Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-07-16
SALT LAKE DRYING UP
ITS LEVEL BEING LOWERED AT A
REMARKABLE RATE.
Scientists Calculate That In From %
to SO Years the Body Of Brine
Will be Cultivated.


c. 4. Byers. 10 the Scientific American.
Statistics Indicate that Great Salt Lake.
the Dead Sea OF America. 10 doomed-that
1t is gradually drying up. The opinion now
almost universally prevails among scien-
| lists that this mysterious body Of water.
| located at an altitude of 1910 feet above
| sea level and q thousand miles inland. and
which has but single rival, the Dead Sea
| OF Palestine, is certain within the course Of
half century to disappear from the map
Some scientists. who have made careful
| study of the fluctuations of the lake for the
| past several years. even declare that II will
| be dried up within a quarter OF a century.
Various statistics of climatic conditions,
including precipitation records. are COM
| plete for Utah back to 1863. with scattering
accounts for many preceding years. and II
| has been possible from these data, although
| the problem Is tar from being simple one.
| TO arrive at these and other conclusions
| conclusions so well founded. shall herein
| be shown. that the predicted destiny Of the
| lake cannot we'll be disputed.
The lake is subject to annual fluctuations.
| which. up to the list OF July of each year.
| give rise OF water level usually amount
| Ing to about twelve inches: after July 1
| 1t begins to fall. and the fall Is invariably
| greater than the preceding one. We have
sta tlstical proof that this has been going on
for thirty-f1ve years In the meantime.
however, In addition to the lakes annual
fuetua lions, there have been wet and dry
| cycles which temporarily affect the lakes
| level to a very great extent. During one OF
| these wet cycles the level may rise several
| feet, but, like the annual rises 1t always
| fails to reach the mark set by the preced-
ing one In drawing conclusions these facts
must necessarily be taken into cOnsidera-
| ton.
Losses From 1885 to 1909.
From the close Of the year 1885 to tho
close OF 1902 sixteen years. there has been
| a total fall Of eleven and one-half feet.
While this Is considered alarming. meas
urements show that the shrinkage has been
even more rapid during the past three
| years than for any other like period in tho
| sixteen. the average fall being one foot per
year-that IS. one foot after deducting the
| preceding annual RISE At this ratio. in
| forty years the level will be a correspond
| ing number of feet below its present stand
| ard, which means that the lake bottom will
practically be dry, salt desert. The water
| In what Is known as the north arm Is now
| little less than forty feet Deep and this
Is considered the deepest portion Of the
| lake.
| This Is one way of reckoning the time
until the Great Salt Lake will cease to be.
| Here is another:
Sixteen years ago. In 1885, the area Of
| the lakes surface was estimated at about
| 200 square miles Taking twenty feet as
| the average depth at that time We have
| l.50S. 433. 600. 600 cubic feet as the contents
of the lake. Today. according to recent
surveys, the lake has an area of about 9 l25
| square miles. Multiplying this number by
| eleven and one-half. the number of 1cet in
| depth Of the water that has disappeared
| and not been replaced. gives G69. IT'S. 400 UU
cubic feet the quantity Of water less
| than what 1t had sixteen years ago: or.
| leaving S35 $50. 10000 cubic feet as the
lakes present contents At this rata %
decrease in quantity in less than twenty
hve years the lake will be waterlesS.
Steadily Shrinking.
To show the effect OF cycle fuctuation
and how the lake is steadily shrinking de-
spite temporary rises. a chart has been
| prepared indicating the action of the level
| for the past forty years, commencing with
| 1863. The level then stood at two feet
| above the zero point. For the four years
| following the precipitation was very great.
| In consequence of this the level went up
at almost the rate of two feet a year until
1865. when 1t stood at 1914 feet aoove zero
the highest level on record Then there
was a turning point, and IN the next five
years there was drop of ia feet. Again
there was an increase in the precipitation.
and the lakes level rose until in 1876 it
rel. ched 12i2 feet above zero.
1t is from this year forward that the
real shrinkage of the lake becomes evil
dent. A steady decline has been in prog
ress since then. and only once has there
been rise of any consequence. 1t began
in 1883 and continued until 1896 when the
level registered at feet above zero. Now
the precipitation preceding this rise was
only l inch less than that which preceded
the rise of 1873. yet there WAS a difference
of 3ia feet in the two water levels.
In 1900 the greatest fall on record was
registered. and during the yea- the level
vent down nearly feet. This occurI ed
despite the fact that the rain chart shows
that the precipitation for five years pre-
ceding this time above the normal.
The lake now stood at 1 foot below zero.
During 1901 1t fell only inches. but again
in 1902 it took another downward leap.
reaching 49, feet below In June of
the past year. 1903. the season at which.
according to previous records the level
usually stands al the highest point. 1t WAS
3 feet inches below zero. and still falling.
The annual rise this year amounted %
about l foot, usual, and yet 1t Is more
than feet lower than 1t this time
last year. The precipitation this yelr too.
1t is therefore seen that the total fall from
1856 to June of the present yea- amounts TO
IL feet inches-a fall that mas occurred
despite normal precipitation.
Such has been the rising and falling OF
Great Salt Lake since the white man has
become its observer. Its actions before that
time can only be summarily told by the
lakes surroundings: and a geological IN
Iestigation of the nine mountainous islands
within the lake and OF the higher elevations
II .closing it discloses evidence that once the
level Appropriated about coo fee: above the
present surface. This evidence is in the
nature of ancient water marks on the sides
of the eleva lions.
News Of Kensington.