Lapoint, Utah

{{Short description| Unincorporated community in the state of Utah, United States}} {{Use American English|date=July 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}} {{Infobox settlement | name = Lapoint, Utah | official_name = | settlement_type = Unincorporated community | nickname = | motto =  | image_skyline = | imagesize = | image_caption = | image_flag = | image_seal =  | pushpin_map = Utah#USA | pushpin_label = Lapoint | pushpin_label_position = left | pushpin_map_caption = Location of Lapoint within the State of Utah | pushpin_mapsize = | image_map = | map_caption =  | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = United States | subdivision_type1 = State | subdivision_name1 = Utah | subdivision_type2 = County | subdivision_name2 = Uintah | government_footnotes = | government_type = | leader_title =  | leader_name = | leader_title1 = | leader_name1 = | established_title = | established_date = | named_for = Southward "point" of the Uinta Mountains

| timezone = Mountain (MST) | utc_offset = -7 | timezone_DST = MDT | utc_offset_DST = -6 | elevation_footnotes = | elevation_ft = 5568 | coordinates = {{coord|40|24|14|N|109|47|37|W|region:US_type:city|display=inline,title}}

| postal_code_type = ZIP codes | postal_code = 84039 | area_code = | blank_name = FIPS code | blank_info = | blank1_name = GNIS feature ID | blank1_info = 1429476<ref name="gnis"/> | website = | footnotes = }}

'''Lapoint''' is an unincorporated community in western Uintah County, Utah, United States.<ref name="gnis">{{cite gnis|1429476|Lapoint}}</ref> As a census-designated place, the population was 170 at the 2020 census.<ref name="2020 Census">{{cite web |date=May 2023 |title=Census Bureau profile: Lapoint CDP, Utah |url=https://data.census.gov/all?q=Lapoint+CDP,+Utah |access-date=June 26, 2025 |publisher=United States Census Bureau}}</ref>

==Description== {{US Census population | align = left | 1930 = 579 | 1940 = 646 | 1950 = 496 | 2020 = 170 | footnote = Source: U.S. Census Bureau<ref name=uscensus>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/prod/www/abs/decennial/|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=4 Nov 2011|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060208103743/http://www.census.gov/prod/www/abs/decennial/|archivedate=8 February 2006}}</ref> }}

The community lies along State Route 121, just inside the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation, and west of the city of Vernal (the county seat of Uintah County).<ref>Rand McNally. ''The Road Atlas '08.'' Chicago: Rand McNally, 2008, p. 103.</ref> Deep Creek, a tributary of the Uinta River flow southwest through Lapoint.<ref name="mytopo">{{cite map|url=http://www.mytopo.com/maps/?lat=40.4018&lon=-109.7946&z=14|title=MyTopo Maps - Lapoint, UT, USA|website=mytopo.com|publisher=Trimble Navigation, Ltd.|accessdate=11 Feb 2018}}</ref> The community's elevation is {{convert|5568|ft|m}}.<ref name="gnis"/> Although Lapoint is unincorporated, it has a post office,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://tools.usps.com/go/POLocatorDetailsAction!input.action?locationTypeQ=all&address=lapoint%2C+utah&radius=20&locationType=po&locationID=1369870&locationName=LAPOINT&address2=&address1=10815+E+7000+N&city=LAPOINT&state=UT&zip5=84039&zip4=8001&tollFree=800-ASK-USPS%26reg%3B%26nbsp%3B%28800-275-8777%29&fax=&tAddress=&tAddress1Ams=&tAddress2Ams=&tCityAms=&tStateAms=&tZipAms=&tCarrierRouteAms=&latitude=40.4037676&longitude=-109.79627&sWithin=20&&&&&&&&&|title=Find Locations: Lapoint|website=usps.com|publisher=United States Postal Service|accessdate=11 Feb 2018}}</ref> with the ZIP code of 84039.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://tools.usps.com/go/ZipLookupResultsAction!input.action?resultMode=2&companyName=&address1=&address2=&city=&state=Select&urbanCode=&postalCode=84039&zip=|title=Look Up a ZIP Code: Default City Name in ZIP Code 84039|website=usps.com|publisher=United States Postal Service|accessdate=11 Feb 2018}}</ref><ref>[http://www.zipinfo.com/cgi-local/zipsrch.exe?cnty=cnty&zip=84039 Zip Code Lookup]</ref>

Originally named ''Taft'' in honor of William Howard Taft, its name was changed to ''Lapoint'' since it lies on a southward-jutting spur or "point" of the Uinta Mountains.<ref>{{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=222|year=1990|isbn=978-0-87480-345-7|oclc=797284427}}</ref><ref name="mytopo"/>

==Climate== According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Lapoint has a semi-arid climate, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps.<ref>[http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather-summary.php3?s=593724&cityname=Lapoint%2C+Utah%2C+United+States+of+America&units= Climate Summary for Lapoint, Utah]</ref>

==Notable people== * Lane Frost (1963-1989), world champion professional rodeo bull rider, hall of fame inductee *Shawn Bradley Shawn Paul Bradley is a German-American former professional basketball player who played center for the Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Nets and Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association

==Archaeology== Lapoint was settled on top of a significant Fremont archaeological site known as "Caldwell Village", after the property on which it was found, excavated in 1966 by John Richard Ambler. The site comprised "22 pithouses, nine pits, seven borrow pits, two isolated hearths, nine human burials, two dog burials, and an irrigation ditch," with artifacts including "over 5,000 pottery sherds, 14 restorable vessels, several thousand ground and chipped stone artifacts, over 400 bone, antler and shell artifacts and a few perishable artifacts." A radiocarbon date of 520 AD +/- 70 years was documented from a charred roof timber at one site, however, dating of the pottery traditions suggests an occupation period of 1050 - 1200 AD. The surface of the site was almost entirely destroyed by agricultural plowing and today there are no extant remains visible.<ref>{{cite thesis |last=Ambler |first=John Richard |date=1966 |title=Caldwell Village and Fremont Prehistory |type=Ph.D., Anthropology |chapter= |publisher=University of Colorado, Boulder |docket= |oclc= |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/302182737 |access-date=3 May 2021|id={{ProQuest|302182737}} }}</ref>

==See also== {{portal-inline|Utah}}

==References== {{reflist|22em}}

==External links== {{commons category-inline|Lapoint, Utah}}

Category:Unincorporated communities in Uintah County, Utah Category:Unincorporated communities in Utah