LDS names scattered across world

Utah, settled by the Mormon pioneers, obviously contains a lot of LDS-oriented place names. There's Nephi, Bountiful, Orderville, Manti, Deseret, Moroni and Kolob Canyon to name a few. But Mormons settled much of the Intermountain area, too, and so how about Mormon names outside the Beehive State?

The name Mormon appears in places as far away as Australia ("Mormon town," a suburb of Victoria) and Zimbabwe ("Mormon Hill"). However, a lot of place-name originations, like those, are not easily verifiable and may or may not relate to Mormon settlers or the LDS Church.

But many Mormon names in the western states of Arizona and California — for instance — do relate to Mormon settlers, who were among the first residents there.

Here's an alphabetical sampling (not intended to be anywhere near all-inclusive) of some Mormon place names outside Utah:

• David, Ariz. — Located southeast of Tucson, was named in honor of David Patten Kimball . He was the presiding LDS Church authority in the area, from 1881-82.

• Mormon Crossing — Found in California's San Bernardino County, along with Mormon Pass and Mormon Spring.

• Mormon Fort — The original settlement in Las Vegas, Nev., started in 1855 and located at the extreme north end of Las Vegas Boulevard, at Washington Avenue.

• Mormon Gulch — A place name in California's historic gold rush country. There's also a Mormon Hill, Ravine, Bar and even a Mormon Tavern in the counties of Placer, Mariposa and other nearby counties.

• Mormon Island — A former California mining town, now buried under Lake Folsom, 25 miles east of Sacramento.

• Mormon Lake — Located southeast of Flagstaff, this lake can be Arizona's largest freshwater lake, but it was dry in the fall of 2007. There's also a Mormon Lake community at the south end of the lake.

• Mormon Meadow — In California's Mono County.

• Mormon Mountain — An 8,449-foot-tall peak in Arizona, west of Mormon Lake.

• Mormon Peak —A 7,411-foot peak, found north of Mesquite and part of the Mormon mountain range that goes northeast into Utah.

• Mormon Point — Just north of Badwater, the nation's lowest point, in Death Valley. (A sign along the road misspelled "Mormon" for many years as "Morman.")

• Mormon Road — Found south of Lee's Ferry in Northern Arizona.

• Mormon Slough — Situated in California's San Joaquin County.