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Show Briny Body Of Water West Of Mississippi it out again. Upon his return to his group of companions, he told them that he had discovered an arm of the Pacific. Jim Bridger Was First White Man To See The Dead Sea Great Salt Lake 4 fascinating its actual history in all its variety. The first white man ever to see the lake was Jim Bridger in In spite of all the explorations (1824, a fur trader In the (Rocky undertaken and discoveries Mountains. The story goes that made about the Great Salt Bridger, in order to determine Lake, (Americas IDead Sea" has the winner of a wager, was sent River to find its uldown preserved much of Its almost timate Bear destination. He came atmythical and extraordinary into the lake near (Brigham City, traction. (Numerous are the fea- at the present location of the tures that distinguish the great- Bear 'River Migratory Bird . Refest American lake west of the uge, and the story goes on tellthe ing, how he dipped his fingers Mississippi. . innumerable stories and legends about it and into the water, tasted and spat Prominent In West's History You're Always Welcome At : ( llonsensUarietyStore : . n "The Store Of A Million Articles" MOST COMPLETE SELECTION v It was only eighty years Brid-ger- s discovery and his error had very soon been corrected when the mountain traders extended their trade to to the base of the Wasatch range, and also by James Clymane - circumnavigation of the lake In 1826 that the first train rolled across the lake over the Lucin track clear Cutoff, a railroad across the lake, going from Ogden to Lucin. This is one of the straighteet and levelest stretch es of railroad track ever built, and the curvature of the earth can by noticed on it. One of the most Interesting features of the Great Salt Lake tooth to tourists, swimmers and for the local Industry Is Its extremely high salinity of 25 percent, a percentage which - Is about eight times as high as that of ocean water. Swimmers alike , ean and .enjoy bathing, because the body .. floats easily and without any swimming movements. Swimming in Salt Lake ;is therefore one of the great attractions that no tourist wants to miss, following a tradition which was established by Brigham Young and Some of his fellow Mormon explorers who, during the summer of 1817, went swimming at Black Rock.- ,v . OP-- - Various resort places , have been created for this purpose. Some of the earlier establishments failed (because the water resort receded, and nowadays activities center around 'three places, 20 miles west of Salt Lake City: Saltair, Sunset Beach and Black Rock. SOUVENIRS From Sale Lake City a special electric rail line is providing for the transportation- - of guests to Saltair during the swimming season. This is the largest of the resort places offering a variety of attractions, of which especially the dance pavillion should be mentioned. The whole of Saltair is built on piles driven into the lake bed about three quarters of a mile from shore. After a short break In popularity because of a considerable recession of water during the thirties, Saltair has regained Its former reputation which attracts thousands of tourists annually. - -- . . high percentage of salinity In the Great Salt Lake Is due to the fact that many rooks contain tiny quantities of salt which, being easily soluatole In water, is carried down, by rain and snow, into the lake. As the Great Salt Lake is surrounded by mountains without any outlet, the salt remains in the lake, and is not, as usual, carried out into the ocean. The water escapes by means of evaporation, high leaving an increasingly percentage of salinity behind. Therefore it is possible that as scientific investigations assert 5,000,000,000 tons of salt can be found in the lake. Commercial salt production, therefore, is one of Utahs main industries. Already the early Mormon settlers engaged in the extraction of salt. The procedure basically followed today is to build artificial evaporation ponds by throwing up banks a little above the water level. These ponds are pumped full of brine and left to evaporation. At a certain degree of density common salt is precipitated which guarantees an almost pure deposit of usable salt. Some of the most striking data of the Great Salt lake are: Length, 75 miles; width, 50 miles; a greatest depth of from 30 to 40 feet and an average depth of around 15 feet. The sur- - v w V 4, if:' Regarding some of the data, it has to be said, though, that length and width of the lake vary greatly with the seasons. The surrounding banks of the river are plain and scarcely rise above water level. Any rise and fall otf the water level therefore, small as it may be, extends the water area considerably. Also by the jrise and fall of the lake Is the salinity of the water. A high water level means a decrease of salinity. iNumerous rivers and creeks go into the lake. Bear, Weber and Jordan rivers are the prinstreams. cipal Strange though it the blgh salinity of the water does not prevent the lake from freezing. The strong brine cannot freeze; Jt Is fresh water from the river that ' moats on top of the salt water, .that forms the ice. In the vicinity of mouths of rivers and creeks the floating"' occurs very often. Sometimes during winter time, the ice breaks loose and floats about as "Icebergs, which Is one of the strangest and most unexpected sensations - Great Salt Lake has to offer. water-supplyin- g may-soun- (Because of the high saline qualities of the lake fish can not live In it. However, the Dead Lake Is not completely dead. Found In the water is an orange colored brine shrimp of about a quarter of an inch in length. Also known Is the larvae of a small fly or gnat which is often found around the lake. For students of geology, biology and anthropology, Great Salt Lake is a very valuable and rewarding study object. The Great Salt Lake islands mark another of the lake's interesting features and play a dramatic part In its history. Among its ten islands, the Antelope, Fremont, Desert Island, Gunnison and Carrington islands are most remarkable On each of these latter five at settling islands attempts have been made, mostly howsuccess. ever with permanent Antelope island which is some 16 miles long and close to six miles wide has been known for Its herd of buffalos, most of which were killed in the great hunt of 1926. , 'Sllsr im? ns Vr. K3 n - v, . & face of the lake is higher than the average elevation of the mountains. I'V I is A story quite dramatic connected with Fremont Island, the story of John Baptiste, the grave digger who robbed the corpses and therefore was banished to exile on Fremont Island. People who landed some time after the exposition fount the island empty. John Baptiste had obviously escaped by means seen of a raft. He Was neve1again. Desert Island has a story to tell, too, of the man who died there without any medical help available because of a storm that hindered the crossing of the lake. - We have heard about some of that make Great Salt Lake a place of nationwide attraction. Many more things could be .mentioned; for instance the race track on the Bonneville Balt Flats west of the lake, where all the automobile world records for speed have been established; the story of the? 1847 Mormon settlers whose crop was saved, by the seagulls; of Great Salt Lake which was the Lake Bonneville; but the best thing for everyone Is .to go and see for himself that Great Salt Lake is readjy ,a Jake of .a thousand i U - fit f the things 5TH SOUTH & MAIN STREET 2 BLOCKS SOUTH OF THE TABERNACLE , Rest Rooms -Chevron Gas and Oil Clean ly, Atlas Tires, Tubes, Batteries i Wash and Wax Lubrication Free Vacuum Service SUMMER, lH0URS :6:00 A.M. TO. J0:00 P. M. ' |