Salt Lake Valley is a valley in north-central Utah located in Salt Lake County. It contains Salt Lake City and many of its suburbs, notably West Valley City, Sandy, and West Jordan. The valley is surrounded in every direction except the northwest by steep mountains that at some points rise to an impressive 7,000 ft (2,130 m) above the valley floor. It lies between the Wasatch Mountains on the east, the Oquirrh Mountains on the west, and the Great Salt Lake on the northwest.

Every entrance into the valley is extremely narrow and often congested. They include the "Point of the Mountain" to the south (where the Wasatch and Oquirrh mountains come together), narrow entrances between the lake and mountains to the north and northwest, and several canyons to the east (including Parley's Canyon and Emigration Canyon ).

The Jordan River runs north through the county between Utah Lake and the Great Salt Lake and, along with numerous mountain streams and reservoirs, provides irrigation and drinking water to the rapidly-growing valley. The only areas that have not been urbanized are near the Great Salt Lake and in the far west and southwest parts of the valley. Interstate 15 runs north to south through the valley and Interstate 80 runs east to west from Parley's Canyon into Tooele County to the west (where it cuts across a portion of the Great Salt Lake). The Interstate 215 belt route, Bangerter Highway, and Utah State Route 201 are also major transportation routes. The Utah Transit Authority operates an extensive bus system and two light rail lines (known as TRAX) in the valley.