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Denver Area
Denver to Pueblo
Colorado Springs Area
Royal Gorge Route
Marshall Pass Area
Gunnison River
Uncompahgre River
Tennessee Pass Area
Eagle River
Colorado River
Grand Jct.- Green Riv.
Green Riv.- Provo
Provo- Salt Lake
USGS History
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Provo to Salt Lake City
(U.S.G.S. Bulletin 707, 1922)
Provo
In a short distance [from Springville]
the railroad descends to the lower plain, which it follows to the town of Provo. The shore line in this
vicinity (see sheet 10) is remarkably well preserved
and has been named the Provo shore, line. At Provo a branch line of the railroad turns
directly through the town and the well-irrigated f arms to the north and ascends Provo
Canyon, which cuts across the Wasatch Range. The canyon winds about the base of Timpanogos
Peak, on the north, and here many views of this beautiful peak may be obtained. (See Pl. XC.)
The branch line is 26 miles long and terminates at the Mormon town of Heber, which is
beautifully situated in one of the level mountain valleys at an elevation of 5,559 feet
above the sea.
Provo, one of the wealthiest of the Mormon towns, has large manufacturing industries. The
following description of the town is given by Stanley Wood:
This pretty little city belongs to the best type of Mormon towns, and a description
will serve to give the reader a good idea of the characteristics of all the towns built by
the Mormons. The dwellings as a rule are comfortable but not imposing in appearance. Many
of them are constructed of adobe or sundried bricks, and all are situated in lots of
generous proportions and surrounded by ornamental and fruit trees. Water for irrigating
purposes flows down each side of the streets, and shade trees in abundance and of
luxuriant growth render the walks cool and inviting. Gardens filled with fruit, flowers,
and vegetables are the rule, and a quiet, peaceful, industrious, semirural life is the
good fortune of the residents here. Provo River furnishes excellent water power while
inexhaustible supplies of artesian water are to be found at a depth of from 40 to 200
feet. The city has, in fact, the finest water supply in any section of Utah. Provo has an
excellent public-school system and is the seat of the Brigham Young Academy, which was
amply endowed by the first president of the Mormon Church, from whom the school takes its
name. Its churches and public buildings. including an opera house, are a credit to its
people, who are of a literary taste and inclined to liberality of thought.
One who is not familiar with the development of the Salt Lake Valley can hardly realize
that it was first settled little more than 70 years ago, when there were no green spots in
the valley except where the mountain streams first spread their waters out upon the valley
floor and when most of its surface presented to the eye only the dull gray of the desert.
To Brigham Young and the first Mormon settlers must be given credit for far-sighted vision
and steadfastness of purpose in carrying out their plan of making this land, where the
conditions seemed so unfavorable, a rich agricultural region. Who to-day, without capital
other than brains and muscle, would care to undertake the task of making homes in such a
place?
In the vicinity of Provo the traveler may have many fine views of the towering wall of the
Wasatch Range, deeply cut by canyons and crowned by some of the highest peaks in the
region. A little to the north stands the monarch of them all, Timpanogos Peak, whose
barren rocky walls tower 11,057 feet above sea level, or nearly 11 miles above Provo
station. In this western country mountains of this height are not uncommon, and the
traveler in his trip across Colorado has seen many that are higher, but seldom can one
look from a plain at a wall-like mass such as Timpanogos, whose front is unbroken by
cleft, ravine, or spur. The great mass is awe-inspiring, and whoever sees it can only
wonder how it was uplifted and whether the movement was rapid enough to have, been
perceptible had man been there to witness the uplift.
At Provo the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad is paralleled on the left by one of
the lines of the Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad, which divides at Lynndyl; the main
line keeps to the west through Stockton and comes into Salt Lake City from the west, and
the other, a subordinate line, turns to the east through Nephi and Provo and enters Salt
Lake City from the south. Provo is also connected with Salt Lake City by an interurban
trolley line, which may be seen on the right on the outskirts of the town.
The country between Provo and Utah Lake is not only well supplied with water from the
mountain stream but also has many flowing wells, which are used extensively for
irrigation. Many of these wells may be seen from the passing train not only about Provo
but also as far west as Lehi.
Two miles out of Provo the railroad crosses Provo River, which heads far to the east in
the Wasatch Mountains and reaches the low plains and Utah Lake on the west through Provo
Canyon. About 5 miles from Provo the Los Angeles & I ' Salt Lake Railroad crosses the
Denver & Rio Grande Western and continues on the east side to Salt Lake City.
