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Show 6 UNDERGROUND WATER IN VALLEYS OF UTAH. Oquirrh Mountains, west of Jordan River, are 30 miles long, 5 to 10 miles wide, and their summits rise to elevations of about 10,000 feej,. The Lake Mountains, west of Utah Lake, are about 15 miles long, 5 miles wide, and 3,000 feet above the lake. They are connected by low hills with the Oquirrh Mountains on the north and with the East Tintic Mountains on the south. The East Tintic Mountains border Utah Lake Valley on the southwest, rising above it about 3,000 feet. A spur from these mountains extends northeastward, constituting the southern border of Utah Lake Valley, and almost unites with the Wasatch Range. The steep western face of the W'asatch Mountains rises about 7,000 feet abruptly above the broad valley and constitutes the dominant topographic feature of the region. To the east the range slopes away gradually in a series of broad ridges and narrow valleys to the mountainous plateau region. The western scarp is deeply dissected by canyons, through which the entire Wasatch drainage flows to Great Salt Lake, the chief streams being Bear, Weber, and Jordan rivers. Utah Lake is a body of shallow water about 21 miles long and 7 miles wide ( PI. I l l , A), covering a maximum area of 93,000 acres. Its depth over much of its extent is only 8 feet or less, and the maximum depth in the main body of the lake is about 13 feet. In its northwestern part, however, recent soundings have revealed the presence of several deep holes, due to springs ( p. 49). The shore line of the lake is subject to considerable variation, owing to the changing relations of evaporation, precipitation, and inflow, and the margins are characteristically swampy. Two large, shallow bays extend eastward and southward from the main body of the lake, one south of Provo and the other north of Goshen. West of the lake the Pelican Hills approach close to the shore, and the region is barren, but on the north, east, and south the land rises gently toward the base of the mountains and is dotted with flourishing settlements which are supported by irrigation. The principal streams tributary to Utah Lake, beginning at the north and proceeding southward, are: Dry, American Fork, Battle, and Grove creeks, Provo River, Hobble Creek, Spanish Fork, and Peteeneet, Santaquin, and Currant creeks. Of these, Provo River is the largest, being approximately 70 miles long and having a drainage area of 640 square miles. It rises in the Uinta Mountains near the sources of Weber, Bear, and Du Chesne rivers, flows westward and southward through Kamas and Provo valleys, and passes through the Wasatch Mountains in a deep canyon. On entering Utah Lake Valley Provo River flows almost due south for 5 miles, skirting the great Provo delta, and thence westward, entering Utah Lake about 3 miles west of Provo. Spanish Fork has a watershed about equal to that of Provo River, but not so great a discharge. It rises near Soldier Summit, and, after receiving two main tributaries, North and Thistle creeks, flows in a canyon through the main ridge of the Wasatch Mountains and enters Utah La. ke Valley at the head of the large embayment* that extends between Payson and Springville. Salt Creek rises in the southern Wasatch Mountains, on the eastern slope of Mount Nebo, and, after crossing the border of the plateau region, emerges into the broad valley at the southwestern base of the Wasatch Mountains where, in summer, it ceases to flow at the surface. The drainage way continues, in a narrow canyon, through Long Ridge which partially connects the East Tintic and the Wasatch mountains, and enters the southern end of Utah Lake in Goshen Valley, where the stream, which is fed largely by seepage, is known as Currant Creek. The other tributaries of Utah Lake are relatively small. The chief ones rise in the Wasatch Mountains and occupy canyons in their mountain courses, where they maintain perennial flows. At the mouths of the canyons canals divert the water and distribute it over the valley, so that in the irrigation season practically all of the available supply is thus used and the beds of the streams in Utah Lake Valley are commonly dry; but in the late spring and early summer, during the period of melting snow, large volumes are discharged directly into the lake. Jordan River heads at the northern end of Utah Lake and flows northward in a meandering course of about 40 miles to Great Salt Lake. For the first 5 miles the river flows slug- |
