150 



of Great Salt Lake is 10 feet higher than it was in 1803. There has been little gain, 

 however, during the last ten years. It is a peculiarity of climate in Utah, as in some 

 other i^ortions of the arid region, that there is a preponderance of rain-fall in the 

 spring, when it is most needed. 



With respect to timber Utah is much like Colorado, combining a treeless plain with 

 timbered mountain ridges on one side of the Territory. The valleys or plains are 

 destitute of forest growth, and in early times willow brush was resorted, to for fenc- 

 ing, adobe bricks for building, and sage brush for fuel. The valuable timber is found 

 in the canyons and coves, the mountain sides having mostly only a scrubby growth 

 of comparatively little account. The Uintah Eange, the eastern flank of the Wah- 

 satch, with San Pete and San Pitch ranges, are generally more or less wooded with 

 conifers. The western flank of the Wahsatch Mountains has been nearly stripx)ed 

 of what good timber it may have had, and from that range westward to Nevada it 

 may be said that the country is destitute of timber. In the southern and extreme 

 southeastern portions of the Territory there is a thin covering of forests on the mount- 

 ain ranges, but of an inferior character. Of the timber of Utah it may be said that 

 the best trees furnish lumber of an inferior quality only. The forests are composed 

 chiefly of Red Cedar, Red or Douglas Fir, Spruce, with occasional Bull Pine (P.pon- 

 derosa), and White Pine (Pinus fexilis). More than half of the forest growth of the 

 Wahsatch Range is composed of this last Pine, of inferior quality. On the Oquirrh 

 the trees are chiefly Douglas Fir. A scrubby growth of Red Cedar and here and 

 there Piiion Pine cover the larger part of the mountain sides in the south and west. 

 They are of little value except for posts, ties, and fuel. For lumber of good quality 

 Utah is almost entirely dependent upon supplies from the Pacific slope and Eastern 

 States, yet the total cut of native timber in Summit and Wahsatch Counties has 

 been estimated at not less than 2,000,000 feet of lumber, 300,000 cubic feet of round 

 mine timber, and 12,000 cords of fuel and fencing, and this is claimed to represent 

 only 20 per cent, of the cut in the Territory. 



On the whole, Utah ranks very low among our States and Territories in respect to 

 woodlands, having only 7.6 per cent, of her area which can be called forest. One who 

 had occasion to make a special investigation of the resources of this Territory, and 

 supposed to be a competent observer, says : '•' It may be stated that Utah seemed very 

 generally lacking in serviceable material for fencing or building. The country set- 

 tled for thirty years has drawn upon the near supply of standing timber, so that now 

 lumber is obtained by great exertion and expense in most of the valley settlements. 

 The labor and expense of fencing caused Brigham Young to enact the no-fence law, 

 which enabled the destitute settlers to break ground, irrigate, and raise grain with- 

 out the provision of any barrier against stock inroads, the cattleman being held re- 

 sponsible for the damages of his herd. This law in itself is a commentary on the 

 scarcity of timber in Utah." 



■ Iron ores occur all over the Territory in great variety. The most important de- 

 posits known are in Iron County, about 300 miles south of Salt Lake. The ore belt 

 is 15 or 20 miles long and 3 or 4 miles wide. The ore is magnetite and hematite. 

 Gold, silver, copper, lead, and other metals also abound in the Territory, and the pro- 

 duction of the mines is annually increasing. The reported value of the gold, silver, 

 copper, and lead product for the year 1886 is $7,631,729. 



An inexhaustible supply of salt is obtained from the Great Salt Lake, which is con- 

 stantly fed by salt springs, which abound in the northern part of the Territory and 

 discharge into the lake. 



Stock raising is becoming an important industry in Utah. Much land unfitted for 

 agriculture is adapted for grazing purposes, and the mountain slopes are covered with 

 nutritious grasses. Cache Valley, the valley of Green River, and other sheltered 

 situations, ofler superior advantages for sheep husbandry. 



If Utah is deficient in timber it abounds in building stones of good quality and 

 great variety and very accessible. Among the best known are the granite, from the 



