geography of the Greater Green River Basin, while the northern half of Sweetwater is characterized by the ranges and rangelands of the Rocky Mountains, which includes the Grand Teton National Park, Jackson Hole, Bridger–Teton National Forest, and portions of the Yellowstone International Park. The Continental Divide straddles along much of its eastern boundaries. Over three-fourths of the area's land is owned by the federal, national, or areal governments.

Sweetwater was originally inhabited by Amerindian peoples including the Shoshone, the Crow, the Arapaho, and the Lakota. Sweetwater was nominally claimed by Spain and was de jure administered as a part of the Spanish territory of Alta California, although the Spanish were never present in the region. It became Mexican territory until the end of the Mexican–American War when the territory became Californian and then Sierran territory. Anglo-American settlers began to travel through the region beginning in the 1830s, when the Oregon Trail was established. During the self-proclaimed Republic of Deseret, Sweetwater was directly controlled by the Mormon state until the Deseret War after which the Deseret and Sweetwater came under full Sierran administration. Sweetwater remained an unincorporated territory of Sierra until 2021, when it was admitted into the Kingdom of Sierra as an incorporated area of the Deseret. It was the 45th and most recent PSA to be admitted into the Kingdom.

Sweetwater's economy is heavily reliant on tourism, as well as the extraction of minerals such as coal, trona, and natural gas. Agricultural exports include livestock, barley, hay, wheat, wool, and sugar beets. Entering the Union in 2021, it is one of the seven most recent PSAs admitted into the Kingdom. It is one of the two areas in the Deseret without a Mormon majority. It has a plurality of Canaanites and has one of the world's highest concentrations of the religious minority.

Etymology

The name Sweetwater derives from the Sweetwater River, located just north of the territory under its original boundaries given by the Territory of Wyoming after its breakaway from the territory's first incorporated county, Laramie.

Geography

Geographically, the territory is located between the 41st and 42nd parallels north above the equator. Its western border is with the Deseretian area of Wasatch, and its eastern border is mainly along the Continental Divide.

The Green River Basin is a prominent feature that defines the layout for most of the cities within Southern Sweetwater, while the Grand Teton National Park and portions of the Yellowstone International Park (centered around Jackson Hole) defines the northern section of the area.

The Former Tri-Territorial and Friendship Marker just northeast of Steamboat Mountain is a historical marker set up by the governments of both Astoria and the Kingdom of Sierra to commemorate kind relations between the two states.

History

From 1804 to 1821, Sweetwater was part of the province of Alta California under Spanish control until the First Mexican Empire came to power. From there, it remained part of Alta California until the Mexican-American War between the United States and Mexico, subsequently transferred to the United States in 1848 as unorganized territory.

Under American control now, people began to move west to find better opportunities for business and way of life. Some decided to remain on the trails west and set up towns, which would be useful for railroads that would later be incorporated across the nation. The county seat of Uinta County, Evanston, would soon be one of these towns, religiously kept under Mormon influence.

Work would continue on these railroads as well as mining operations even during both the Civil War and the War of Contingency, but some of it would come to an abrupt halt during the Canaanite-Mormon War that came alongside the latter.

After the bloody war between Canaanites and Mormons had finally come to an end, Sweetwater became a territory with two counties which were named Uinta and Natrona (named after the Uintah people of Wasatch province located just below Sweetwater and the large supply of trona found just northeast of Green River respectively). Each county was founded within two and three days respectively after it was entered as a territory in the 1870's.

On November 16th, 1931, Sweetwater's capital of Green River became the first city in the Kingdom of Sierra to ban door-to-door solicitation under Ordinance No. 175. This was a controversial move that only lasted a few months into the following year before Section 4a was added, which stated that religious ordinances in conflict of this one are allowed to bypass this ruling due to the split Mormon population residing within city limits.

Demographics

Racial and ancestral makeup

According to the Sierra Royal Bureau of Census in 2010, people in Sweetwater were typically of English, German and Irish descent. About 92% of the population identified as White, and 0.4% as Asian.

Culture

Culture, much like key demographic elements of understanding, is also split between the Mormons of Deseret and the Canaanites of West Colorado. Gambling is very popular in Natrona County, but in Uinta County it is very restricted. There is an exception for the territorial capital of Green River that permits it.

Economy

Historically, mining operations and railroads were the backbone of trade within the former Wyoming Territory. Part of it is still present today.

Other means of economic gain for the territory include tourist attractions, such as the Canaanite Museum in Saratoga, or the Greater Green River Intergalactic Spaceport just south of the capital.

Symbols

Symbolism in Sweetwater can make it easily identifiable compared to other territories of the Kingdom of Sierra, as it is prominently known for its railroads and religious aspects today.

The Canaanite Moon and Sun symbol is commonly used to represent the religious groups that live in Natrona County.

The cowboy on horseback is also a prominent symbol in Sweetwater to represent the country lifestyle the area accommodates.

See also

Preceded by South Sonora

List of K.S. PSAs by date of admission to the Union Admitted on March 6, 2021 (45th)

Most recent

Attribution notices

This page uses material from the Wikipedia page Lincoln County, Wyoming, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License (view authors). This page uses material from the Wikipedia page Sublette County, Wyoming, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License (view authors). This page uses material from the Wikipedia page Sweetwater County, Wyoming, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License (view authors). This page uses material from the Wikipedia page Teton County, Wyoming, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License (view authors). This page uses material from the Wikipedia page Uinta County, Wyoming, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License (view authors). This page uses material from the Wikipedia page Wyoming, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License (view authors).