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Show Page Five The Daily Utah Chronicle Openings 1978 n rt VILLAGE SPORTS DEN invites you to our new MJ SSn YOUR MARK Wf so (f GET SET! f ft m TO A BRAND NEW SHOPPING r-s- 7 ( CSy C from page four The beauties of nature did not promise much for the new settlers; their thoughts were occupied with the threat of the desert: a barren, ground with sagebrush, the most common egetation of the desert. Young's land use plan for Zion, adapted from a plan originally devised by Joseph Smith, called the "plat of the city of Zion," trips to Salt Lakeandall save Emerson wrote about their experience. Without fail they commented on the superiority of the planned development and use of the environment. Richard Burton, a legendary British explorer who was an extraordinary but widely ignored historical figure of the 19th century, also made the trip west to observe the Mormons. I lis three-weestay produced a large portion of one of his major works, entitled The City of the Saints. The book is an amazingly detailed account of the city and its inhabitants. Burton noted, as did others, that the key to survival in the valley was water success was due to "irrigation, without which, as the 'distillation form above' will not suffice, Deseret would still be a desert." Button also explained that this understanding of the scarce resources lead to carefully planned management of the whole environmental salt-cover- more encompassed than just the k reclamation of croplands. Through this plan Joseph Smith's dream of creating an environment in whk h the benefits of the city would be enjoyed in an agriculturally based economy was realized south of the square marked out for the temple. Business distribution centers were built in this core area; from the beginning the plan included a building code and designated1 public spac e. Around this business area blocks were laid out allowing for each dwelling a spacious allotment of planting area and water. The streets were made wide and the area took on an ambience of openness w hile maintaining the urban environment. California here we come The city now almost fills the entire valley. The flats out along the Jordan River are patterned with industries, warehousing facilities, airport extensions and the highways that feed them. The skyline, lifting in a confined cluster below the capitol, is distinctly metropolitan. But beneath this tranquil setting lies a hidden storm of thoughtless and chaotic development that spreads the suburbs over prime farmland and vulnerable watershed and leaves pockets of hidden slums in the inner city. As the urban octopus spreads slowly into yet untouched areas of the valley more and more energy resources are needed to move the increasing numbers of commuting residents, adding pollution to the already overburdened air system. Mark Twain, Horace Greeley, Fritz Hugh Ludlow and Ralph Waldo Emerson made II A "I ' t-. - '.wit" LARGEST SELECTIONS of FOOTWEAR Plus: For along the Wasatch Front where 70 percent of the state's population lives it is usually wetter than the eastern states in terms of average annual precipitation. But Salt Lake is. an arid city dry and salty. And it is the Salt Lake, that great body v of salt and w ater west of the city, which is the primary reason for the state of nature that the Mormons found in the valley. Some 20,000 years ago Lake Bonneville lapped against the foothills where the affluent now park their Lincolns in suburban driveways along the city's east bench. When the lake began to recede it gradually dropped below its outlets. Incoming rivers such as the Jordan brought i salt into the lake. The salinity gradually rose to about 20 percent, making the water unusable; consequently the lake has played little constructive role in the life of the valley. After the lake's recession the area was left fairly stark and deserted. When the Mormons first got here, there were few trees, the rocky valley floor was covered with B sagebrush and little else. But the problem for the settlers was not so much the lack of water as the lack of water in the right places. Water needed to be managed in order to make the system work. ; IH Plus: 140 MODELS OF SHOES choose from: NIKE ADIDAS J PUMA L0T0 ETONIC AAU FASTRAK METS irrigaton system the Mormons PRO SPEC developed was an ideal solution and was later patterned in the Phoenix and 'A v SWEAT CLOTHING. JOGGING WARM-UPS- . GYM WEAR. SOCKS. TRAINERS SUPPLIES HIKING BOOTS & RUNNING GEAR 0 The ' "J Utah remains today the second driest State in the Union, a deceptive bit of information. rT l -- a store w ithin a store with one of the area's system. -- j TO'4 ' ill T FRED PERRY California valleys. The valley became one of the rare examples of man improving on the ecological system. The valley was, in a sense, ecologically degraded by the results of Lake VASQUE PIVETA management of the water resources a NEW BALANCE Bonneville's disappearance, but process of moving the water around turned the tide on the valley's aridity. Then Young initiated a massive reforestation of the valley floor. By planting a large number and wide variety of trees in the valley, moisture was retained more efficiently and a greater number of varied wildlife benefited from the introduction of the larger protective vegetation. Down on Main Street simple "Main 11" u Street is rapidly becoming crowded," wrote Burton in 1860. It is difficult to imagine what he might think if he were to see the valley today. Traffic, smog and crowding increase despite declining population in the central city and movement to bedroom continued on page seven OFF 15 on our entire stock of shoes with this coupon Expires Oct. 7 Limited to stock on hand FOOTHILL Wage &0orte Mm 1384 FOOTHILL DRIVE 582-56- 1 1 |
