Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-06-17
Some of the Wonders of This Mys-
FERROUS Sea.
VAST WEALTH IN ITS WATERS
It is Characterized as the Paradise
for Bathers.
EFFECT OF LAKE BREEZE

'Th, most wonderful feature of Utah is
not its Mormons' said an inhabltant OF
that state. but its great salt sea, which
ALWAYS seems to me like a mystery only
little loss weird than the Dead sea which
rolls over Sodom and Gomorrah. Every
time / look at this great American dead sea
1 get to spccuIating about its past and its
probable future. which will be more inter
cs;ing to the next generation or two than
To the present. The origin Of the lake is
only a matter of curiosity but its future
will be a question of dollars and cents to
this country. l have lately been figuring
ont thu probable value of this dead sea to
the company which will exploit it. At first
] was surprised at the magnitude of Its
wealth. and then astonished beyond meas
ure. The fact is. that Utah is the richest
state in the Union. and all by reason of this
great American dead SEA. Her salt Is worth
more than all the gold and diamond mines
I'm the world. The estimated value of the
products Of this salt lake is in round num-
bers, nearly S1o3. 500, OOO.npo. Think of over
one hundred billion dollars lying unused
and untouched right in the heart of our
Country.
Enormous Money Value.
How do / figure out such value? 1t is
simple enough. According to analyses, the
waters of the lake have an average of
of soda; that is. about one-sixth of every
buck-tful of the water dipped out of the
lake is of commercial value. About one
eighth of this is sulphate of soda and seven
e;ghths common salt. Now. to find out the
value of the lakes contents one has only
10 figure out roughly the amount of water
in IT. To make the calculation easy we will
say the lake is 100 miles long, with width
varying between twenty-five and thirty
miles, or approximately =. 100 square miles
in surface area, CT 1921 $4,000 square feet
The average depth of the lake can be safely
placed at twenty feet which would make
LOO ~. 6AO.0jO cubic feet of water Now
one-sixth of this total is common salt and
soda, or 2Jo,9O5. GOO. 900 cubic feet A cubic
foot of sulphate of soda weighs fifty pounds
ana cubic foot of salt eighty pounds. The
ordinary valuation of sulphate of soda Is
ole cent pound. or $50 ton ard com
mon salt is worth half a cent pound or
Slo a ton according TO my figures, there
would be 1S4.OSD.tOO tons of sIIDhata of
soda in the lake. and s. Ts9. 1863. 600 tons of
common salt Now, at the ruling prices
Ior these two commodities given above the
la Saiua , Ton OF the lakes products would
amount to O34S;i 29GOO0. What state can
produce a better showing than that?
bu' IL IS not only the money value of
this great inland sea that attracts me- The
lake Is mystery which appeals to ore
ever though he lives on its rim for a Iffe
time There are four large rivers pourinp
IreSh water continually into the lake. but
fhe saltlneSS Gees not diminish / ner cont
nj any season of the year not even whom
TIC IF'shCts ~ summer pour millions of
AdIiohS o. extra water down the mountain
i-"es mo the lake There is no visible our
i'I ana vet the lake rises ana falls from
year u yea only triHe. There is no yis-
t,ie 7r'iice "f The great salt beds or mInas
,Idt must underie the lake some where
! hr reason -C- the saItiness of this sea Il
st as great a mystery 10 the srIenfIsTs
OF To-Day az II was to the Indians Of :; CEN
fury ago There is SIMPLY no explaining
'he matter. In ages gone by the lake was
r. q on ina
area larger than that of Lake Huron. In
PAGES tae sea must then have reen at
49, 49,, " thousand feet deep. Its greatest
tepin now IS about sixty feet 1t is
ssItier than the Dead sea of Palestine al
thOIEl many people are not aware of A.
loT toe simple reason that they compare
ohiy the percentage of solid matter in the
water OF the two lakes. The Asiatic dead
sea contains % per cent Of solids and the
american dead sea only Is per cent But.
T., SIDES common salt and sulphate of soda
THIS solid matter includes r1agnesia srI
thur, calcium. bromide. potassium. Hthia
en" DgrAcic acid. When these solids are
u Ken from She water of the Asiatlc sea n
VIII he found that the salt and soda Co..
Iar less than one-sixth of the whole
Impossible to Drain II.
compared with the Atlantic ocean the
Sdlt lake Of Utah produces another sur
PRISE. You talk of the salt sea that washes
your coast from Maine to Florida and the
cooling breezes that sweep across il in
summer IL you should come out to Salt
Lake City we would give you a genuine
surprise Your water contains only rs
Per cent of solids and only 20 per cent Of
sat Your salty breezes have only a tfnge
OF salt in them. When the wind blows in
the right direction across the full length of
Sai lake II IS so laden with salt that it
WI telNe a crust or coating of salt on
the face and clothes that gives a shostly
appearance 10 you. In the summer time
people go down to the lake and take salt
baths without going into the water They
simply dress in their bathing suits and rest
on the beach With the windows open at
night, when the wind is blowing off the
Iake. people wake up with decided salty
coating.
"Our summer resorts on the lake are as
attractive as any you have along the coast
Everybody goes to the lake in the summer
10 take a bath This is a delightful and
novel sensation. You dive under but II
is impossible to go down far The water
resists your effort, that you soon come
10 the surface. where you float about like
corkS. We don't have suicides from drown
ing out there. They couldn't do 1t very
well if they tried. They might hold their
heads under water by sheer force of WILL
but If they jumped into the water they
would only float about until somebody pick
ed them up. Eastern people who boast of
being good swimmers come to Salt Lake
and make laughing stock of themselves
1t is better than circus to see one go
into the lake for the first time If he at
tempts TO sit down in shallow water he
never reaches the bottom, but slides along
in the most unearthIy fashion. If you dive
YOU come up with eyes smarting from the
effect of the salt. For a few minutes you
wonder il the burning of the eyes will ever
cease. and you imagine that you are going
blind The only way 10 relieve this smart
Ing is 10 suck the fingers few minutes to
wash of the salt. and then rub the eyes
with the Cleansed fingers When you get
through and can see again, you will find
that all the others bathers laughing
heartily at your predicament. Then if you
attempt to float II will take some time to
learn how TO balance yourself. You are
more apt to stand on your head than on
your feet in the water, for the simple rea-
that the upper part of the body is
heavier than the lower. Your skill as a
diver and swimmer in other bodies of water
counts for little You must begin and learn
all over again.
The lake has receded from the city
proper about twenty miles. ard the trains
run down to its edge all through the sum-
r1er months. The excursion Is as popular
Gs you" CNney Island trip, and considering
the size of the city the crowds greater.