The Washington bee., 1911-09-16
GREAT SALT LAKE.
PuzZiing Aspects of Utah's Won
derful Saline Sea.
ONE OF NATURES MYSTERIES
Science Unable to Solve the Problem
of Its Escaping Waters and Dimin-
ishing Area-The Maelstrom Near
Antelope Island.

The Great Salt lake of Utah con
tinues to be one of The greatest myS-
terieS of nature For sixty years its
! rise and fall have been studied by sci
entists in an effort to account for the
changes, but as vet they have reached
no satisfactory solution of the prob
lem as to what is the principal cause
: OF the decrease in its depth.
Those familiar with its depth and
the shrinking in its size each year
assert that at the end of twenty years
or so the bed of the lake will be near
ly all exposed. with the possible ex-
/ cepdOn of a few shallow pools of wa
ter. Then perhaps the mystery con
nected with 1t will he solved
/ In its dimensions the lake is really a
/ sea, it being above seyenty-fve miles
/ in length and fifty miles across at its
greatest width. containing, therefore.
over 1000 square miles of surface.
Near the shores the water is so shall
. low that there are places where one
may wade out from the beach for
distance of mile. yet will not be i'm
/ mersed up TO his shoulders.
The bu0yancy Of the water is such
that it is almost impossible for one
/ to remain on his feet at a greater
/ depth, his body being lifted up as
/ strip Of wood thrown into the water
in vertical or obIique direction like a
dart is returned to the surface in a
horizontal position.
! Indeed. it is believed the Great Salt
lake will support more weight to
/ given volume of water than even the
: Dead sea. to which in many respects
/ it bears a striking similarity.
/ The large quantity of salt in solu-
/ ton is the principal reason for the
! buOyancy. As the lake recedeS it's
bottom is shown to be composed of a
| heavy crust of salt, which is almost
pure, lying upon Il stratum that CON
! SiStS chiefly of sand In this respect
} the bed of the lake is similar to some
| of the deserts in the southwest which
once contained bodies of water equal
in size to that in Utah or even larger.
1t is known that the Great Salt lake
J loses large quantity of water yearly
by evaporation. but estimates of this
quantity indicate that it is far less
than that annually poured into the
lake from the rivers and creeks enter
ing it,
80 far as iS Known no natural outlet
exists, but the AXE supplies an irrigat-
ing system in the country adjacent
that requires quantity Of water year
/ ~ equal to Il depth of four inches of
the present area This * Il very small
proportion of the volume of water that
enters it through its feeders. so the
| scientists know The water escapes in
some other manner tEan by the irri-
cation canal or 10y evaporation.
This is proved by the fact that the
J increase in the quantity that enters
the lake at rainy season at times
does not increase its depth. and the
records show that actually il has fallen
| Immediately after the Jordan and
other streams have contributed a
| larger volume than usual
Near what is called Antelope island
is an indication that Il subterranean
opening exists. Frequently the waters
near the island are >o violently dis
turbed that people in the vicinity call
this place the 'maeISlrOm" and care
fully avoid it when on the lake in
. boats.
\ number of years ago. il is said. a
sailing vessel loaded with sheep
chanced to approach too near the
"maelstrom," and despite the strong
| breeze that was blowing the force of
the water was greater than the power
! of the sails. the vessel being drawn
| into the middle of the disturbance and
capsized Although sheep are natural
| ly strong swimmers and land was but
a few hundred feet away. not one of
the animals escaped and most Of the
caTcasSes went under never Ia appear
| again.
! While the buoyancy of the water iS
~ great that il will support Il person
| without aid. the boats designed for use
| upon the lake must be constructed cS-
| peCiEi Y to COuntCraCt this feature. The
| ordinary We, den veS~e! when empty
is actually too light tn bp nayigated
| with safety upon it. since such = small
! portion of il would he immersed Care
must therefore be taken. especially in
| the building of SaiIboats, lest they be
top heavy. For this reason navigation
is dangerous on the lake even when
there is only Il moderate wind, unless
the sailing vessel is loaded heavily so
I that it sits deep enough in the water
| to counteract the buOyant tendency
( New York Press