Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1893-12-09

ments upon is bed. The sediments
near the shore Of the great plateau
| would necessarily be sandstones. and
such we find to be the case. The sand.
stones were Of great thickness and have
been found to follow the border Of this
| great plateau throughout is entire cir
| cumicrence. The age represented by
these sandstones is called by geologists
the Triassic, and even throughout the
world Is largely represented by sand.
stones. Following the Triassic came
an age Of comparative quiet and rest
/ in which limestoncs were deposited.
/ This Is called the lurassIc, and is repre-
scnicd In Utah by very thin bodies OF
impure limestoncs everything tie red
sandstone rocks Of the Tfias,ic. These,
as we'll as the Triassic. are found every.
where on the eastern slope VI the Wa
satch mountains, and are especially we'll
defined with the red sandstone immedi.
aicly back oi Fort Douglas. and also In
Provo and Spanish Fork canyons.
AZ the end Of the JurAssic there was
still another upheayal or growth Of the
great plateau above the ocean. but 10
was a very limited extent in the Terri.
tory which rose above the ocean. Then
came the Tertiary age, or the third. a8
Is name implies, If the ages since the
close Of the Cafboniicfout. al the ages
mp to the Carb1nicrous being called the
/ PaiU0z1ic, and the ages after the Car
boniicrous and including the Tertiary
being known as the Mcsoz3ic, while the
other ages up 10 the present are known
as the CcnozoIc,
The plateau Of which we have been
speaking still existed during the earlier
portion OF the Tertiary, but somewhere
near the close OF the Mioceuc or the be.
ginning Of the Pliocene portions Of the
Tertiary age. the greater portion Of the
plateau broke away from us eastern
and western edges and fell toan elevation
only a little above the surface Of the
ocean. II Is possible that thI, falling OF
the plateau was very gradual, aud yet,
from a geological standpoint, very
rapid. az the same time that the
plateau fell II Is almost certain that H.
edges fos and 80 the actual fall Of the
plateau was only half as large as would
seem from a measurement running from
the level OF the plateau to the tops Of
the mountains which were then is
edges. The line Of fracture between
the edges Of the plateau and what Il
known as the Wasaich mountains would
necessarily be line Of great dissuf-
blncc, and We would expect to find
volcanoes along u, and other evidences
oil the like. This we find TO be the
case. In southern Utah We find vol
canoes, and all along the line north
west, even into Idaho, We find hot
springs and warm springs bubhling out
IN many places. Our own Hot Springs
and Warm Springs are on this line OF
iaulting, as well as those OF Ogden
II doubtless has been noticed by
every one that the western edge Of the
Wasatch mountains is almost precip-
itous, and the same Is true OF the east
crn edge OF the Sierra Ncvadas; while
the eastern slope Of the Wa atch and
the western slope OF the Sietras are
very gradual, and now we understand
the cause. When the plateau fell,
either Immediately or some time follow
ing, Il became filled with water which
was apparently fresh water lake eN-
tending all the way from near the
Sierras to the Wasntch aud was appar-
emily one unbroken lake so far as any
great areas of land were concerned.
although Il Is certain that the present
mountain chains which occupied the
fNNaA NAalAA AAANA NANfNNNN llNNNau IIilM
lake a. Islands. We know this to be
the fact from the deposits Of clays and
sands which are found throughout the
great basin region, and are known by
their fossils TO be Of the Pliocene Tertiary
age.
Somewhere about the close Of the
Plioccnc Tertiary there was again an
upheaval within the great basin. and the
Il NN.s Lob Il. Al.
highest point was IN the center In line
running north and south at point
somewhere now along the line Of the
East Humboldt mountains, Nevada
The lake was then separated into two
portions; an eastern one lying next to
the Wasaich mountains and q western
one lying next TO the Sierra Nevadas.
This western lake has been given the
name Of l.ahuntan, and so Gar as We
know never had an outlet. The eastern
lake is the one about which we are
speaking called Lake Bonneville, and
apparently was either drained entirely
oi It's contents by some unknown outlet,
or dried up entirely before is history as
We now Know Il began, for u Is certain
| that the present beds OF the lake are
underlaid by material which could not
have been deposited in a lake OF such
extent as the old Lake Bonneville.
II Is quite possible that for long, long
| years the region occupied by the lake
was either entirely dry or filled by salt
and alkaline lakes which deposited thin
layers OF clays and then dried up
aud were covered by layers Of
sand aud othc: debris altemnt-
ing one above the other Tor hundreds
or thousands OF feet. AZ last there
came Time when, either through an
| increased amount of moisture In the air
| or through an increase OF cold the
water which fell In the basin OF the
/ lake gradually increased tIl the lake
rose 10 height Of nearly twelve hun.
| bred feet above the surface OF the earth
| forming the lowest portion OF is bed,
| and at length reached a point where il
| had an outlet through what is known as
| Red Rock Gap, which Is located on the
/ Utah aul Northern branch OF the Union
| Pacific railroad some distance above
! Logan, Utah, and beginning some three
/ miles above swan Lake, Idaho. This
most interesting river which has neither
| beginning nor end as a river, Is some
4 thirty miles long and Is nearly level, its
y highest point being at Red Rock Gap
| and as lowest point being at its union
with Port Neul river. II has every evi.
| dcncr of being an old river bed, and is
upper surface o. exactly on n level with