BULLETIN" 117, IT. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
DESCRIPTION OF THE REGION. 
The region studied is the Utah Lake Valley in the vicinity of Provo, 
Springville, Spanish Fork, Payson, and Lehi. (See fig. 1.) In gen- 
eral there are two prominent physiographic features: (1) An area of 
sloping land adjacent to the base of the mountains and usually above 
the present systems of irrigation and (2) a larger and more nearly 
level area farther removed from the mountains and generally under 
irrigation. 
The first area consists chiefly of coarse material, sand, gravel, 
stones, and bowlders, and the surface is usually rough and uneven. 
It is derived chiefly from the adjacent mountains and has been brought 
into the valley by inflowing 
streams and rains. These 
higher areas are commonly 
called bench lands. Many 
orchards have been planted 
on them, for the reason 
that the location renders 
the fruit less liable to frost 
injury because of better air 
drainage (fig. 2). The soil 
is very porous in character 
and seemingly not as rich 
as that at the lower levels. 
The second area is made 
of the finer sediments de- 
posited by ancient Lake 
Bonneville, and since its 
subsidence these sediments 
have been considerably 
modified by inflowing 
streams and weathering. 
This area occupies the lower 
levels extending down to 
the shore of Utah Lake, which forms its western boundary. Utah 
Lake is a shallow body of fresh water having an outlet through 
the Jordan River into the Great Salt Lake. Much of this lower 
type of land is used only for pasture, the water table being within 
a few feet of the surface. Where saturated for any great length of 
time, the alkaline conditions become so bad that cultivated crops 
are no longer possible. Sugar beets constitute the important crop 
on these lower and heavier soils. 
SOILS OF THE REGION. 
Throughout the entire region more or less alkali is found. Most of 
this occurs on the lower levels. The higher lands are of a porous 
Fig. 1. 
-Sketch map of the State of Utah, showing the loca- 
tion of the region studied near Utah Lake. 
