1^16 POOLE— ON THE GRExiT AMERICAN DESERT. 



just probable that when the highest benches ah)ng the foot hills 

 were formed, they acted as a dam at the mouth of the canon, on 

 the free discharge of the mountain torrent before the general sub- 

 sidence began, and the old bed became choked with the great 

 boulders which now fill its course. 



It is interesting to note that nowhere in all the region of the 

 great interior basin ar3 there any outlets for the drainage of the 

 country. AH the moisture which falls is carried off by evaporation. 

 It is supposed by some that there v/as an outlet for the waters of 

 the ancient lake by the Snake River Pass into the channel of the 

 Columbia River, which flows through Oregon into the Pacific. 

 Whatever may have been the destination of the water in old times, 

 the Great Salt Lake is now the receptacle of all the drainage of the 

 North Eastern portion, while other smaller lakes or sinks terminate 

 the existence of many torrents that rush impetuously and in great 

 volume from the mountain gorges in other sections of the country. 

 Generally these mountain streams flow but a short distance after 

 leaving the rocky bed of the canon before they are totally a,bsorbed 

 in the deep alluvium of the plains. Some, however, do flow into 

 perennial lakes that are either alkaline or saline ; but to sink in a 

 morass is the general destiny of a mountain stream. 



Springs also, which in certain districts are numerous, and often of 

 great volume, give rise to streams that originate only to share the 

 common fate, and be lost in their immediate neighborhood. Some- 

 times these springs burst up in the plain several miles away from 

 the base of the mountains. Those of pure water frequently swarm 

 with fish — mountain trout and suckers. From some the water 

 flows hot, and charged with sulphuretted hydrogen ; and from 

 others cold, and contaminated by contact with the alkaline soil 

 through which they rise. 



The scarcity of water in this region contrasts strongly with the 

 numerous brooks and rivers we find intersectino: this Province in all 

 directions. Water there is a marketable commodity, and is sold 

 either by the inch or hour. It is an object of first consideration to 

 the freighter slowly journeying over the country, to the farmer 

 striving to make a moderate income from the natural fertility of the 



