The 10 most beautiful places in the country: 4 are in the West, 2 in Utah

Amy Joi O'Donoghue
·3 min read
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Light and shadows on the canyon walls of Davis Gulch, a side canyon on the Escalante River arm of Lake Powell, are reflected in the reservoir’s waters on Friday, Oct. 7, 2022.
Light and shadows on the canyon walls of Davis Gulch, a side canyon on the Escalante River arm of Lake Powell, are reflected in the reservoir’s waters on Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. | Spenser Heaps, Deseret News

The company Storyboards relied on its experts to analyze the top 10 beautiful places in the United States that are picturesque favorites based on the number of Instagram hashtags. Among them?

Lake Powell and even the Mojave Desert, a portion of which occupies Utah.

“With the top 10 landscapes being located in various states, including Florida, Hawaii and North Carolina, it shows that Americans are spoilt for choice when it comes to stunning scenery,” said Gavin Glick, company co-founder. ”However, it’s interesting to see that seven of the top 10 landscapes are all lakes, suggesting that Americans favor this type of landscape over any other.”

Following are the rankings.

No. 1: Lake Tahoe, which had 2,986,225 hashtags. Situated on the border of California and Nevada, Lake Tahoe is the clearest lake in the United States.

No. 2: Lake Michigan, with a hashtag count of 2,788,904. With a length of 307 miles and a width of 118 miles, Lake Michigan is the third biggest lake in America and the fifth largest in the world.

No. 3: Clearwater Beach, at 1,298,877 hashtags. The white sand is undoubtedly one of the main attractions of Clearwater Beach, located in Florida, which is made of quartz from the Appalachian Mountains.

No. 4: Lake Superior, at 1,157,663 hashtags. It is the largest freshwater lake in the world. On the border of the U.S. and Canada, Lake Superior contains 10% of the world’s freshwater; due to little organic material, the water is incredibly clear.

No. 5: Lake Ontario, at 1,007,124 hashtags. Belonging to the Great Lakes family, Lake Ontario’s shoreline is 712 miles long when the islands are included, of which there are a 1,864.

No. 6: Waikiki Beach at 969,640 hashtags. Due to Hawaii’s ocean water being nutrient deficient, places like Waikiki Beach boast magnificently blue water, along with a tropical climate and an array of palm trees.

No. 7: Lake Norman had 640,978 hashtags. It is the largest humanmade lake in North Carolina, with ample room for boaters, anglers and nature lovers.

No. 8: Lake Huron, with a total of 560,434 hashtags. It is the fourth-largest lake in the world, with dunes and wetlands that complement plenty of lighthouses. It is home to more than 30,000 islands.

No. 9: Lake Powell, at 456,329 hashtags. Located in Utah and Arizona, it offers beautiful canyon views with stone sculptures of cliffs and towers and an abundance of sunshine.

No. 10: Mojave Desert, with 429,066 hashtags. Occupying more than 25,000 square miles, the Mojave Desert is located in southern California, with other portions belonging to Nevada, Arizona and Utah. It features towering mesas, sand dunes and Joshua trees.