It will be observed that in these estimates the available water above Utah Lake is regarded as insufficient for the available land, while below the lake there is a superabundance of water, and yet the lower stream is only a continuation of the upper streams. The difference arises from the function of the lake as a reservoir. Below the reservoir the whole of the annual supply can be controlled, but above it I have assumed that irrigation will merely make use for the irrigating season of the quantity which flows at the critical period. If artificial reservoirs can be constructed so as to store water for use in Utah Valley, a greater area can be cultivated. With adequate storage facilities the streams tributary to the lake can irrigate in Kamas Prairie 28 miles; in Provo Valley and vicinity 40 miles; in Thistle Valley 6 miles; on Salt Creek 16 miles, and in Utah Valley 225 miles, making a total of 315 miles; and there will still escape to the Jordan enough water to serve all the land assigned to that stream. If such storage is practicable, the estimate tabulated above should show 552 instead of 473 miles of cultivable land. The region most likely to afford storage facilities lies in the mountains where the waters rise. I did not visit it, and until it has been examined I shall not venture to increase the estimate.
The following table gives a summary for the Great Salt Lake river system:
| Districts. | Areas, in square miles. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whole district. | Under cultivation in 1877. | To be reclaimed in the future. | Total cultivable. | |
| Bear River | 3,620 | 89.3 | 462.7 | 552.0 |
| Weber River | 2,450 | 115.2 | 137.8 | 253.0 |
| Jordan River | 4,010 | 192.2 | 280.8 | 473.0 |
| Total | 10,080 | 396.7 | 881.3 | 1,278.0 |
| Ratios | 1,000 | .039 | .088 | .127 |
This region includes an eighth part of the land area of the Territory, and more than one-half the agricultural land. It is the richest section of Utah. Nearly one-third of its available land is already in use. The cost of the canals by which its cultivated lands have been furnished with water has been about $2,000,000. To complete its system of irrigation will probably cost $5,000,000 more.
IRRIGATION BY SMALL STREAMS.
Through the remainder of the drainage basin of Great Salt Lake there are no large bodies of farming land. At wide intervals are small tracts, dependent on springs and small creeks, and the available land is in nearly every case greatly in excess of the available water. A few exceptional spots are cultivated without irrigation, but so far as they have been discovered they are so situated as to be moistened from beneath. No crops have been raised on dry bench lands.
The principal facts are gathered in the following table:
| Localities. | No. of distinct tracts. | Acres in cultivation in 1877. | Acres cultivable. | Cultivable acres not included in existing surveys. | Remarks. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cedar Fort | 1 | 800 | 1,000 | — | With aid of reservoirs. |
| Fairfield | 1 | 800 | 900 | — | |
| Vernon Creek | 1 | 900 | 1,200 | — | With aid of reservoirs. |
| Saint Johns | 1 | 700 | 700 | — | |
| East Cañon Creek, Rush Valley | 1 | 500 | 900 | — | |
| Stockton | 1 | 200 | 500 | — | |
| Skull Valley | 11 | 1,000 | 2,500 | (?) | With aid of reservoirs; visited in part only. |
| Government Creek | 1 | 300 | 300 | — | Not visited. |
| Willow Spring, township 10 south, range 17 west | 1 | 250 | 250 | — | Do. |
| Redding Spring | 1 | 20 | 50 | — | |
| Dodoquibe Spring | 1 | — | 50 | — | Not visited. |
| Deep Creek, township 9 south, range 19 west | 1 | 500 | 1,000 | — | With aid of reservoirs. |
| Pilot Peak | 1 | — | 200 | 200 | Not visited. |
| Grouse Valley | 6 | 500 | 1,500 | — | With aid of reservoirs. |
| Owl Spring | 1 | — | 10 | 10 | |
| Rosebud Creek | 1 | 150 | 400 | — | With aid of reservoirs. |
| Muddy Creek, township 10 north, range 15 west | 1 | 300 | 300 | 300 | |
| Park Valley | 6 | 700 | 2,300 | — | With aid of reservoirs. |
| Widow Spring | 1 | — | 20 | 20 | Not visited. |
| Indian Creek, township 13 north, range 12 west | 1 | — | 100 | 100 | With aid of reservoirs. |
| East base Clear Creek Mountains | 6 | 5 | 150 | 100 | Do. |
| Cazure Creek | 1 | — | 200 | 200 | Not visited. |
| Clear Creek, township 15 north, range 12 west | 1 | 80 | 200 | 200 | |
| Junction Creek | 1 | — | 500 | 500 | Not visited. |
| Goose Creek | 2 | — | 200 | 200 | Do. |
| Pilot Spring | 1 | — | 15 | — | |
| Deseret Creek (or Deep Creek) | 1 | 300 | 3,000 | — | With aid of reservoirs. |
| Crystal Springs, township 14 north, range 7 west | 1 | 60 | 100 | 100 | Do. |
| Antelope Spring, township 9 north, range 6 west | 1 | 30 | 30 | 30 | Not visited. |
| Hanzel Spring | 1 | 15 | 15 | 15 | |
| Promontory, east base | 1 | 300 | 600 | 600 | The greater part is not irrigated. |
| Blue Creek | 1 | — | 1,500 | — | |
| Brackish Springs near Blue Creek | 1 | 200 | 1,000 | — | |
| Antelope Island | 1 | — | 50 | 50 | Not visited. |
| Total | 60 | 8,610 | 21,740 | 1,625 | |
| Total in square miles | — | 13.5 | 33.9 | 2.5 |
Nineteen tracts have not yet been surveyed by the land office.
The total area of the district is 13,370 square miles, of which one-tenth of one per cent. is cultivated, and one-fourth of one per cent. may be cultivated.