The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-07-31

Park City, July 500 much has
been published about this great mining
district that it would seem like a work
of superogation or of presumption &c
say aught of the camp except SO far as
il relates to new developments or dis
coveries. Yet, with all that has been
published, but few people who have
never visited this remarkable section,
even though they may have been close
readers Of its current history, have any
conception of the topography of the dis
tr:ct the formation or the relation that
each great vein bears to the others, or
their general relationship.
For that reason the views of a strang-
er TO the camp may not be devoid of
interest to the general public
The topography 7of the country here.
while lacking in these rugged details
that mark the western descent of the
lofty Wasatch range, is most charming.
From a point just a little north of the
heads of Big and Little Cottonwood
canyons, and on the crest of the
Wasatch, a divide runs easterly to-
wards the tributaries of the Weber and
Provo rivers on which is situated
Kamas prairie The southern descent
of the divide reaches down to the level,
and beautiful Provo valley, with its
w ELL BUILT CIllES
and prosperous granger population.
The northern descent OF the divide is
occupied by the great mines and the
rather densely populated camp of Park
City.
The topography is that of smooth
ridges and hills, covered with glacial
drift and furnishes an excellent soil
for the dense growth of mountain
shrubs. weeds and grass, which every
where abound, and for the conserva-
ton of water from melting SHOWS,
which mas cost the Ontario company
such a princely sum to keep out of its
mines.
The predominating country rock is
quartzite, which is intercolated with
dykes OF porphyry and belts of lime.
The general strike of these belts is
easterly and westerly, and, in their
intercolated positions have general
dip of about 40 degrees TO the north.
For instance a tunnel driven to the
south viii first enter the quartzite,
which may continue on a hundred feet
or so, when pOrphyry Will be
encountered and penetrated a dis,
tance of so feet or more, and
then lime or the enumeration
may be reversed. But in every in
stance the line of contact is sharply
defined, and each belt will have the
same northerly dip. This feature of
INTERPOLATION is peculiar to this dis
trict and is entirely uniform from its
northern boundary south to where the
great porphyry belt bends down TO
Provo valley, a distance OF six or seven
miles.
II is significant that the strike of
these intercolated belts is at right
angles 10 the general northerly and
southerly trend of the Wasatch and at
about the highest point along the
range. These facts are of but little
moment in a district like this, where
great depth and values have been
proven, but are of value in estimating
the probabilities of undevelOped dis
tricts and furnish food for interesting
research and comparison.
The great metal bearing veins are
also peculiar to this district, and the
GENERAL UNIFORMITY
that exists between them as to strike |
and dip is remarkable In some in
stances they follow the strike of the |
belts, or easterly and westerly, and in
others the veins cut diagonally across
lhe belts with a northeasterly and. |
southeasterly trend. Thus, it will be /
seen, they are at some places contacts I
and at other places assures, and often /
possess both characteristics. 1t is a |
generally accepted theory among old |
Parkites that the greatest ore bodies |
are found in the Quartzite and lime !
contacts.
On the north side of the easterly and |
westerly divide, before mentioned there
are two principal mineral belts with |
intermediate and parallel veins The
most northerly of these great belts, and
what may be termed the uppermost, is
that gpon which the famous Silver
King group Is situated, and which oc-
cupias a kind of basin we'll up towards
the crest of the Wasatch. In its east
erly descent the belt is crossed by the
Park City gulch and on its raise toward
the top of the ridge to the east, and
near the Ontario mill, is the Constella-
ton group, now in course of develop
ment-
south of the Silver King belt a few
thousand feet is the zone upon which
are situated
THE GREAT ONTARIO.
DAILY and Daly-west mines. all of them
well proved bonanzas.
Heretofore the greatness and pros
perity of this district has been based
on It's practically inexhaustable bodies
of silver-lead ores, and the conditions
that now threaten every silver produc-
ing district in the world were, until
recently, never seriously considered,
and. as a matter of course, no attention
was paid TO gold mining in this locality.
In fact. ii was not believed the district
COM Will may, Will 4CA1SSN ~
tainty. be termed a gold belt.
During the past year, pretty straight
rumors of a strictly gold belt have
been in circulation relative to its exist
ence and value, as determined by its
intersection in some of the deep mines, ]
and has as often been denied. How ]
ever. the belt is a reality, and lies be- {
tween the Silver King lead-silver vein {
and that of the Ontario and Daily.
Toward the westerly end of the gold
belt, the vein has been cut at depth !
of 1 100 feet. and a conservative esti-
mate puts the width at 20 feet and its !
average value at S14 in gold per ton
Lower down towards the east the vein I
was cut in another deep mine at GOO {
feet, where its width is about the same
as that Just stated, and its average
value is Si2 in gold per ton. The same I
ledge crops fully 20 feet wide in G
Empire gulch. still further TO the east, i
and reliable parties put its value in \
gold at from IS to So. In its easterly
course the vein again crops strong on E
THE CONSTELLATION
ground about 1,009 feet south of the