Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1899-06-01
WYOMING SODA LAKES.
Where This Household Article is
Found in Quantities.

Out of her surprising exhibit of
natural soda at the ransMississippi
exposition, Wyoming expects soon to
take front rank among the wealth
producing states of the union as a
soda producer. The great block OF
NATURAL soda that Wyoming placed in
the mines and mining building was
the establishment of thousands of
people 1t has been the means of
bringing soda experts from different
parts of the United States into
Wyoming to investigate the
extent and richness of the
states deposits, with view to
erecting huge aIkali works along the
margins of her great soda lakes.
Wyoming has the most extensive
soda deposits in the world. The people
Of the big western state believe they
have enough natural soda in their soda
lakes to make all the soda biscuits of
the world for the next two centuries,
and then throw in, for good measure,
sufficient sal soda and soda I've to
cleanse all the tribes of earth" during
the two centuries they are feeding on
the Wyoming biscuits, and still have
plenty of soda left to make window
glass for the United States for genera
tons to come. They believe that with
in the near future Wyoming will real
ly be furnishing the bulk of the
worlds output of soda.
Wyoming is thought to have more
than twenty soda lakes of CONNER
cial importance. These lakes are
widely scattered throughout the state,
and are invariably found in depres-
slons. Most of these depressions
have an inlet, but no outlet; hence the
opinion of biologists that the soda
came in with the spring water and
leached out, the water evaporating,
thus leaving, in some instances, beds
of soda more than so feet in depth
and hundreds of acres in surface di-
mansions.
The surface of these lakes, through
the action of the sun and air, has in
crusted over with a powdered soda
closely resembling the ordinary bak-
ing soda, and viewed from their
margins the lakes resemble great
patches of pure snow. One examin-
ing them with pick might well
imagine that he was on a lake of ice
upon which a light snow had fallen,
for the soda beneath is transparent
crystal closely resembling ice.
Professor Wilbur C. Knight of the
chair of geology of the Wyoming State
University, at Laramie has done, per-
haps, more than any other westener
TO ascertain the chemical richness of
the Wyoming soda deposits. Speaking
of Wyoming's inland seas of soda,
Professor Knight said:
Large companies are now being
organized in the east to establish al
kali works in Wyoming. These COM
panes are now being backed by capt
tai in New York, Chicago and else
where, and while England and Ger
many, until recent years, have pro-
duced the greater part of the worlds
sulphate of soda from common salt.
we hope soon to replace the imported
product with our Wyoming soda.
From my investigations of the
soda deposits to the state | believe it
safe to say that there are at least
40 600 600 cubic feet of soda already In
sight. When we consider what de-
velopment work may bring forth the
beds of Wyoming assume enormous
proportions.
Wyoming undoubtedly leads the
world in natural soda We have, per-
/ haps, twenty soda lakes of CONNER
cial Importance Their commercial
Importance has already been proved
In the immediate vicinity OF these
deposits are excellent beds of sand
and limestone, and also an abundance
of fuel in the form OF coal, which in
sures the people OF Wyoming that
these soda lakes will be used in max
ing glass. soap, baking soda and sal
soda. | had been already demon
strated that the Wyoming soda makes
a first-class window or plate glass.
There is little doubt that plants
will also soon be erected for the man
ufacture OF the ordinary soda com
pounds. such as sodium. carbonate or
sal soda. used in bleaching and clean
ing: sodium bicarbonate or baking
soda, and soda I've. used in making
hard soap
There IS absolutely no reason why
I this natural soda cannot be converted
! into other soda compounds that are