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Show Tta BULK RATE U.S. POSTAGE PAID OGDEN. UTAH 84401 PERMIT NO. 278 lomood Bern Volume 4 Number 32 September 6. 1979 i Lake fluctuates only 20 feet Despite public fears at various times that Great Salt Lake in Utah might either dry up or rise enough to flood Salt Lake City, the level of the lake has fluctuated within a range of only 20 feet since 1847, according to a new U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior, report. In fact, the level of the lake now stands about 4,200 feet above sea level, the same as it was when observations were first made on the lake by the Mormon pioneers in 1847, said Ted Arnow, chief of the USGS Water Resources Division Utah District in Salt Lake City and author of the report. Unless climatic conditions or mans use change significantly from that ex- since perienced Lions Club will install new playground equipment in PC Plain City playground equipment has arrived. A Lions Club service project, help is heeded to erect and install the equipment. This will be the first park with playground equipment in Plain City. Future improvements include a nice bowery, field, practice basketball court, barbecue pits, horseshoe pits, and hopefully, restrooms. jjiwjtj "jiuyp !Mjn These facilities combined with the nearby Lions Hall will meet the needs for family and recreation. community The bid for new sidewalk construction in Plain City has been contracted with Saunders Construction and is scheduled for completion in 60 or 90 days. Mayor Sam Lower advises concerned citizens, the old pioneer trees are staying." They will not be removed for beginning with the west side. the sidewalks. Purpose of the sidewalk This is the beginning of a project is to eliminate the county project that will safety hazard for kids. extend over four or five Poor visibility for walking years until sidewalks on both down the road behind cars sides of the state highway parked every which way has through Plain City are been a long-tersafety hazard .which the new completed. is sidewalks can eliminate. The city council requesting approval from the state engineer to complete sidewalks on one side of the highway at a time, m The word i something free can mean costs that nothing. Although in reality, there is nothing free since - ' x ' s' i ' everything costs something. But, there are things you can do for free in the Weber County area. That is, it costs nothing but transportation charges and your time. Here are some of the things you can do with no admission charges: WEBER COUNTY For free, you can visit the library and LIBRARY: check out some books on your favorite hobbies or subjects. Application for a library card is free and books are listed in the card catalogue file. Also for free, you can read dozens of magazines that the library subscribes to, check out some films, read some local newspapers free or look up in the newspaper microfilm what happened in the ward the day you were ,f!MB -- OVX CEOE2 'I i born. i m , i A urn PLAN CITY IONS Club Civic Canter is one of Ploin Citys unique structures, It hos the boh of on old school house. The Ibns Club ore currently octive in many projects like helping build the new pork in Pbin City ocross Irom city THE hall. HE GREAT SALT LAKE is wm. : , t 1847, Arnow said, the lake will not dry up or rise above the historically recorded high level. Arnow began studying the Great Salt Lake in 1966. His report, released as a USGS was open-fil- e report, prepared originally for a pending book by the Utah Geological and Mineral Survey on the lake. The lake reached its highest level of 4,211.5 feet above sea level in 1873 after rising almost 12 feet in 12 years, causing Mormon settlers to fear that Salt Lake City and surrounding farm lands would be flooded, Arnow said. In the hope of being able to avert such a calamity, they sent out an exploration party to determine if the water could be spilled from the lake into the vast desert area to the west, he said. But tfe lake peaked in 1873 and began to decline, ending the problem for the time being. During the next 31 years the lake level declined almost 16 feet, and by 1905 it at a then historic low was of slightly less than 4,196 feet. A series of fluctuations followed, each time the lake declining to a lower level, and by 1963 it had dropped to e historic low of an 4,191.35 feet. Many people thought that the lake was going dry," Arnow said. Roads, railroads, areas and industrial installations encroached on the newly exposed shores. But then the lake began to rise again in response to e precipitation, and by 19767 it had risen almost 11 feet to slightly above 4.202 feet. all-tim- wildfowl-manageme- above-averag- EXERCISE TRAILS: For free, you can walk, run or jog along either the Weber State College Parcourse exercise trail located at the top of Skyline Drive between 31th at 41st streets or the Washington Terrace Trail located in Rohmer Park (off S100S.) Both trails are a mile bag and have exercise stations to develop physical fitness. Both scenic areas. are located in HIKING: The Ogden area has dozens of hiking trails which vary in length from less than a mile to a dozen or more miles. Views obtained can be outstanding. GO TO one of the most distinctive natural features of this ' mSnu, A PARK: ,:&: Great Salt Lake is popular near Antelope island. These gate the water mark the passage of an old sand bar which crosses the lake WADING IN THE posts in itself to Freemont island from the Antelope island causeway. However, the lake must be a a level of 4,194.5 above seas level before crossing is possible. The lake now is at 4,200 feet. A danger to this sandbar is the perilous sink holes (underwater quicksand). As recent as 1939, sheep crossed this sandbar to Freemont Island Fears Again fears of a calamity Arnow said, and