Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1900-09-24
Great Salt Lake IS Rapidly Reed
Ing Reached The Zero Mark
THE LAKES FLUCTUATIONS.
meager Precipitation aud IRRIGATION
are Reducing 10 Volume Extract
from DR.. Talmage's Book

tDrdl IHI I'D. TOO. ht'''N '''.
c5rlins Co the records taken by Wealth
or Director Murdoch. there has been a
sbr.nkage of thirteen inches since the
lst Of last September and OF 2 feet $
inches since October !, 1890.
This great shr.HRaga in the famous
old body Of sale water is exciting mucn
speculation as To- the cause OF IT, and
the likelihood of i,s continuing
Saturday Ar Murdoch ana Professor
NJ Il Jones went out TO Garfield, and
they were amazed at the very pcrccp-
uble racedduge of the water The pa
villon stands over dry land, and the
faithful old cuage that has measured
the lake level Tor nifty years, has ended
the DAYS OF its usefulness. Il can no
longer reach the water, and the level OF
the lake therefore is down TO zero, Mr..
Murdoch found it necessary 20 impro-
wise another guaEe and set II out In
the lake. and 70 Will last until the wa.
ter falls another foot. after which am
other guaga VIII Doe placed further OUT
In the lake.
The other day a man went BY team
from the old Jeremy salt works 90 An
telope He had forty bushels of wheat
on his wagon. but he encountered no
difficulty In the way Of quicksand on
soft earth The bottom Is very hard
and the trip from the shore can be
made 70 the island IN about forty min
utes on horseback or IN a buggy II
a. asserted that one could walk from
the east shore Of the lake 10 the Island
without getting his feet wet.
The records that are on Tile In the
weather Office, show that the lowest
level to which the lake zen until the
present, was in December 1851. when it
registered one foot The highest level
was IN June. 1865. when a measured
thirteen feet five inches. BY 1876 the
water had fallen six feet. and In 1883
dropped "a 1--WE feet tive inches, The
water again rose IN 1856. but since that
time Il has gradually fallen.
This remarkable shrinkage In the
lake Is generally ascribed TO the mea-
ger precipitation and the utilizing Of
the water in the rivers for irrigation
purposes.
Concerning the fluctuations Of this
historic body ~ water. DR.. James y,
Talmage, the well known local scientist
says In his interesting little book THE
Great Salt Lake, Present and Past re-
Gently published by the Deseret News:
STATISTICAL AND GENERAL.
1t Is well known that an enclosed
water body, such as a lake devoid Of
an outlet rs particularly sensitive ~
climatic changes Such a lake rises
and falls as evaporation increases or
dimlnishes In relation % supply by pre-
gipitatiUn. The variations IN volume as
shown by the shore records OF the Great
Salt lake are unusually large
The fluctuations In surface area are
even greater than would be expected
from Il study OF the variable relations
between supply and loss; and this fact
Is explained by the very gradual in
clination Of the shores. The entire val
ley Is remarkable for its fairness, as any
observer may see FOR himself II he will
climb one OF the hills In the vicinity OF
Salt Lake City, but even more striking
is the small increase Of water depth as
one passes from the lake-shore out
ward
A slight rise In the lake level results
therefore IN a great increase OF water
surface As was pointed out by Stans-
bury a rise OF but q few feet would
enable the lake 10 reclaim large part
Of It's former domain over what is now
lue httdN salt Lake DchtIh
The writer has conversed with resi-
dents Of towns near the shore who re-
member when the waters edge was. In
place, two miles, beyond its present
line; and the same people are able 10
point out the ruins Of farm fences a
mile inland from the present margin.
marking the location OF fields which
were destroyed by the rising waters.
and which are now left dry and barren.
We have Of ready access two reliable
maps Of the lake. by comparison Of
which recent variations I'm the water
area may be demonstrated The earlier
OF these IL Stansburys map, based on
work done IN 1913 and 1880, az which
time the lake stood at the lowest level
observed by man; and the later map
Is that prepared under the direction II
Clarence king In connection with the
field work OF the Fortieth Parallel SUR
yey. dated 1869. when the water was
approaching the highest stage OF recent
times. According % the first of these
the lake covered 1,1j0 square miles the
second survey showed an area Of 2.l7O
square miles,
As would be inferred from the f1reg0-
ing facts. the average depth OF the lake
is subject 10 small and slow variations
ly shallow In 1850 the greatest deuth
found was but 30 feet. and the average
but 10 feet. Later the Lake rose 10
feet with "a consequent increase of Wat-
er area through the submergencs of the
fiat shore borders, but with au in-
crease OF average depth not exceeding
feet The maximum depth observed
gt the highest stage was ~ feet The
average depth az salt lake today is
probably not more than 10 feet
The fact that the lake "a "a closed
water body with no out-ll0wing stream.
would indicate the certainty OF yuril-
lions IN its volume. unless Indeed the
improbable chance OF "a constant bali
ance between the supply furnished by
precipitation and the loss through
evaporation We're realized. a body ~
water provided with "a channel of ready
discharge may maintain ca t9lgr5bIy
constant level thn outlet acting as
regulator and permitting the escape ~
The surplus water but che level NC
lake entirely enclosed VIII lcp.nL as
stated, upon The relation between the
supply and the loss through eyap9ra-
ton
For an undetermined period prior
90 1850 or Whereabouts ths Salt Lake
had been steadily diminishing in vol.
umn. For ten 0r fftoau wears after
me time named Che wlt.r oseIatel
with a tendency fo rises Then &c rose
rapidly and reached le maximum
height in Che c1nrs. of This increase of
volume about 1872 COL. 1874 Although 10
IS now sinking year hy year, 70 has not
set reached .ts I0W level of $780,
Antelope island. one uf the land bod
ies % The lake. is connected by a bar