Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XVI.djvu/252

 232 UTAH between 5 and 18 years of age, 14,603 males between 18 and 45, and 18,042 males 21 and upward, of whom 10,147 were citizens of the United States and 7,895 unnaturalized for- eigners. The number of families was 17,210, with an average of 5'04 persons to each ; of dwellings, 18,290, with an average of 4'75 to each. Of persons 10 years old and upward, 2,515 could not read and 7,363 could not write, of whom 3,334 were natives and 4,029 for- eigners. There were 29 blind persons, 18 deaf and dumb, 25 insane, and 23 idiotic. Of the 21,517 persons 10 years old and upward re- turned as engaged in all occupations, 10,428 were employed in agriculture, 5,317 in profes- sional and personal services, 1,665 in trade and transportation, and 4,107 in manufactures and mining. Utah is divided into two parts by the Wahsatch mountains, which cross it from N. E. to S. W. The W. part belongs to the Great Basin, its waters having no outlet to the ocean, while the E. part is drained by the Colorado river of the West. The surface is elevated; the valleys lie from 4,000 to 6,000 ft. above tho sea, and the mountains attain an altitude of from 6,000 to upward of 13,000 ft., the highest peaks rising above the line of perpetual snow. The region E. of the Wah- satch range has a greater number of streams (which, however, nearly all flow through deep and precipitous cafions and are not generally available for irrigation) and is more rugged and mountainous than that W. of it. The Uin- tah mountains extend E. from the Wahsatch range along the S. border of Wyoming. Tho Roan or Book mountains lie partly in Utah and partly in Colorado, between the Grand and White rivers. The Little mountains are W. of Green river, and extend N. W. and S. E. between White and Uintah rivers, joining the Wahsatch range. The Sierra Lasal is S. E. of Grand river near tho E. boundary, and S. of it are the Sierra Abajo and Orejas del Oso. Tho San Juan range and Sierra Panoche are near the S. boundary, the former W. and the latter E. of the Colorado river. The S. E. portion of the territory is less mountainous than the N. E., consisting of extensive undu- lating plateaus. W. of the Wahsatch range the country consists of a series of disconnected valleys, generally having a N. and S. direction, formed by ridges and mountain ranges, among which are the Thomas, Iron, Guyot, Goshoot, Pijarajabi, Oquirrh, and Raft River mountains. The Colorado river is formed in Piute co. by the junction of the Grand and Green, and flows S. W. into Arizona. Its chief tributary from the east is the San Juan, and from the west the Dirty Devil. Green river enters the ter- ritory at the N. E. corner from Wyoming, and has a general S. course to its junction with the Grand. Its chief tributaries are the White river from the east, and Brush creek, Ashley's fork, Uintah, White, and San Rafael rivers from the west. Grand river enters from Col- orado near the centre of the E. boundary, and flows S. W. to the Green. The S. W. corner of the territory is watered by the Rio Virgin, which flows S. W. and joins the Colorado in Nevada. W. of the Wahsatch mountains are several lakes, of which those with no outlet are impregnated with alkaline substances. The largest of these is Great Salt lake in the N. W. part of the territory. (See GREAT SALT LAKE.) S. of this lake, into which it flows through the river Jordan, 45 m. long, is Utah lake, a sheet of pure fresh water abounding in fish. It is triangular, has an area of about 130 sq. m., and is closely bordered with mountains. Its chief tributaries are Salt creek from the south, Spanish fork from the southeast, and the Provo or Timpanagos river from the north- east. The principal tributaries of Great Salt lake, besides the Jordan, are the Ogden and Weber rivers on the east, and Bear river, which empties into Bear River bay in the north- east. Bear river rises at the junction of the Wahsatch and Uintah mountains near the S. W. corner of Wyoming, flows N. into Idaho, then bends N. W. and S., and reentering Utah maintains a S. course to its mouth. Bear lake, partly in Idaho and partly in Utah, is con- nected with it. Sevier river has its sources in the S. part of the territory, flows N. for about 150 m., receiving several tributaries from the east, the most important of which is tho San Pete, then bends S. W. and flows about 50 m. further into Sevier lake. The latter is 25 by 10 m. in greatest extent, about 100 m. S. S. W. of Great Salt lake. Beaver lake, S. E. of Sevier lake, receives the waters of Bea- ver river. Among other small lakes in this region are Little Salt lake and Fish lake ; the latter contains fresh water, and is connected with Sevior river. Tho principal geological formations are the cretaceous, triassic and Jurassic, tertiary, eozoic, alluvial, and Cam- brian and Silurian. Tho cretaceous and trias- sic prevail in the southeast; the Wahsatch and Uintah mountains are cretaceous, triassic, and Cambrian; the extensive desert W. and S. W. of Great Salt lake is alluvial ; while the rest of the territory is mostly tertiary. In the San Pete valley, 90 m. S. of Salt Lake City, are extensive deposits of coal. This is a lignite of superior quality and probably of cretaceous age. The coke from it, though inferior to that of the Pittsburgh coals, can be used in lead-smelt- ing furnaces. Valuable deposits of the pre- cious metals occur in the two mountain ranges between which the Jordan flows, the Wah- satch on the east and the Oquirrh on the west. These ranges are traversed by canons, usually narrow and precipitous, opening into the Jor- dan valley, and affording access to the mining districts. The Utah Southern railroad, with several narrow-gauge branches, furnishes trans- portation to the smelting works in the valley and to Salt Lake City and Ogden. Lead ores, carrying silver, were discovered by Mormons in Beaver county in 1858, and large quantities of lead were produced, but the presence of