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

by PrOi. MARCUS T. Jones utloie Ait
last meeting Of the Salt Lake City school
teachers;
This Is the name given by Mr.. G. X,
Gilbert to the lake which formerly oc.
cupied the greater portion Of the inhab-
tied part Of Utah. who dedicated II to
Captain Bonneville, one Of the early
explorers, under the erroneous impress.
sion that 10 him belonged the credit Of
the discovery Of the lake. The name
should, however, have been given to
some Of the earlier discoveries or cN.
plorcrs. Captain Bridger, so Tar as his
tory goes. was the FIRST white man who
ever saw the lake, aud to him ccttainly
belongs the credit, rather than to
Captain Bonneville.
In order to understand the history Of
this lake, we must FIRST know something
Of It's previous geology It's generally
accepted by geolOgists that an ocean
covered the whole OF North America
before the beginning u that part Of
geological history, as we now know Il
outside Of that Of the cruptiye rocks.
There may have been small portions Of
the pnmofdial rocks which rose above
this ocean IN northeastern North Amer
lea, and possibly very small Islands,
even in Utah; but that was all. II IS
evident that whenever water covers q
surface and by rs waves and currents
washes broken rocks, sand and dirt
from the uneven surfaces Of ~ bed, that
these matters will be clull into other
places near or remote, and be laid down
horizontally to form the new bed Of the
ocean This process will continue as
long as there IS any water covering that
portion Of the earth. The continual
deposition Of sediments from the water
OF the ocean has been almost the sole
cause OF the stfatilicd rocks as We now
see them. This accumulation has gone
ON for probably millions OF years, and
the thickness ol these rocks Is measured
by miles. The first rocks which were
thus laid down In the history
OF the world were necessarily
sandstones aud the like, because at that
time there were none Of the finer sedi.
ments produced by organic remains
which afterwards went to form the great
body OF rocks which VIC call limestones.
These earlier sandstones have been
given the name Of ArchUan, and for our
purposes we will attempt to make no
hne distinctions, but simply take the
rocks and their names as they are CONF
monty understood among unscicniiiic
people.
The Archuan sediments very quickly
became sandstoncs, and being the ear
Hest rocks have been covered SO thickly
and 80 deeply with subsequent deposits
and have been subjected To so many
tremendous changes due to the up
heaval OF mountain chains, that these
rocks have been either melted or
changed into quartziics, states or
schists.
Following the Afchuan came the
Siufian, which for the most part IS
characterized by immense bodies Of
limestones filled with animal remains,
these animals being chiefly shells called
bivalves.
Following the Silurian came the De
vonian, OF the Age Of Fishes, which
were also limcstones chiefly, and con.
tanned the remains both OF shells aud
fishes, and even Of some reptiles.
Following the DcvOnian came the
CaTboniierous, a name which has been
applied TO these rocks because OF the
immense beds Of coal which exist In
the eastern states.
During the whole period represented
by these various ages, all but very
small portion OF Utah was Tar beneath
the surface Of the ocean, so FAR below
that few, " any, sandstones were depos.
tied, aud the rocks were almost entirely
compact limcstones. The only portion
of Utah which was not so deeply buried
is represented by the Uintah mountains,
which contain immense beds OF carbon.
ferrous sandstoncs.
The question may be asked, why we
separate the history OF the earth into
these different ages. The answer IS that
where the history Of the earth has been
uniform rs shown by the undistufbrd
condition Of the rocks and by the uni.
iormity Of The life IN them Represented
by the animal rcmainsl biologists have
been accustomed to make no dlslinc.
uuns and TO call IL all one age; but
wherever there has been a break IN the
deposits or In the life represented In
them, IN which tremendous changes
have suddenly occurred or appeared,
these changes being caused by catas.
trophies, as We term Il In geology, or, IN
other words, by tremendous upheayals
OF mountain chains OF great elevations
OF the surface Of the land, biologists
have seen M to consider that these
breaks represent the beginning OF new
form OF life or new geologic history,
and so at the time OF each one Of these
great geological breaks they have made
the beginning OF the end OF a geulugi.
cal age. Thus at the end Of the
Atchean We find Tremendous breaks In
the history Of the earth, and also at the
end OF the Silurian. the Dcyonian aud
the CarbOnileTous. II Is true that other
breaks have occurred within these var
ious ages, and they have been given
other names and BIOLOGISTS differ as 10
the number of breaks which have oc-
Cured which are worthy Of being used
as separating points between the ages,
but for our purposes we need consider
only the ages which ! have mentioned.
The history Of Utah practically begins,
then, with the end Of the Carbonilefuus
age, IN which tremendous plateau was
raised above the surface ui the ocean to
the helght, according 10 King, Of uool
iect above the SEA. This assumption
however is undoubtedly erroneous and
It Is not possible that tine plateau was
ever more than a small fraction uI lhlt
distance above the sea, as the plateau
was greatly croded OF worn away by
the action Of the elements, and because
the Wasatch mountains which are the
basis Of Kings calculation, have been
gradually rising Ia all probability from
the beginning Of their upheayll 10 the
presen. time, and have been as gradu.
ally eroded by the elements This great
plateau extended for several hundred
miles, beginning with what Is the Wa,
salch mountains ON the east and extend.
ing nearly 10 the present Siurras on the
west northern Arizona ON the south