210 POOLE ON THE GREAT AMERICAN DESERT. 



waters of the lake, and scour its shores, that a remarkably well 

 defined beach is most plainly visible. Of so recent a formation 

 does it appear to be, when seen from a distance, that it forcibly 

 reminds the Nova Scotian of the wide beaches and broad spread 

 detritus that surround the islets and headlands of the Bay of 

 Fundy. This desert and its neighbourhood greatly interested me, 

 on account of its peculiar physical characteristics and distinctive 

 features. 



From Salt Lake City the most direct trail west skirts the south- 

 ern margin of the lake, passing close by some hot sulphur springs 

 that bubble up in the fine loomy mire of its margin, by the foot of 

 the Oquirrh Mountain range, where the waters of the lake wash the 

 only stretch of beach to be met with on its southern and eastern 

 boundaries, then along a natural causeway which curves across the 

 flats of Tooele valley and is evidently the remains of a former beach 

 ridge, similar in 'character to the "boar's back" of Cumberland 

 county, only that it is composed of finer materials — gravel and 

 sand. At the head of the valley ten miles distant, at an elevation 

 of 600 feet above the lake, a very much heavier bar exists entire, 

 which damming back the natural drainage of Rush valley forms 

 Stockton Lake, a lake of fresh water. The trail then skirting the 

 promontory of the Onaqui Mountains, turns south up Skull Valley 

 and leads by a gradual ascent to the divide on the mountain range 

 which overlooks the Great American Desert. From this point at an 

 altitude of 1800 feet above the plain, I obtained a view of exquisite 

 grandeur. At the foot of the steep descent lay the desert, spread- 

 ing far and wide, with patches of snow on its surface, reflecting, 

 like pools of water, the rays of the setting sun. Immediately in 

 front and apparently at no great distance, though nearly eighteen 

 miles off, the Granite Mountain, the camping ground for the night, 

 lay alone in the desert. Beyond it were the low-lying ranges which 

 border the desert on the west, and further on the Mountains of 

 Nevada. To the right, more than one hundred miles away, the 

 high peaks of Southern Idaho were visible, beyond the northern 

 boundary. But the mind, bewildered by the vast extent of the 

 vista, could hardly direct the attention to localize the unfamiliar 



