CEDAR CITY

city, Iron county, southwestern Utah, U.S., on the scarp of the Hurricane Fault, 5,800 feet (1,768 m) above sea level. Founded in 1851, following the discovery of iron ore, it was named for the abundance of cedar trees in the locality. Part of an earlier Mormon colony then moved from Parowan (17 miles northeast) to Cedar City. Completion in 1923 of a branch line of the Union Pacific Railroad from Lund stimulated development of the community. The economy is based on tourism, mining, farming, and livestock raising. The city's Iron Mission State Historical Monument is the site of the first blast furnace west of the Mississippi. Cedar City is the headquarters for the nearby Dixie National Forest. Also nearby are Cedar Breaks National Monument and Bryce Canyon and Zion national parks (qq.v.). Southern Utah University (established 1897) is the site of the summer Utah Shakespearean Festival. The Palmer Memorial Museum contains Paiute Indian relics. Inc. 1868. Pop. (1990) 13,443; (1994 est.) 15,748.