town and ski resort, Salt Lake county, northern Utah, U.S. Lying at an elevation of 8,583 feet (2,616 metres) in the Little Cottonwood Canyon of the Wasatch Range 26 miles (42 km) east of Salt Lake City, the town—then a silver mining camp—was founded as Central City in 1866 and renamed Alta (Spanish: “High”) in 1871. It prospered intermittently until the Depression when it became virtually a ghost town. It was developed as a ski resort in the 1930s. Since then, generations of winter visitors have been drawn to the area's famed powder snow, which falls at an average rate of 500 inches (12.7 metres) per year. The quaint, placid town also hosts film and arts festivals throughout the year. Another ski facility, Snowbird, located 2 miles (3 km) west of Alta, opened in 1972. Inc. 1970. Pop. (1990) 397; (2000) 370.