Murray

Sister cities

• Chiayi City

History

Before being permanently settled by Mormon pioneers in 1848, the area where Murray is located was a natural area that served as the seasonal home of Paiute, Shoshone, and Bannock Native American tribes. The tribes camped along local creek banks and stream beds during their migrations. Artifacts of Native American encampments have been located along the Jordan River, including camps near Willow Pond Park. At what was known as the "big bend" of the Jordan River (near 4984 South 700 West Street), the Goshute Indians from Skull Valley made their camp. This was made every spring on the way to their hunting ground at the headwaters of the Bear River. On their return in the fall, they also stayed for a week and traded with white settlers. Early settlers recorded that they generally traded buffalo robes, deer skins, dried meat and tallow. There was a strip of high bench land, completely surrounded by low land north of what is now Vine Street and 5600 South Street. Before and after the advent of the pioneers, this land was used by the Ute Indians as a camping ground. This is because water and grass could be obtained on either side of it and enemies could not approach without being seen long before coming to the high ground. In 1858, during the so-called Utah War, Albert Sidney Johnston's army of the Utah Expedition passed through western Murray after camping on the "flats" above the North Jordan farms. Its large livestock herd reportedly ate everything to within an inch of the ground. General Johnston, who was crossing James Winchester's property (now Murray Parkway Golf Course), advised Winchester to pursue a homestead patent. In 1870 James Winchester entered the first homestead of the entire Intermountain West. The Pony Express traveled through central Murray, along what…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land. Murray is located in the heart of the Salt Lake Valley. The city is nearly built out with a broad mix of commercial, residential and industrial uses. The topography is generally gentle, sloping westward from the nearby Wasatch Mountain Range toward the Jordan River, which is the terminal river feature in the Salt Lake Valley. | date = August 2010 }}

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  37,128
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  29,365
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  27,813
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  24,848
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  23,877
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  23,387
• Lesser Goldfinch

  Spinus psaltria (Say, 1822) · Aves
  23,021
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  22,768

Largest nearby schools

• Granger High
  High · WEST VALLEY CITY · 3,481 students · 26:1 ratio
• Copper Hills High
  High · WEST JORDAN · 2,841 students · 25.6:1 ratio
• Taylorsville High
  High · TAYLORSVILLE · 2,770 students · 26.1:1 ratio
• West High
  High · SALT LAKE CITY · 2,600 students · 22.2:1 ratio
• Hunter High
  High · WEST VALLEY CITY · 2,595 students · 25.2:1 ratio
• Bingham High
  High · SOUTH JORDAN · 2,482 students · 24.6:1 ratio
• Corner Canyon High
  High · DRAPER · 2,434 students · 26.2:1 ratio
• Kearns High
  High · KEARNS · 2,382 students · 25.9:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.86 — 2026-08-07
  6 km NNW of Saratoga Springs, Utah
• M 3.52 — 2026-02-14
  4 km NNW of West Valley City, Utah
• M 3.5 — 2026-02-05
  6 km WNW of Lehi, Utah
• M 2.71 — 2026-02-05
  41 km ENE of Oakley, Utah
• M 2.97 — 2026-01-22
  41 km SSE of Evanston, Wyoming
• M 4.65 — 2026-01-22
  40 km S of Evanston, Wyoming