THE GREAT SALT LAKE BASIN. 563 
turing Society, states that lands which were formerly rejected on this 
aceount are now being rapidly appropriated for farms. Wecannot give the 
exact number of acres that have been irrigated in this valley, as the 
latest returns are only up to 1867, but there are probably twenty thou- 
sand to twenty-five thousand acres, exclusive of the area that may be 
reached by the Jordan canal. . 
The Tooele Valley is about sixteen miles long and ten miles wide, and 
is probably the most fertile spot in the Territory. The small streams 
that run through it afford sufficient water to irrigate the greater part of 
its area, and therefore its agricultural lands may be estimated at one 
hundred and sixty square miles, the full extent of the valley surface. 
The soil appears to be peculiarly adapted to the growth of the cereals, it 
being not uncommon to cut sixty to seventy bushels of oats from an 
acre, and last year one field of ninety acres averaged sixty bushels to | 
the acre. It is already pretty well occupied, having one woolen manu- 
factory and five grist-mills, and fourteen to fifteen thousand acres irri- 
ated. 
3 Lone Rock, or Spring Valley, which lies at the southwest corner of 
Salt Lake, does not appear to have attracted much attention, and is not 
so well known as others in the region, probably on account of its lecal- 
ity. It is about twenty miles long and eight to ten miles wide, and, 
with the exception of its northern end, is well covered with grass, af- 
fording excellent grazing fields. A small area can be irrigated and 
brought under cultivation around the southwest margin, but the central 
portion is watered principally by springs, which render the surface 
marshy in places. Ditching through the marshy parts would doubtless 
draw off sufficient water to leave the ground firm and suitable for graz- 
ing, and perhaps for culture. ‘The northern portion, as it approaches 
the lake assumes a more barren appearance, and in some places is frosted 
over with saline incrustations, while the southern end is much like 
Tintie Valley. 
UTAH LAKE VALLEY. 
‘Passing southward over the ridge at the upper end of the Jordan 
Valley, we enter the Utah Lake Basin. The principal portion of the 
arable lands of this basin, or valley, stretch along the eastern shore of 
the lake, and back from its margin to the foot of the mountains, which 
here descend abruptly to the plains. The length of this semicircular belt, 
from the exit of the Jordan to Santaguin, is about fifty miles, with an 
average width of six miles. ‘This entire area of three hundred square 
- Iniles can be irrigated, the numerous streams that rush down from the 
mountain cafons affording sufficient water not only for the lower bot- 
toms, but also for the broad, elevated plateau that extends from Battle 
Creek to Proyo River. This plateau was supposed to be beyond the 
reach ofany of these streams, and was considered uncultivable; butalittle 
energy has recently shown to the contrary. A canal, commencing some 
distance up Provo Caiion, has been constructed along the steep mountain 
slopes, and now brings the water from Provo River to the highest point 
of this elevated plain. In the fall of 1870 the secondary ditches were 
filled with water, spreading here and there large pools over the dry 
plains. Although but one or two fields were in cultivation at that time, 
farms were being marked off and preparations made for cultivating the 
soil. It is probable that this rejected plat will prove the best wheat- 
growing tract in the valley of Utah Lake, and that ere long it will be 
dotted over with farm-houses and fields of golden grain. 
The following is a list of the streams that run down from the mountain 
and .cross .this shore strip, given -in the order in which they come, 
