City Creek historically had two arms. The main fork traveled west from the mouth of the canyon, paralleling North Temple. The south fork flowed towards the City & County Building on 400 South and met Red Butte, Emigration, and Parleys creeks at about 900 South and West Temple. [05]
According to Stansbury’s 1849-50 survey, it was named nah-po-pah by some indigenous tribes. To the Goshute, it was so’ho-gwa [01]. The creek was renamed by colonial settlers due to its proximity to downtown Salt Lake City. The creek was frequented by Indigenous Peoples and eventually became the settlers’ first water source. It remains a water source today.
Today, most of the creek is hidden underneath North Temple in downtown Salt Lake City. In 1983, the creek famously overtopped its banks and flooded State Street. In 1995, the creek was uncovered in a former surface parking lot at City Creek Park.
