234 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES. 
floor and when most of its surface presented to the eye only the dull 
gray of the desert. To Brigham Young and the first Mormon set- 
tlers must be given credit for far-sighted vision and steadfastness of 
purpose in carrying out their plan of making this land, where the 
conditions seemed so unfavorable, a rich agricultural region. Who 
to-day, without capital other than brains and muscle, would care to 
undertake the task of making homes in such a place? 
In the vicinity of Provo the traveler may have many fine views of 
the towering wall of the Wasatch Range, deeply cut by canyons and 
crowned by some of the highest peaks in the region. A little to the 
north stands the monarch of them all, Timpanogos Peak (Pl. XC), 
whose barren rocky walls tower 11,057 feet above sea level, or nearly 
14 miles above Provo station. In this western country mountains 
of this height are not uncommon, and the traveler in his trip across 
Colorado has seen many that are higher, but seldom can one look 
from a plain at a wall-like mass such as Timpanogos, whose front is 
unbroken by cleft, ravine, or spur. The great mass is awe-inspiring, 
and whoever sees it can only wonder how it was uplifted and whether 
the movement was rapid enough to have been perceptible had man 
been there to witness the uplift. , 
At Provo the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad is paralleled 
on the left by one of the lines of the Los Angeles & Salt Lake Rail- 
road, which divides at Lynndyl; the main line keeps to the west 
through Stockton and comes into Salt Lake City from the west, and 
the other, a subordinate line, turns to the east through Nephi and 
Provo and enters Salt Lake City from the south. Provo is also con- 
nected with Salt Lake City by an interurban trolley line, which may 
be seen on the right on the outskirts of the town. 
The country between Provo and Utah Lake is not only well sup- 
plied with water from the mountain stream but also has many flow- 
ing wells, which are used extensively for irrigation. Many of these 
wells may be seen from the passing train not only about Provo but 
also as far west as Lehi. 
Two miles out of Provo the railroad crosses Provo River, which 
heads far to the east in the Wasatch Mountains and reaches the low 
plains and Utah Lake on the west through Provo Canyon. About 5 
miles from Provo the Los Angeles & ‘Salt Lake Railroad crosses the 
Denver & Rio Grande Western and continues on the east side to Salt 
Lake City. 
From Provo to Lehi the railroad takes a northwesterly course, 
following closely the shores of Utah Lake.*? At first the lake is @ 
“Utah Lake is 30 miles long and 6 | Peteetweet, and Hobble creeks. It is 
miles wide at its widest point. Its | not salt like many of the desert lakes 
supply of water is derived from the | that have no outlet, but its surplus 
mountain streams, American Fork, | waters flow through Jordan River into 
Spanish Fork, Provo River, and Salt, | Great Salt Lake. 
