The Sanpete Valley, at the geographic center of Utah, was first settled by Europeans in 1849. The valley and county were named after a Ute Indian Chief named Sanpitch, which later became Sanpete. The pioneers settled the area because of the nearby warm springs and extensive limestone quaries. The county seat is Manti but the largest city is Ephraim. The area is largely agricultural and there are several smaller farming towns. The major industry is turkey ranching and Sanpete ranks in the top ten turkey producing counties in the United States. Snow College is located in Ephraim and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints has a prominent historic temple in Manti. Technically on the northwest corner of the Colorado Plateau, the area receives much more rainfall than the arid desert regions to the south, usually associated with the Plateau country. The panorama shows the rural agricultural nature of the valley.
