As early as 1689 mention was made of this remarkable lake, which was somewhat indefinitely located and described by Baron La Houtan, “lord- lieutenant of the French colony at Placentia, in New Foundland,” in a work which was first published in the English language in 1735. But though known at such an early day, it was not until 1849 that a survey of the lake was made by Howard Stansbury, captain of topographical engineers, U. S. A., though General John C. Fremont circumnavigated it in 1844, giving names to its several islands and prominent points. The settlement of Mormons in the Salt Lake Valley, near the shores of the lake, served to bring the Dead Sea of America into prominence, and to this fact was largely due the action of the Government in ordering a survey of the great basin to be made. The lake was found to be nearly eighty miles long by fifty broad, and to contain such a quantity of salt, sulphates of silver, chlorides of magnesium, potash and alum, that its solid contents were about four times greater than that of ocean water, while its specific gravity almost equalled that of the Dead Sea. Having no outlet the lake has a fluctuating level, dependent upon the amount of inflowing water and solar evaporation, which varies each season, but though theoretically the lake ought to be diminishing, the fact remains that it is rather increasing, showing marked encroachment on the eastern shores, while on the west there is an apparent recession of its waters, a peculiarity not easily explained. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [Illustration: UTALINE, OR LINE OF DIVISION BETWEEN UTAH AND COLORADO.—It was a poetic as well as an artistic idea that led to the marking of the division line between Utah and Colorado upon the everlasting hills. It is a place of interest to all tourists, who never fail to comment upon it and admire the execution of the idea as the trains pass by. A path has been worn on the rocky side of the hills by the numerous tourists who have personally visited the place, and in the photograph we see an enthusiastic traveler returning to the waiting train after satisfying his curiosity. ] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [Illustration: THE TEMPLE, SALT LAKE CITY.]