The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1898-04-30
LAKE SUPERIOR.
Interesting Facts About the Largest 30,

Of Fresh Water in the World,
1.-THE Great Lakes" is the title of an |
article in st. Nicholas, written by w.
s. HARDWOOD. Concerning Lake supe-
rior, Mr.. Harwood says: 1t is, to be-
gin with, the largest body of fresh
water in the world. 1t is water of
wonderful purity which it holds, too;
and some time-and in the not very
distant future, either-the people who
live in the large cities to the west and
south will come to this lake to get the
water for their homes. It will not be
so remarkable an engineering feat to
pipe the water of this lake, pure and
sparkling and fresh from it's cold
depths, to these cities which are now
struggling with the question of their
water-suppiy, and meeting all sorts Of
difficulties in their efforts to get water
fit to drink. All down through this
thousand feet Of blue there is a pecu-
liar GOODNESS. At the very most, the
temperature varies through winter and
summer not more than six degrees.
Winter and summer this great lake
never changes to any appreciable eX-
tent, so that if you dip your fnger-tips
in the blue surface on day in July,
or If you test it some day in early
winter when you have been out on
some belated, ice-mailed fishing-smack,
or when you have gone out to watch
! the fishermen spearing their supplies
| through the thick ice in mid-January,
you will find but trifling difference
| in the temperature. Away down at the
bottom, too, there is but little varia-
ton in the temperature, for it stands at
nearly forty degrees Fahrenheit at the
bottom, and varies from forty to forty
six degrees, winter and summer, at the
surface. The other lakes, though cold,
are not in this respect like Superior.
The whole bottom of the lake is be-
lieved to be strong rock basin, though
it would seem that there must be great
springs at the bottom to help keep up
the enormous volume of water From
the north there is a large amount OF
water pouring into the lake year in
and year out; the swift-rushing, mar
row-banked Nipigon and other streams
furnishing no small part of the sup
ply. These streams in a. large measure
make up the loss from the surface. One
of the old lake captains, bronzed
kindly-faced man who had been for
thirty-fve years on the lakes, and had
faced death many a time in the fright.
full storms which sometimes sweeI
across these beautiful bodies of water
told me, as we were passing along one
, day near the north coast of Superior
with the headlands and inlets an(
glossy green bluffs of that most pic
turesque shore in full view, that thu
t theory that the lake was slowly goinl
| down in size was true, He maintained
5 that he could tell from certain land
5 marks along the shores, with which b.
l is as familiar as he would be with tn
2 streets Of his old Scottish birthplace
that the lake was slowly-very slowl,
= but surely receding. However,
/ will be some centuries yet before Their
l will be any appreciable lessening O
/, the Great Lakes, so that we need no
4 be concerned. Strange as it may seen
+ the lake has tides, too, well-define
tides, discovered in 1860. 1t is wha
is called a self-registering tide, with
:. regular ffux and refux wave, caused
so the scientific men say, by the su
Z and moon. The average rise and IA
> every twenty-four hours is one foul
: teen-hundredth of a foot; the max
: mum tide at new and full moon is on
a twenty eight-hundredth of foot.