Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XII.djvu/276

 264 NEVADA E., and terminates in Walker lake in Esmeralda co., ^fter a course of 45 m. The Truckee river flows from Lake Tahoe on the California border, W. of Carson City, in an irregular N. E. course of about 60 m., and empties into Pyramid lake. Carson river rises in the Sierra Nevada S. of Lake Tahoe, and flows N. E. to the Carson lakes in Churchill co. Keese river, in the central portion of the state, flows 1ST. toward the Hum- boldt, but usually sinks before reaching it. Quin's river and King's river are in the north- west. In the south is the Amargosa river, which disappears in Death valley, California. About a third of Lake Tahoe is in Nevada. It has a depth of 1,500 ft., is 21 m. long by 10 m. wide, and, though more than 6,000 ft. above the sea, never freezes, the temperature of the water varying little from 57 throughout the year. Pyramid lake, in the E. part of Washoe co., 33 m. long and 14 m. wide, and Walker lake, about 30 m. long and 6 or 7 m. wide, have considerable depth, and as well as Lake Tahoe contain pure water and abound in trout and other fish. The water of the rivers, par- ticularly of the mountain streams, is generally fresh and pure, and well stocked with fish. In some of the rivers, however, as the Humboldt, particularly in low stages of water, and in most of the smaller and shallower lakes, it is brackish and alkaline. Lower Carson lake, 12 m. in diameter, and Humboldt lake, somewhat smaller, are shallow, being in fact mere sinks, and are connected with each other at high stages of water by small streams or " sloughs." Other lakes or sinks are Ruby, Franklin, and Snow Water, in the E. part of the state, and Winnemucca lake, E. of Pyramid, which occa- sionally discharges into it its surplus waters. Many of the plains and valleys, being nearly level or slightly basin-shaped, and consisting of a stiff clay nearly impervious to water, are readily converted in the wet season into shal- low lakes, rarely more than a foot or two deep, which derive the name of "mud lakes" from their generally miry and impassable condition. Some of them exist only for a few days, others last until the dry season comes on, and a few continue throughout the year. When dry, their beds become very hard, and are often cov- ered with an incrustation of alkaline matter, in which condition they are known as alkaline flats. The most extensive mud lakes occur in the N. W., central, and S. portions of the state, where some of them cover more than 100 sq. m. Both cold and hot springs abound in many parts, some being in a state of ebullition, others quiet ; some pellucid and pure, others impreg- nated with a great variety of mineral sub- stances. In some places they occur singly, and in others in groups. They range in tempera- ture from 50 to 204, the latter being about the boiling point of water in this region ; in diameter, from 1 to 100 ft.; and in depth, from 3 or 4 to 150 ft. They are generally cir- cular in form. The mineral and warm springs are commonly situated on mounds formed of the silicious or calcareous particles brought up by their waters, sometimes covering several acres and 50 or 60 ft. high. Hot and cold springs are often found in close proximity to each other. The most common mineral sub- stances found in the waters are chlorides of sodium and magnesium, with soda in various forms, and a small percentage of lime, sulphur, silica, and iron. Some of these springs pos- sess curative properties. The most remarkable group of warm springs in the state is that known as the Steamboat springs in Washoe co., about 16 m. N. of Carson City and 4 m. E. of the Sierra Nevada. They occupy a rocky mound about ^ m. long and J m. wide, rising 50 or 60 ft. above the valley. The mound is rent longitudinally by a number of irregular fissures from six inches to a foot in width, through which at intervals of a few minutes volumes of hot water gurgle up, and after hiss- ing and foaming for a minute or two subside. From some of the fissures small jets of steam constantly escape, accompanied by gas. Be- sides the fissures there are pools filled with hot water, one of which, occupying a basin 3 ft. in diameter and 1 ft. high, rises and falls every six minutes. The temperature of these springs varies greatly, that of the hottest being 204. The air here smells of sulphur, and the ground in the vicinity is impregnated in places with that mineral. The springs emit a sound like that of a boiling caldron, and when first discovered are said to have given forth a puffing noise like that of a steamboat, whence their name. Some of the cold springs, particularly in the E. and central parts of the state, are scarcely less remarkable for their size, depth, and vol- ume of water discharged. The salt deposits of Nevada are extensive and important. The largest supply at present is obtained from the Sand Springs salt marsh, E. of the Carson sink in Churchill co., which contains a bed of crys- tallized salt of unknown thickness below sev- eral layers of clay. It is obtained only from the surface, which is damp and marshy, and in some places covered with a few inches of water, and is coated with a crystallized incrustation of salt two or three inches thick. When re- moved it immediately begins to reform, and a fresh supply may be gathered about once a month. About 40 m. N. of the Sand Springs marsh, in the same county, is a similar deposit, from which a considerable quantity is obtained. It consists of an incrustation of salt an inch or two thick, overlying a stratum of blue clay 18 in. thick, filled with cubical crystals of salt, and resting upon an unknown depth of pure salt. The most extensive salt field of the state is in Silver Peak district, Esmeralda co., cov- ering an area of 40 or 50 sq. m., much of which is coated with a thick incrustation of pure salt underlaid by seams of clay and a crystal- lized mass of salt of unknown thickness. In Smoky valley, Nye co., 2 m. from the line of Lander co. and 32 m. from Austin, is a salt marsh, upon which an incrustation of salt