The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1878-02-20
SALT LAKE.
Some Of the Phenomena Of That Body
of Water Discussed
Correspondence OF Tile Lader.J


Correspondence OF The Ladrr.I
SALT LAKE CITY. Feb. lS.
The rise and fall of the waters in
Salt Lake in recent years have furnished
a theme for a vast amount Of s~pecula-
ton, and there is no reasonable or I'M
reasonable cause that has not been
made to do duty in connection with
the phenomenon. Since the advent of
the .Mormons in this valley the rise and
recession of the waters of the lake have
been observed with some degree of ac-
curacy, and it would seem hardly be-
yond the truth to assert that the
phenomenon partakes of a periodic
nature. The increase of foliage and
consequent increase of rain fall is the
usual aust assigned by the inhabitants
here for the gradual rise hat has been
taking place in the lake for some years
past. This is not constant, however,
the waters now and then receding, but
the advance is and has been for some
time greater than the recession. Now,
if the phenomenon were due to increase
Of foliage, the Same cause should act
constantly, and there would be no re-
c~ession, AS the foliage is constantly
increasing. But there is very little
lake more than has existed for centuries.
True, the city of salt Lake is now full
, of shrubbery where none existed before,
but the only tributary of the lake near
it.. is the river Jordan, the stream
which drains Utah lake into salt lake.
Experience here seems Ia show, too,
that the rain by no means desccnds
upon the city with its shrubbery, more
frequently than upon the arid valley
southwark where there is none. In
deed. the west and southwest rains
pass over the lower ranges of noun
tains which lie in the great basin of the
ancient lake bed, and precipitate their
moisture upon the Wasatch range on
the eastern side, and here, it seems to
me, is the key of the explanation to the
rise and fall of the lake waters. Dur
ing the periods when the fall of rain
and snow on the mountains is greatest
the waters of the lake rise correspond.
ingly. When this fall is at its mini
mum, the waters recede, the evapOra-
ton being greater than the water sup
piled by the mountain tributaries.
There was Il time, as is evinced by
| alan 4 al ,,,-ln1 linz, -, H. ,,o,,{:.,
when the lake level was at least eight
hundred feet above what it now is, and
the waters covered nearly all of Utah
west of the Wasatch and south as far
as Escalante valley. There was 10
outlet, however, either to the west or
south. Northward the lake extended
through Cache valley into Idaho, and
the tremendous erosion shown mt what
is known as Red Rock Gate, and in the
basaltic cahons of the Port Neuf, show
that the waters forced their way down
that course into Snake river and so on
to the Pacific. The fall in that direc-
ton is very rapid, and the erosion
caused by the drainage is one of the
most clearly defined of all the events in
the lakes history. The first break
through Port Neuf canon was not
enough to drain the lake, however, as
is evinced by several well defined
benches, or water levels on the noun
tain sides, lower than the first one.
These would indicate that after long
resting at these lower levels, the erosion
through the Port Neuf channel became
so great as to cause another break,
letting down the water to the success
sive beds us indicated. This went on
until the water fell to the level of the
outlet, from which time the subsequent
recession of the lake to its present
limits, is accounted for by evaporation
solely. r. II. s..