Lehi
From Provo to Lehi the railroad takes a northwesterly course, following closely the
shores of Utah Lake. At first the lake is a mile distant, but farther to the northwest the
railroad approaches more and more closely, until at the siding of Geneva the waters come
to the right of way. The lake is very shallow, and consequently bathers can go out a long
distance without danger of entering water beyond their depth.
From Provo to Lehi the railroad passes through some of the best farming land in the
valley, and orchards and fields of grain, alfalfa, and sugar beets are on every hand.
After passing the point of the lake the next object of interest is the great sugar mill on
the right in the suburbs of Lehi. Not only are the beets crushed and the syrup extracted
here but much syrup is refined that is produced at other plants and pumped here through
long pipe lines. The town abounds in shade and fruit trees, which give it a very pleasing
and restful appearance, especially when seen on a hot midsummer day.
East of Lehi the foot of the mountain is 5 or 6 miles from the railroad, but north of the
town the mountain bends suddenly to the west and a long spur is thrust out into the middle
of the valley. This long spur on the west face of the Wasatch Range is matched by an
equally long, low spur which projects eastward from the Oquirrh Range, nearly cutting off
the valley of Jordan River. These projecting points are merely remnants of a lava flow
(andesite) that long ago, in Tertiary time, probably filled the valley from the base of
one range to the base of the other. This flow may indeed have originally dammed Jordan
River, forming a large lake, but if so the river later succeeded in cutting through the
barrier a channel that is now known as "The Narrows." During the existence of
Lake Bonneville these barriers of lava caused the currents in the lake to set in certain
directions, and large quantities of gravel and sand were deposited around and over them in
the form of bars or beaches. These terraces, as they appear from the northwest, are shown
in the following figure.
Just before reaching Mesa siding (milepost 716) the Denver & Rio Grande Western
crosses first the interurban trolley line, which spans Jordan River and proceeds northward
along the west side of that stream, and second a branch of the Los Angeles & Salt Lake
Railroad , which connects the line running down Salt Lake Valley with the main line at
Boulder south of Stockton. The Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad descends at a
steep grade, and at milepost 721 it runs on the right bank of Jordan River, which has
gravel bluffs rising more than 100 feet on both sides. The top of the first terrace (about
250 feet above the river), which is crossed by the Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad,
corresponds with the Provo shore line and doubtless was a gravel bar built out across the
channel when the waters of the lake stood at the Provo level. The material composing these
terraces is well shown in the numerous cuts of the Denver & Rio Grande Western
Railroad and the trolley line across the river and in an immense gravel pit open on the
right at a siding called Nash, at the lower end of the Narrows. At this place several
large flumes on the left take water from Jordan River and distribute it over the low plain
to the north.
The river valley below the Narrows is well farmed and makes a pretty picture as the
traveler catches glimpses of it here and there, but the river swerves to the west away
from the railroad and the traveler sees it no more. Near the siding of Olivers the
railroad emerges upon the plain and the traveler has spread before him on the right the
south end of the broad valley in which Salt Lake City is situated, bounded by the great
wall of the Wasatch Mountains, as shown in Plate XCI. Here again the shore lines of Lake
Bonneville are the most conspicuous features of the landscape. The traveler may readily
follow the uppermost or Bonneville shore line by the slight horizontal line across the
mountain front which separates the more rugged slopes above from the smoother and more
gentle slopes below. Below the Bonneville is another shore line, which in some respects is
much more prominent, as it is represented by the uppermost terrace or the great bar built
out from the mountains to the east. Below this bar is the terrace which was made when the
lake stood at the Provo level and which is crossed by the Log Angeles & Salt Lake
Railroad in its course from Salt Lake City to Provo. These terraces are shown in the
figure above.
Riverton
On the left stands the Oquirrh Range in all its barrenness. The traveler may think that
this range is the very type of desolation and of worthless barren rock, but if the
atmosphere is clear and he studies the mountain carefully, he may see smoke arising from a
canyon nearly opposite the station of Riverton, and he may be surprised to learn that in
this canyon is the largest copper mine in Utah and, when the method of mining is
considered, probably the most wonderful mine in the world. This is the Bingham mine, in Bingham Canyon.
North of Riverton the plain upon which Salt Lake City is built stretches to the foot of
the terrace at the base of Ensign Peak and eastward to the foot of the mountains.
Everywhere in this wonderful valley there are now fine farms, with trees, and in places
there are manufacturing plants of different kinds. To-day it is a land of plenty, but it
was not so on that memorable 24th of July, 1847, when Brigham Young and his band of
faithful followers first looked out over this same valley from the mouth of Emigration
Canyon. Then it was a desert covered with stunted sagebrush and greasewood, except in
places where the mountain streams furnished a supply of water.
