The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1875-06-17
THE DEAD SEA OF AMERICA

LIVING THING IN TAN UNDEk6RoUND
OUTLET.
A SAX Lake correspondent of the San
Francisco Chronicle writes: Utah includes
all that territory bet ween the 37bh and 42d
parallels OF north latitude, dts greatest
length being from nerth to south. Its ares
is divided into two geographical sections.
the valley known as the Colorado Desert
drained by the Green and Grand rivers and
the district sznown as the '.Sreat Interior
Basin" Tkis "inttrior basin" covers the
western part of Utah and extends into
eastern Nevada, forming an irregular paral-
telegram, 400 miles from north to south and
SGD miles from east to west. The
waters in this basin hove no out
let to she ocean, the basin being
composed of a secession OF mountain flats,
plateaus, detached hills, etc, at the base of
which these streams abruptly sink into the
earth. Frequently streams empty into ths
valleys, spreading out tor miles around, thus
Gffording natural irrigation to the plains and
forming3 picturesque finland sea" numer-
ously dotted with Gases OF grass plsts, both
pleasing to the eye and refreshing to the
farmer and ssock-man. The mountain
rsnges gun mainly north and south, and the
valleys,y wing alternately between run in the
same direction, so that the country can be
traversed from one end to the other Ia these
fertile valleys, and without crossing any
'risinE ground
WORTH SPEAKING ABOUT"
On the north of this great basin are che
Oregoc mountains, about &C, 900 feet aboze
sea levsl; ou:th he west is the Sierra Nevada
range. 10000 feet high; on the south, a
branch range of the Rocky mountains, sep
arsting the waters of this basin from those
of the Colorsce, and on the, east the Uintah
range, Ofabout the same altitude. thus we'll
I'm ha oil oil aid ac nv
mountein ranges 10, 600 feet above sea level,
or abe1t 5000 feet above the level of the
great basin, as it is of itself a depression in
this mountain region, nesting in their.
midst at an elevation of 1890 feet.
above the sea- Ancient geol-
ogists assert that this Great Salt Lake basin,
or bed in the mountains, was once an in
land sea, andsfn support of their theory cite
the bench formations IS marks OF the re-
ceding of the waters In successive ages,
caused by evaporation, extending through.
an intensely dry cycle of many thousands of
years. This inland sea was estimated TO
extendfve hundred miles from north 20
south, by three hundred and fifty from east
to west, and was from seven hundred to
one Thousand feet deep. and thai as it grad
ually commenced to Inside it branched of
into i've limbs or arms, and centuries ago,
before the q" incoming stars sang together"
thatvast-expanseo of saline water eyaporated,
except the present last arm of an inland sea
now known as the Great Salt Lake.
''gHE DEAD SEA OF AMERICA"
This remnant of that ancient sea runs
north and south, and is about s. miles long
by IS wide, and from 40 to 20 fes1 deep
Numerous salt marshes and sPringssline its
margin, and it is reasonably supposed that
saline springs abCDdantly exist at its bot
tom. Numerous fresh mountain streams
empty into the lake, which little affect its
salineness, and fish thus conveyed into it are
short lived. Five bucketsfull of water from
this lake will produce one of salt. ready for
immediate use. The water is the most in
teuselv saline &C the 09nter of the lake, and
when its placid and dark surface is ruGled
by the waiting winds, and its saline waves
lash the harmless beach, the ranchers and |
herders dwelling in the vicinity come along
in the shape OF salvage wFeckers
s snd + SHOVEL eff up Phi. the AXE salt and
doubtedly the safest body OF water on earth, |
and claims the championship. No living
thing exists beneath its waves of salt. The
lake is twenty-five miles from the city
which bears its name. 1t is reached in an
hour by the Utah Western railroad which
traverses beautiful, fertile and densely
populated agricultural region. small
steamer, the City of Corinne, is kept con
stsntly plying from Lake Point, via the nu-
merous islands, 90 Corinne. This boat was
launched at Corinne, after which city It
IL named, the machinery, ETC., being trans
ported by rail. AS Salt Lake has no outlet
the City of Corinne has a soft thing on q
monopoly of treitage, as no opposition
steamer can enter that inland BODY OF water
The people also have soft thing, in that the
vessel can not get out of the lake without
being dismantled.