Water of the Bead Sea. 323 



* Utah outlet,' the channel through which the Utah Lake empties its 

 waters into the Salt Lake. 



" The Great Salt Lake has never been accurately surveyed. It 

 is situated between 40° and 42° of north latitude, and between 36" 

 and 36° of longitude west from Washington. Its length is variously 

 stated by the hunters and trappers who have travelled along its 

 shores, at from 150 to 180 miles ; but in this estimate, the nume- 

 rous large bays and other irregularities are included. Its extreme 

 length in a straight line is probably 100 miles, and its extreme 

 breadth between forty and sixty miles. At this season the shore, 

 as we pass along it, is white, with a crust of the muriate and car- 

 bonate of soda combined. The muriate of soda predominates, but 

 the alkali comprised with it is sufficient to render the salt bitter, and 

 unfit for use in its natural state. When the wind blows from the 

 lake, the stench arising frovfi the stagnant water next to the shore 

 is highly offensive to the smell. The surface of the lake does not 

 present that rippling and sparkling appearance when the sudden 

 breeze passes over it, so frequently seen on fresh-water lakes, and on 

 the ocean. The waters undoubtedly are thoroughly saturated with 

 saline matter, and hence, from this weight, when they move at all, 

 it is with a lazy and sluggish undulatory motion. 



* * * ' * * * 



" The sunset scene this evening was splendid. The surface of 

 the lake appeared like a sheet of fire, varying in tint from, a crim- 

 son to a pale scarlet. This fiame-like ocean was bordered, as far 

 as we could see to the north and south of us, with a field of salt, 

 presenting all the appearance of freshly fallen snow.''^ 



" Proceeding about two miles, and turning the point of the 

 mountain, we came to seven warm springs, so strongly impregnated 

 with sulphur, as to have left a deposit of this mineral in some places 

 several feet in depth. These springs gush out near the foot of a 

 high precipice composed of conglomerate rock and a bluish sandstone. 

 The precipice seems to have been uplifted by some subterraneous 

 convulsion. The temperature of the water in the basins was about 

 90°. The water of most of them was bitter and nauseous." 



The attentive reader cannot fail to discover, in this ac- 

 count of the Great Salt Lake many points in which it entirely 

 agrees with the Dead Sea ; indeed several passages of Mr 

 Bryanf's description might be substituted for those of Mr 

 Warburton or Mr Kinglake, without in the least altering the 

 meaning of these authors, when detailing what they conceived 

 to be the most striking peculiarities of the Dead Sea. 



The Rev. Dr Robinson and Mr Warburton dwell empha- 

 tically on the non-volcanic nature of any portion of the 

 shores of the Dead Sea ; and the former quotes Von Buck, 