Midvale
The train runs along through the valley, with good farms on both sides and the bare
walls of the mountains as a, background, until it reaches the next station, Midvale, which
is the junction point of branch lines running to Bingham, 14 miles to the west. At Midvale
is a large mill and lead smelter built for the reduction of some of the ores of the
Bingham district. This smelter is known as the smokeless smelter, for it was one of the
first smelters to recover and utilize the substances contained in the gases, which usually
go off into the air to poison and kill vegetation. At several places along the line the
traveler may obtain glimpses of the Wasatch Mountains, and at almost every place he will
see the Bonneville shore line as a faint line across the mountain front or the Provo shore
line marked by great terraces or embankments of gravel.
Murray
The smelting industry has for many years been an important one in the Great Salt Lake
Valley, and many smelters have been built at or near the station of Murray. Many of these
smelters have been abandoned or consolidated, so that only one now remains-the Murray
smelter, of the American Smelting & Refining Co., which may be seen on the right from
the train. This plant smelts only silverlead ores, and the great bulk of the copper ores
from the Bingham mines are being treated at the Garfield smelter, the smoke of which may
be seen rising over the extreme northern point of the Oquirrh Range on the west, (left).
Salt Lake City
The most prominent object seen by one approaching Salt Lake City from the south is
the new State Capitol, which stands on a commanding terrace north of the city, directly
beneath Ensign Peak. The, tall buildings also attract attention, though they are not
particularly different from tall buildings in other cities. A little farther to the right
the traveler may notice the large letter U on the mountain slope far back of the city.
This letter was put there by some class of the University of Utah, which stands on the
terrace directly beneath it.
On the same terrace, but a little, to the right, may be seen the buildings of Fort
Douglas, which has been occupied continuously as all army post since 1862. Still farther
to the right is the rather insignificant Emigration Canyon, down which Brigham Young's
party came on July 24, 1847, and took possession of the valley.
Many travelers unfamiliar with this region imagine that Salt Lake City stands on the shore
of Great Salt Lake, but in fact the nearest point of the lake is 10 miles distant. The
site of the city was chosen not because of its nearness to the shore of the lake, but
because of the abundance of fresh water which comes from the mountains. The city, however,
appreciates the value for recreation of such a body of water as Great Salt Lake, and a
pavilion called Saltair has been built at the beach, which affords bathing facilities to
those who wish to try a dip in the heavy waters (Pl. XCIV, B). It is a
popular resort, easily reached by electric train during the season.
The next stop in this journey is at the new passenger station of the Denver & Rio
Grande Western Railroad in Salt Lake, City, the metropolis of the, Great Basin and the
home of the hierarchy of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; more commonly
known as the Mormon Church. Salt Lake City, the capital of the great State of Utah, is in
the eastern part of the Great Basin, at a point where several routes of travel from the
Pacific coast converge into main eastern trunk lines. It has direct connection with Los
Angeles on the southwest by the Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad; with San Francisco
on the west by the Western Pacific and Southern Pacific railroads; with Portland and
Seattle on the northwest by the Oregon Short Line and the Oregon Railroad & Navigation
Co.'s line; with Butte and Helena on the north by the Oregon Short Line; and with the East
by the Denver & Rio Grande Western and Union Pacific railroads. The Union Pacific
trains run over the tracks of the Oregon Short Line to Ogden, and the Denver & Rio
Grande Western main line also extends to Ogden.
Salt Lake City is the center of a large and prosperous metal-mining district; it has
almost unlimited fuel resources in coal fields that lie 100 miles to the southeast, and it
stands in the midst of a rich agricultural region that can supply food for many times its
present population.
The general traveler, however, will find the chief interest in Salt Lake City in the
Mormon people, their mode of life, and the peculiar institutions they have built up.
On July 24, 1847, Brigham Young, at the head of the Mormon pioneers who had traversed the
plains and hewed a way through the mountains, as he stood on the foothills after he had
emerged from the rocky walls of Emigration Canyon, uttered these memorable words:
"This is the place." This statement determined the location of Salt Lake City.
Wilford Woodruff in his journal says:
We gazed in wonder and admiration upon the vast valley before us, with the waters of
the Great Salt Lake glistening in the sun, mountains towering to the skies, and streams of
pure water running through the beautiful valley. It was the grandest scene that we had
ever beheld till this moment. Pleasant thoughts ran through our minds at the prospect that
not many years hence the house of God would be established in the mountains and exalted
above the hills; while the valleys would be converted into orchards, vineyards, and
fruitful fields; cities erected in the name of the Lord, and the standard of Zion unfurled
for the gathering of the nations.
