414 



liave had an independent outlet into the Dry Lake Basin, the valley of 

 which is seventy feet below the present ocean-level, and situated north 

 of east of San Diego. From here it may have emptied into the head of 

 the Gulf of California, or turned westward and sought the Pacific Ocean 

 at or somewhere near the bay of San Diego. 



Theee suggestions made by practical railroad-engineers are offered 

 for the consideration of geologists. The writer has not observed person- 

 ally any facts bearing on the subject. Granting, however, that the lake 

 was thus drained, and in view of the fact that it is one of the few lakes 

 in the West that has at present no outlet, it seems reasonable to suppose 

 that the lake was a fresh-water inland sea while above this level, and 

 that after it ceased to have an outlet the waters decreased and became 

 salt partly through the agency of evaporation and the probable supply 

 of saline matter from salt-springs around the border of the lake, and 

 possibly from salt-deposits in the surrounding rocks and soil. 



From these facts, it is not difficult to understand why the Great Salt 

 Lake '^became a dead sea, or gigantic brine-pool, while Utah Lake, with 

 an outlet, the Jordan Eiver, remains a fresh-water lake. I was unable 

 to ascertain the exact height above the present level of the lake of this 

 ancient river-bed, but was told it was one hundred feet or over. 



Q 



