Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1909-12-18
Great Resources of
An Inland Empire

of q country VIC measure by It's
Uewer to do and It's accomplishments
tho standard of q country we measure
nv its citizenship. The intrinsic value
of any country cannot be calculated
without the careful consideration OIL
these three factors. Natural resources
NAV nbound-mountains may be nlled
with precious metals. hills may be COW
cred with the finest timber. farm lands
may stretch their pregnant bodies ior
miles In cxtent plains and valleys may
Weld their luxurious verdure for the
hungry mouths of millions of kine yet
these all amount to naught where the
power of mans will does not operate
over and through them; and even when
this Is the case and the standard OF
citizenship is low, the supreme worth
of that country Is by no means super
lative.
But with a high standard of citizen
ship to begin with great worth Is at
once prcdIcable. for such wealth is
enlus of life itself-lt is both re-
sourceful and productive; and were the
natural cndowmcnts of the country
meager, It's thrift and ingenuity would
forge at the anvil of destiny the imple-
ments of triumph and success. Show
us a land rich In its natural endow-
ments IN which bear sway thrifty and
Industrious people, and We VIII pre-
dict-all things being cqual-the highest
standard of wealth. Just such coun-
try is Idoha. the Gem OF the Noun
taIns."
IDAHO HOMES.
It would seem that the desire Is now
greater than ever before among the
people generally to get a home-to Sc
euro a tract of land. This Is evi-
denced by the thousands who are COM
ing west every year. The man of mod
crate means In order to acquire q
foothold must move on toward the from
tier. He finds himself In congested
population and values are too high
for him.
II not infrequently happens that GER
tain of these home-seekers. IN their de-
sire to find the frontier" journey on
ward and westward to the coast and
then wander back to Idaho to find a
homo.
Strictly speaking the INLAND En-
pIre," OF which so much Is now being
spoken and written, measures within Its
scope the great inland basin of the
northwest, In the center of which Is sit
uhted the state of Idaho. Around this
Gem of tho Mountains" about two
thirds of Oregon and Washington. frac-
tions of Utah, Nevada, Wyoming,
Montana and strip of BritlshColumbia, |
form a kind of setting or frame work.
The area thus enclosed is approximate
ly 200. 900 square miles, of which Idaho
occupies S4,S00 square miles. or $780,
5S514 acres From north to south 1t
measures 4S7 miles, its width varies
from As miles on tho northern border
to S09 miles on the southern border.
CLASSIgTCATIONS
The total area of the state could be
classified as follows:
Acres.
Lakes .,.,.--.-............ 2OS,S63
Forest reserves .............. 20, 336427
Indian reservations ...,........ 99055S
Military reservations ....... 639
Patented lands ................. 4,9i1, ,595
Unappropriated and unsur-
veycd. .-... .......s.....s. .26, 7S5.002
Total ..........,.....,....-. 63, 262.5 .595
Considering resource and utility the
states land area has been classified In
round numbers as:
Acres.
Timber lands ,.................2o 20 900 600
Pasture lands ..-..s............170OO 0OO, 600
Agricultural lands ......-....12.0 .090. 600
Mineral lands ...-...,.,..-,.--4. 100000
Much Of the land classified as tim
bcrcd can hc used for grazing pur-
poses and also converted to agricul-
ture and much of the pasture land cGn
be utilized for farming. and Il consld-
cradle portion of the mIneralized area
can be pastured
TOPOGRAPHY
The topography of the state is noun
tainous, with a gradual slope toward
the west from the main range of the
Rocky mountains, which form the east
ern boundary OF the state.