Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1899-06-24

''rhc most wonderful feature of Utah.
81 not its Mormons' said an inhab.tant
~ that state "but IT, great salt sea.
which always seems TO- me hike O. mys-
terry only a little less wo.rl than the
Dead Sea which rolls over sodom nud
Gomorrlh. Every time / look at this
great American dead sea 1 get to spec
ulaung about its past and Co. probable
future. which will be more interesting
90 the noXt generation or two than TO
the present The origin Of the lake IS
only n matter Of curiosity. but Us fu-
turc will De- question Of dollars aud
cents 90 this country. / have lately
been figuring out the probable value "
this dead Sea TO the company which Will
exploit t.. AZ lrst was surprised at
the magnitude OF It's wealth. ana then
nstoulshcd beyond measure. The
fact ~ that Utah Is the richest
state In the Union, md an by
reason Of this great American dead sea.
Her salt IL worth more than an the
gold and diamond mines IN the world.
The estimated value " tho products
of this Halt lake o.. IN round numbers,
nearly uOl. 100000. Think ~ over
one hundred billion dollars lying uu-
used ana untouched right In the heart
OF our country
"lluw do l figure out such valuof II
~ simple enough. According Co au-
niyscs the waters OF the lake have an
average 81 more than 10 pcr cent uf salt
and Hulphute 10 soda that g. about
oup-alxth ~ every buCkotful NJ the
water dipped out of the lake ~ oi CONF
mgrClul value. About une-olghth NJ this
iH sulphute ~ soda and Hryvn-elghths
common salt Sow, On nui out tho value
M the lakes contents one has only to
figure OUT roughly the amount of water
Zoo o. To make the calculation easy we
viii say the lake Do 400 miles lnng. with
"a width varying between twgnty~uyH
ana thirty miles nr approximately 800
square miles BOO surface area ur 'i,2'l,-
$4,000 square feet
"rhc ayorlge depth % the lake can
De safely placed tt twunty foot which
would make 1865. ti1. 600 900 cubic feet
uf water. Sow, unc-HiNth VI this total
BE- common salt and soda or 25o.pO5. G0o.-
600 cubic feet. a cubic foot or sui
phute 90 soda weighs nfty pounds and
ordinary valuation 90 sulphlto nf soda
Do one cont pound. ur $50 ton, and
common SALT Or worth half u cent r.
pound, OF $40 ton. According 10 my
figures there would De ttiUtUruu tons uf
Hulphutc OF soda ln tho lake. aud So
ssa,lGH,Nl0 sons ~ common salt NuW,
40 the ruling prices fur these two come
mobiles riyon above tho total Nuluh.
ton OF the lakes products would
amount 20 YO3.is1. 100000 WHAT state
can produce a better showing than
that2
"nut u is not only the money value u
this great inland sea that attracts me.
The lake IA mystery which appeals
On one, even though he lives on ita
rim FOR a lifetime. There are four large
rivers pouring fresh water continually
Into the lake, hut the Fnltlnes- does
not diminish one per cent at any season
froshetH Of summer pour millions VI
gallons " extra water down the noun.
tain sides into tho lake There lH nu
visible outlet ana yet the lake rises
ana falls from year Co year only "a tri.
ne There o. no visible source OF the
| great salt beds or mines that must un.
dUrllD the lake somewhere. The rpa-
SON Tor the Hnltlnrss uf this sea is ul-
most uH great q mystery tu tho Hplpu,
| lists uf today as 10 wars 90 the indiana
/ NJ % century ugu. There D. simply nU
/ explaining the matter IN ages gone by
/ the lake was much larger, covering ul
| ono time total area larger than that
] uf Lake Huron. In places tho sea
must then have been 1t least "a thou.
/ sand feet deep. It, greatest depth now
[ i7 about sixty feet II Or Hlltlor than
| the Dead Sea % Palestine, although
l many people aro not aware OF lt. f0i
l the simple reason that they compare
I only the percentage uf solid matter Nj
] the water 0f the two lakes The Aslutit
/ Dead Sea contains % per cent ~ solids
I ana the American dead sea only rs per
| cent. But besides common salt and
| Hulphntc M soda, this solid matter In
] cludoH muEucsin, calcium, bromide