The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-09-10

a long, narrow island Either that OF else the
were entirely submerged In the latter ever
the surface has fallen more than 1, 0Oo feet, ho
much more no standard Is left by which TO iudg,
The line Of the top terrace is near enough to tn
summit of the range TO permit the theory that ono
there was still higher level, above the crest
That tho belief Is not illogical ID shown by
comparison OF the appearance OF hiily isets in tn
lake, with the mountains back from the shore line
| Frequently an island shows single terrace on In
the line generally, the lowest OF the markings
the coast range Tho level OF tho second terrac
comes above the top Of the hill, furnishing proc
that the island, atleast was once far under water
No imaginary description can give adoquat
| idea of what must have been the size OF tho pri
| moyal sea Its aroa, II scientific estimates b
accepted as facts, certainly included Bear LAX
at the north and Utah Lake at tho south. It,
tho cast the Wahsatch Mountains and their right
angled spur. the Uintah range, interposod ar
impossible barrier. but to the west Il may hav,
spread the entire territory Of the present rea
American Desert
Many geographers have asserted that originally
II filled tho entire great basin OF which the desert
Is but part Southwark. winding its way be
tween tho Oquirh and tho Wahsatch ranges
IL could stretch away until It's waters Tapped
the sides Of Mount Nebo whose snow-white head
Is visible from the shore of the lake, although its
foothills arp a days journey away. IL Is well
within tho range Of possibilities that the sacred
titled mountain itself may have bean an island
in the bosom OF the sea. Some persons even have
dared to say that Mount Badly, away 10 the south
west, was once part of a coast range More pro-
liability attaches to tho statement that Lake
Sewer Is another remnant Of the great sea II
the body did extend this far 70 tho south IL has left
no evidences on tho mountains which. however.
arc OF a formation less apt to be moulded by the
tho water than those farther to the north.
The greatest mystery about the tideless ocean
turks in the manner in which il subsidized. By
the mountain markings it would seem that some
unknown agency made its force felt at regular
intervals. turning q portion Of the contents OF
the basin with the precision OF a man emptying
bucket The power never was exerted in its
entire force, else there would be not 80 much as
a strip of water remaining II It was OF vol
canic origin, its application. in all probability.
was made on tho region to the northward and
northwestward Of the shore, each disturbance
opening wider and deeper way to the sea-
That the lake drained at ono time into tho Pa
ciic Ocean long has been a general belief though
biologists as a rule have insisted that the open
ing did not exist when the surface was at it's high
est level They have assorted for the most part
the conviction that the body Of water was as free
nom outlet then as now. and that the sinking
OF the earth's crust to connect the lake with what
arc now tho Snake and Columbia Rivers was
the first sign Of decadence A few have demurrcd
and have pointed out that tho lake was a fresh
water body in the prehistoric era, a state which
would not have obtained long had there been
no rivers to drain. its flow into the ocean, The
issue Is ono which must ever go unsettled
At a rough estimate tho first depression low
era1 fha Ialsa I'll ~
that the highest terrace was the highest lake
level, letting loose torrent which must have
torn its way through mountains as If they were
reeds, leaving plains where lofty peaks had been,
digging into tho bowels of the earth perhaps
quenching for the time being the subterranean
fires which set il free-until finally il bored its
path to the Pacific 2, 900 miles from the starting
point of its mad career
Mono may guess the interval between the first
depression and tho second. The mountain hand
writing tells Of three separate falls, but gives
no limit OF tho time which elapsed before one fol-
lowed tho other After the third outpouring
, different disturbance must have raised the
walls and blocked the former outlets
Three gateways may havo closed at once; there
IS no saying that the freed waters followed the
IDENTICAL routes to the ocean. Indeed the contrary
8 moro within the range Of probability The
Volcanio theory fits nearly every Hypothesis
Within tho present half century radical change
n area and coast line has been accounted for
On tho basis that the internal disturbances still
continue and that part Of the shore is as apt
10 sink downward tomorrow as 1t was in the days
before humanity had begun to keep its record
The lake became salt after its final egress was
cut of. Were outlets to be formed at this late
period 1t would remain salt for ages so deem has
become the salt bed in the centuries since stagna-
non has been the fate Of the waters above A
lew months ago professor who made a series of
experiments in the interest Of salt industry of the
AXE, announced that If every other source Of salt
supply IN the world were cut of, the Great Salt
Lake would be able to furnish the ingredient as
ong as the world should endure In that state
ment he made no calculations for the possibility
that the Lake itself should cease to exist but even
N that event. 1t is estimated that the solid deposits
On its bottom would be sufficient to prevent salt
hunger anywhere on the earth for as long a period
IS the mind can grasp
From these illustrations better than from fig
1res one Is able 10 gain appreciation Of the time
which must have passed since the last disturbance
closed tho northern gate and walled in the then
|resh water lake Although the OF that period
evidently many times exceeded that Of modern
lines 1t may be asserted with certainty that Bear
separate
from the main body, or were by that CONFUSION set
Tree. They have remained fresh because they
have been drained into the treat Salt Lake From
The fact that tab Lake today is but 100 feet above
Salt Lake. il is apparent that the larger body has
allen less than that distance since the last of the
|hree great outpourings Of its contents
The proof that it has been much lowered since
Then is found in the numerous salt deposits within
Ten and twenty miles Of the shore showing that the
sea salt once lay above the spots
1t did not take the lake long to become intensely
saline after it was locked in For its expansc il
was shallow even then. not more than 100 feet deem
1t It's deepest place. probably not that The maxi
mum depth today is sixty feet and the average
IS not half that figure At some points one NAV
wade mile and more from shore without getting
IN water over the knees 1t was as If a huge and
shallow basin had been spread out in the sun.
The ratio Of evaporation. far greater than at sea
eVet hurried the chemical action and in a COM
short time the fresh water lake was A
salt sea What may have been the effect OF the
alkah IN the surrounding soil is problematical.
Some persons have credited it with being the
fundamental cause Of the exceptional sallnity,
In the proportion of solid matter in its contents
The Great Salt Lake is surpassed only by the dead