What is the setting of Leaving the Yellow House by Saul Bellow?

The setting of the story is Sego Desert Lake, Utah, where a tiny community of people—whites, Mexicans, African Americans, and Native Americans— live. The white people live in houses by the lake, while the minorities live in boxcars and shacks. The nearest town is forty miles away, through the mountainous desert, and supplies all must be purchased from there. The narrator describes the region as "barren," which sharply contrasts with Hattie's insistence on the beauty of the place.