Knolls, Utah

The community is located in Great Salt Lake Desert in the western portion of the state, close to the Utah Test and Training Range.{{cite map|url=http://www.mytopo.com/maps/?lat=40.7229&lon=-113.2897&z=12|title=MyTopo Maps - Knolls, UT, USA|website=mytopo.com|publisher=Trimble Navigation, Ltd.|accessdate=10 Mar 2018}} Exit 41 on Interstate 80 (I‑80) provides access to Knolls.

Prior to the building of I‑80, Knolls was serviced by U.S. Route 40 and was the eastern terminus of the Wendover Cut-off.

During the 1970s and up until 1985 (possibly longer) one family owned and operated the entire town, consisting of a towing service, a small convenience store, a gas station, and a small motel. There was no water on site, and water had to be trucked in by a small tank truck. The town was for sale for a relatively small amount in 1985. There is photo evidence of a small tavern at one time. There is little visible evidence that there was ever any town, buildings, or gas station left.

Knolls is located in a nearly uninhabited desert area, approximately {{convert|40|mi}} east of the Bonneville Salt Flats and {{convert|80|mi}} west of Salt Lake City. The landscape contains mud flats, salt flats, and gypsum sand dunes.[http://geology.utah.gov/utahgeo/rockmineral/collecting/gypsumsd.htm Gypsum Sand near Knolls, Tooele County]. Utah Geological Survey. Much of the surrounding land is owned by the Bureau of Land Management and is maintained as an off highway vehicle park, known as the Knolls Recreation Area.[http://www.utahoutdooractivities.com/knolls.html Knolls Recreation Area], Bureau of Land Management.

Knolls is the site of one place listed on the National Register of Historic Places: the GAPA Launch Site, which is a concrete bunker and missile launch pad where the first Ground to Air Pilotless Aircraft missile was successfully tested in 1946.[http://clui.org/ludb/site/gapa-launch-site GAPA Launch Site], Center for Land Use Interpretation. The site is marked by a placard installed by the Utah State History division.

Knolls is also the site of a hazardous waste dump site known as Grassy Mountain.

The community is named for the many knolls in the area.{{cite book|title=Utah Place Names: A Comprehensive Guide to the Origins of Geographic Names: A Compilation|last=Van Cott|first=John W.|publisher=University of Utah Press|location=Salt Lake City|page=215|year=1990|isbn=978-0-87480-345-7|oclc=797284427}}

The Great Salt Lake Desert experiences a desert climate with hot summers and cold winters. The desert is an excellent example of a cold desert climate, rare outside of North America. The desert's elevation, {{convert|4250|ft|m}} above sea level, makes temperatures cooler than lower elevation deserts, such as the Mojave. Due to the high elevation and aridity, temperatures drop sharply after sunset. Summer nights are comfortably cool. Winter highs are generally above freezing, and winter nights are bitterly cold, with temperatures often dropping close to zero.

{{Weather box

|location = Knolls, Great Salt Lake Desert, Utah. (Elevation 4,250ft)

|single line = Y

|Jan record high F = 63

|Feb record high F = 63

|Mar record high F = 79

|Apr record high F = 87

|May record high F = 98

|Jun record high F = 104

|Jul record high F = 106

|Aug record high F = 103

|Sep record high F = 99

|Oct record high F = 89

|Nov record high F = 71

|Dec record high F = 66

|year record high F= 106

|Jan high F = 36.5

|Feb high F = 41.4

|Mar high F = 54.4

|Apr high F = 62.3

|May high F = 72.3

|Jun high F = 83.5

|Jul high F = 92.8

|Aug high F = 90.9

|Sep high F = 80.0

|Oct high F = 64.3

|Nov high F = 46.5

|Dec high F = 36.5

|year high F= 63.4

|Jan low F = 16.9

|Feb low F = 19.3

|Mar low F = 29.1

|Apr low F = 36.6

|May low F = 44.9

|Jun low F = 54.7

|Jul low F = 62.1

|Aug low F = 59.5

|Sep low F = 48.0

|Oct low F = 34.4

|Nov low F = 23.3

|Dec low F = 14.5

|year low F= 37.0

|Jan record low F = −16

|Feb record low F = −17

|Mar record low F = −1

|Apr record low F = 14

|May record low F = 24

|Jun record low F = 35

|Jul record low F = 43

|Aug record low F = 39

|Sep record low F = 25

|Oct record low F = 8

|Nov record low F = −3

|Dec record low F = −25

|year record low F= −25

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation inch = 0.61

|Feb precipitation inch = 0.46

|Mar precipitation inch = 0.91

|Apr precipitation inch = 1.01

|May precipitation inch = 1.23

|Jun precipitation inch = 0.68

|Jul precipitation inch = 0.36

|Aug precipitation inch = 0.31

|Sep precipitation inch = 0.56

|Oct precipitation inch = 0.77

|Nov precipitation inch = 0.61

|Dec precipitation inch = 0.38

|year precipitation inch= 7.88

|Jan snow inch = 0.3

|Feb snow inch = 0.1

|Mar snow inch = 0

|Apr snow inch = 0

|May snow inch = 0

|Jun snow inch = 0

|Jul snow inch = 0

|Aug snow inch = 0

|Sep snow inch = 0

|Oct snow inch = 0

|Nov snow inch = 0

|Dec snow inch = 0.1

|year snow inch= 0.5

|source 1 = The Western Regional Climate Center{{cite web|url =http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?ut4748|title =Seasonal Temperature and Precipitation Information|accessdate=24 March 2013|publisher=Western Regional Climate Center}}

|date=March 2013

}}

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{{Tooele County, Utah}}

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Category:Unincorporated communities in Tooele County, Utah

Category:Unincorporated communities in Utah

Category:Great Salt Lake Desert