Cedar City is a city in Iron County, Utah, United States, 250 miles (400 km) south of Salt Lake City on Interstate 15. It is the home of Southern Utah University, the Utah Shakespearean Festival, the Neil Simon Theatre Festival, the Utah Summer Games, and other events. It is located in the southeast Great Basin, and is about 20 miles (32 km) north of the northeastern edge of the Mojave Desert. Its elevation of 5,840 feet (1,780 m) gives it a much different climate from nearby Utah's Dixie, but it retains its cultural ties to St. George