The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-07-28
SALT LAKE DRYING UP
BIC BODY OF WATER IN UTAH DISAPPEARING FROM sIGH-.
Irrigation the Chief cause-stretch of of Beach More than Fifty rect Wide Has been Exposed Eur ing the Past Twelve
 Months.
salt Lake speciaI.

Salt Lake special
 Evidence is accommodating that the water
 of the Great Salt Lake is disappearing
 drying up Is the term generally ap- piled.
 There is no doubt about the lake dry
 ing up." said Colonel o. F. Chisholm, l of Bozeman, yesterday.
 T went out to Saltair, the other day, continued the colonel, "and saw plenty
 of evidence that the lake has consider
 abe less water than when I last saw 1t, about year ago.
 Why, a fellow has to wade out a milo or more before he gets into water deep enough to show that the water contains sufficient amount of salt to float him. ' 'aThe reason for the waters disappear | ance is not easily explainable, but the best theory seems to be that irrigation | is one. If not the chief cause. Water is being taken largely from streams flowing into the lake. Without a water supply | the lake is naturally drying up." ] party of scientists spent the entire day recently cruising upon Great Salt Lake, making Investigations and gather ing data in relation to Utah's mysterious sea, that seems to be drying up at an alarming rate. The cruise resulted in the
 discovery of several peculiarities that. if
 known to exist. have at least never been
 recorded before.
 Evidences were found which are taken
 as proof that in the great lake there are
 currents flowing about much in the same manner as the warm currents in the
 oceans. Temperatus tests showed that
 the water in various places is not of uni-
 form warmth. and this is taken as the cause for the lake currents.
 Soundings Show Shallow Water.
 soundings at frequent intervals show
 ed that the water In parts where it Il deepest is comparatively very shallow. than a mile from water line the bottom
 was found to be covered with the water too shallow to float launch drawing only 9 inches. Wide stretches of new
 beach left high and dry by the reces- sion of the water during the present year were found along the west coast oi Antelope Island.
 | Efforts to locate some of the fresh
 water springs that some have claimed
 feed the great lake were unavailing. Un-
 mistakable evidences were found show | ing that the water is now going down
 st a more rapid rate than it ever has | before.
 l Along the entire coast of Antelope at | a distance of about three miles out the
 water maintains a uniform depth of 23
 feet. The bottom apparently arises very abruptly towards the island. and the
 launch was unable to go nearer the west coast than half a mile.
 ] Owing to lack of time, the party was
 unable to follow the big submerged val
 ley further than the north point of An- 1 telope Island, but Captain Davis, who has made souudings further north, states that the water grows gradually shallower
 until the Bear River Bay is reached,
 where it is but Is feet. The coast water
 was found to be so shallow that 1t is estimated that a fall of three feet in the level would expose many square miles of
 new beach.
 | In the vicinity of Salt Bay, on the | west coast of Antelope Island, tempera- ture tests showed that there were | stretches of water much warmer than the surrounding waters. This water was 7S degrees, while the other was from to degress colder.
 Fifty Feet of Beach Exposed. An examination of the beach at Salt Bay showed that a stretch of beach more than 50 feet wide has been exposed this year. Deposits of fungus growths on the beach show where the water stood before it began to so down this year. lsaa ier@. ti., -,,,.e. 7. ,,. This, compared with the distances be- tween the beach lines of former years, which remain perfectly plain on the bar ren coast of the island, shows that 1t is almost double that of any previous year since 1895. The beach lines before this time are obliterated by the growth of sage brush More recent marks on the beach indicate that in the past two weeks there has been fall of about three inches. 's-r5 ,,s
 The cruise also resulted in bringing to light the fact that the lake has it's trade winds. just as the oceans have.
 A series of observations by Captain Davis has established the fact that over the south portion Of the lake the wind blows from the north in the daytime and revergas its direction af night