The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1909-12-12
Transformations Are Wrought
Which Make Possible Cultiya-
ton of Floors of Lakes.
PIUTE COUNTY Is MOUNTAIN
JUST PILED UPON MOUNTAIN
There Are Two Hundred Square
Miles Only of Valley Land
in County.
Special to The Tribune.

JUNlllON, JtaN, dec. Ia
glance at the map of Utah will show
Piutc county as one of the smallest
arcal divisions in tho state. Not many
years since there WAS serious talk OF
giving the north half Of Piutc to Sc
VIcr county and the south half TO Gar.
field county. But Pluto pulled itself
together, asserted its independence, and
concluded TO paddle its own canoe un,
der the brief but suggestive name of
Piute, Tho spiritual condition OF
Piutc 5 population may be inferred
from tho fact that, enthusiastically,
half OF the county belongs to the Sc
vicr stake OF Zion. and the other
half TO the Panguitch stake of Zion,
And if President William ii, Sccg-
miller Of the Sewer stake could be in
duccd 10 voice his private opinion of
the spiritual asset his diocese gained
wien Marysvalc and its environs were
annexed to Scvicr stake, il would be
interesting reading. And tho above is
written in the face of the fact that,
when "at homc,' the writer is one of
tho b-iEh. and shining spiritual lights
OF tSc northern haf OF Pluto county,
And. in :hc presence 9f :hat fact, 1t is
needless 10 state THAI the southern half
Of Piute is far and away ahead of the
northern half, which belongs to PTesi-
dent Sccgmillcr.
While the foregoing is not exactly
typographical, it should be pardoned
because OF The fact that Marysvale is
5000 feet above sea level, and the
further fact that the altitude increases
toward the south. and which induces
sensation of giddiDess. which, per.
haps, is more evident in the occaslona!
drummeTS who venture into this region
of lofty attitudes, spiritual darkness
and magnificent distances between eat
ing places and drinking stations. OF
1bn chain nf clio i.1 lol.nc that
tended south from the north end OF
Sewer valley. Piute had two of those
ancient bodies of ice.cold waters.
Beginning near the Arizona line and
extending through central Utah TO
Idaho, there are unmistakable evil
dences thai in n remote age the crust
of the earth was profoundly fractured.
Mountain plateaus rose, while others
snbsldcd, resulting III numerous fault
cscarpmen,s, which, today. bear wit
ness to the mighty convulsions Of ma
ture along the path OF that great
earth wound. The face of the Wasatch,
few miles southeasterly of Salt Lake
City, is Just one Of those great sears
that mark the course of the fracture
n scar left by the uplifting of the lofty
Wasatch and the subsistence of Salt
Lake valley. Faulting is more in evi-
dence along the course of the Sewer
river from the north end OF Sewer val
1ey south 10 beyond Panguitch, in Gar.
field county, than elsewhere, and for
that reason the great fracture was
named the Sewer fault by government
gcologists. But for the Sewer fault
there would be no Park City, Sierra
Madre, Bingham. nor any OF the great
mining camps along a zigZag north
south line through central Utah.
The fracturing or the crust was fol
lowed by the outpouring of vast fields
OF porphyry, lava and other volcanic
material, and Pluto county was the
principal area Of dynamic activity. The
north extremity of the Tushor range,
nearly west of Marysvale. was the
chief volcanic vent OF this region.
Mounts Bell;nap and Badly were built
up 10 height OF $4,000 feet above sea
level. And from either of those bald
domes one can look out on fully one
siXtieth of the earth IS circumference.
Building the Tushor Range,
During the period when the Tushor
range was building itself toward cloud
land an eruption dam, about ten miles
long. eight miles wide and 1000 feet
high, was built across the Sewer river
depression, and which now foSms the
mountain barrier between Sewer valley
and the Marysvale depression, which
reaches out TO the south a distance of
more than thirty miles, the upper por-
tion of which is known as Circle valley.
At the breaking up of the ice period
the MarysvaIe depression became 4
lake fully thirty miles long by an
average width Of about six miles. At
that time n river fully as large as the
Colorado poured over the eruption dam
TO the north and down into the Sewer
valley lake. thence into the Millard
county division of historic Lake Bon.
neville. Subsequently the Sewer fault
line was reopened through the erup,
tion dam, and the Marysvale lake fell
about 100 feet. Five OF those abrupt
shore lines prove as many seismic dis
turbances, each OF which lowered the
lake from ten to one hundred feet, un
III the Marysyalee depression wa;
river swept through the valley and
down through MarySvalc canyon into
Sewer valley, and on its course cxca
waited great circular amphithcaters anC
'smoothed down the floor Of the inaguii
cent gorge as If for the roadbed of tht
Denver &c Rio Grandc railroad. which
periodically, quarrels with the now
through the once uubroken eruptiy(
dam.
This is an illustration, in miniature
OF the marvellous transformation,
wrought by nature in southern Utah
and which made it possible for man Il
occupy anu culiINsltt lNt UODrS OF lnDSl
ancient lakes. Aud aside from thos,
two narrow lake bottoms the balnnc,
OF Piuie county is Just mountain pile,
on mountain, OF which there arc 5Ol
square miles, as against less thnn 2Ol
square miles OF valley land. and o.
which not more than % per cent is nov
available for agriculture. From thi
it will be easily understood that Tn,
chicfcst industry of Piute is that o
providing the winter supply OF Snov
for the summer irrigation of tho farm
in Sewer valley.
Mountain Pasturage.
The eastern range. which forms th
boundary between tho Mnrysvalo de
preston and Grass valley TO the east
represents about 100 square miles o
fine grazing land. which is included ii
the Fish Lake nutlonal forest reserve
The bulk Of the remainder Of mountain
pasturagc Of Piute extends from tn
cast base to the crest OF the Tushor