arose, studies were made of the feasibility of pumping water out of the lake into the desert to the west. But the lake began to decline in 1977 in response to unusually low the snowfall during during the Great Ice Age as recently as 12,000 years ago. The present lake is in a natural basin with no outlet, and thus the salt content of the lake water has built up over the centuries. The average annual inflow for the 1931-7- 6 period was about 2.9 million acre feet (945 billion gallons) about preceding winter, again ending the problem for- - the time being. He added, however, that the surface of the lake would have been about five feet higher in 1978 than it was in 1847 had it not been for mans consumptive use of water in the lakes basin. This from resulted mainly evaporation of water from reservoirs and marshes upstream from the lake and from diversions from streams for tributary irrigation and other uses. Although mans use of water has affected the level somewhat, Arnow said, the greatest effect is caused by natural variations of climate. The Great Salt Lake is a remnant of the much larger prehistoric Lake Bonneville, which covered much of western Utah and small parts of Idaho and Nevada Weber County has 'freebies IJH ' I area. It's the saltiest lake in the world. COUNCIL MEETINGS: Various government council and other meetings are held each week in your area. It costs nothing but your time to attend one of these public meeting and express your views or just listen to whats going on in your area government - from surface two-thir- d flows into the lake, from direct precipitation on one-thir- the surface of the lake, and a small amount from ground water flows. The average annual out flow during that period, all by evaporation, also was about 2.9 million acre feet. Shallow Because the lake is relatively shallow, with an average depth of 13 feet, there is a natural balancing mechanism between inflow and evaporation, Arnow said. He explained that during dry years, the surface level drops, causing a decrease in surface area of the water and consequently a drop in the volume of evaporation. Less inflow is required to raise the level of the lake a given amount. he said, In contrast, during wet years the surface level rises, causing an increase of surface area and an increase in the volume of evaporation. More inflow is then required to offset evaporation and raise the level of the lake a given amount. Arnow said the Southern Pacific railroad causeway built across the lake in 1257-5- 9 has separated the lake into two parts and caused differences in salinity and of surface levels between the southern and northern parts. The southern part has been as much as 2.45 feet higher (June 1975) than the freshwater inflow is into the southern part. The northern part receives most of its water in the form of brine that moves through the permeable causeway fill. The reporter, titled Water Budget and Water-Surfac- e Fluctuations, Great Salt Lake. Utah, by Ted Arnow, was released as USGS Open-Fil- e 2 and is Report 78-91- available for public from par DANGER was high this summer. A smoll fire on Antebpe Island ot Bulfob Point in Great Soh Lake Park FIRE burned this hillside. The central park in Ogden City has plenty of beautiful flowers and various other parks are located throughout the county. State Parks, like The Great Salt Lake and Willard Bay are also nice. Admission to those parks, however is $1 per vehicle. SCENIC DRIVE: One of the most scenic drives around is to drive up Farmington Canyon towards the Francis Peak Radar Towers. Then drive over to Bountiful Peak Bountiful. and down into Views atop the skyline dirt road are spectacular. All you need is car with good brakes. CHURCHES: different There are SO religious denominations in the Ogden area. It costs nothing to attend services. Con- tributions are voluntary. There are also probably various other free things todoin this area if you have the Imagination to invent them. Genealogy seminar slated Since Alex Haleys book, roots, there is phenomenal interest to discover ones own roots. Because of this, the Roy North Stake is making available, free to the public, a Seminar developed around the theme, Discover Your RooU. The general public is invited to The attend, LDS and Non-LDSeminar will be held at the Roy North Stake Center, 4900 South 2000 West, on Thursday, September 13th, beginning How-to-do- -It at 6 pm. Special guest for the Seminar will be Dr. Jeffrey Kahn Ph. D., former manager of the LDS Church Genealogical Library and Record Specialist for the Utah Genealogical Society. Dr. Kahn will keynote the Seminar at 7 p.m. and remain to answer questions. Exhibits and displays featuring genealogical research will open at 6 experts will be p.m. HOW on hand to answer questions and help those attending get started finding T in- the Water Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey, Room 8002, Federal Building, 125 South State St., Salt Lake City, Utah 84138, Telephone spection their family roots. The seminar will provide some what is needed to get started material free, available at the exhibits that evening. Pamphlets will also be available pertaining to how to use Mormon Genealogical Libraries. An exhibit and personnel from the Ogden Genealogical Library will demonstrate how easy the libraries are to use. LDS Genealogical Libraries are the largest and finest of their type in the world and open free to the public, alike. member and About one half of the usage of the libraries, world wide, is by persons. This is a seminar designed to fit the needs of the novice, as well as the advanced genealogist, particularly suited to enthusing both member and nonmember about geneological research. Discovering roots is interesting, fun and exciting. Plan now to attend. Find out how easy it is to trace your own roots. non-LD- S |