The pioneers began at once to cultivate the land, but before any of the land was
assigned the city was laid out essentially as it is to-day. As each square was planned to
contain 10 acres the present city blocks are very long, and one may walk a mile without
crossing many of the city streets.
Until about 1871 Salt Lake City was strictly Mormon, but with the development of the
railroads and mines Gentiles began to flock in, and to-day the city is thoroughly
cosmopolitan.
The chief point of interest to the general traveler is Temple Square (see Pl. XCIII), the
center or nucleus around which the city was planned and built. This square contains the
temple, the tabernacle, and several other minor buildings. The exterior view of the Mormon
temple is familiar to most persons. The temple was built of granite obtained in Little
Cottonwood Canyon, about 20 miles southeast of the city. It was 40 years in building, and
each stone was selected with the, greatest care, so as to avoid flaws that might ruin the
building in later time. The walls are said to be 9 -feet thick and are built throughout of
solid granite, and the height to the top of the angel Moroni is 222 feet. As the
construction was begun before the days of the railroad most of the stone was hauled ox
team. In view of the fact that it was built without the aid of an architect, the result is
surprising, for the temple is indeed an posing structure and one that would attract
attention and command respect and admiration anywhere. No one save the elect of the church
is permitted to enter the temple, so that it has an air of mystery which to most persons
is an added attraction. The tabernacle, designed as the assembly room for the church
conferences is even more wonderful than the temple. It has a seating capacity of 8,000,
but occasionally 12,000 persons have been crowded into it. It was built in the early days,
when the people were poor and before the advent of the railroad, and so perforce it was
built with home-made materials and by the members of the Church. The roof is the wonderful
part of the tabernacle it was built entirely of wood and is without a single supporting
column. The wooden trusses are held together by wooden pins and in places fire bound by
rawhide. The building is elliptical in shape, 250 feet long, 150 feet wide, and 80 feet
high. The acoustic property of the tabernacle is perhaps its most wonderful feature. The
dropping of a pin may be heard distinctly the entire length of the building more than 200
feet. In the belief of the Mormons the architect of these buildings was God, and all their
wonderful features are directly due to His beneficent direction.
Many persons are attracted to the tabernacle each week day at noon to hear the organ
recitals, which are given free for the entertainment of visitors in the city. The organ,
like almost all other parts of the tabernacle, was built before the days of railroad
transportation, and so most of its parts were manufactured on the spot. Recently it has
been rebuilt, without, however, changing the architectural effect, and now it is said to
be the largest organ in the world. The total number of pipes is between 7,000 and 8,000.
Temple Square is a delightful park in the heart of the city, and with its flowers, trees,
and greensward it forms a beautiful setting for the massive buildings. One of the most
attractive and interesting monuments recently added to this park is that of the Sea Gulls,
which was designed by Mohonri M. Young, a grandson of the great pioneer leader. This
monument commemorates an incident in the experience of the early pioneers which shows
their implicit faith in the protecting power of God. The gulls which inhabit the shores
and islands of Great Salt Lake are held in high regard, if not reverence, by the Mormon
people, for the reason that they saved the pioneers from starvation in the early days. As
the story is extremely interesting it is given in full, as narrated by those who are
supposed to know.
The pioneers reached the valley in the summer of 1847 with few personal possessions
besides those which they carried on their backs. They at once made preparations to plant,
so that the colony might have food for the coming year, but as they arrived in midsummer
little could be grown that year. The next spring 5,000 acres of wheat were planted, and
the prospects seemed good for an abundant crop. During the last week in May, however, the
black crickets began to attack the growing wheat, as well as everything else that was
green. At first the crickets were confined to certain fields, but soon they spread, and in
a few days they had swept much of the valley.
As soon as the extent of the impending calamity was realized the people began to fight the
common pest at every point. They drove them into ditches and upon piles of burning reeds,
striving in every way to stop the flood of destruction, but all in vain. The people then
became greatly alarmed lest their whole crop should be destroyed and they should be left
to starve, so a day of fasting and prayer was appointed, as the people had great
confidence in the power and willingness of God to help the faithful.
The result has been regarded by all the people of Utah as a miracle and as a direct answer
to their supplications. From the shores and islands of Great Salt Lake came myriads upon
myriads of gulls until the sky seemed dark with their wings and the air seemed to pulsate,
with their wild cries. The people were fearful that a new enemy of destruction was upon
them until they saw the gulls alight on the fields and begin to devour the crickets. As
the gulls, came by thousands it was but a short time until the fields were cleared of the
pest, and then the gulls wheeled into the air and departed for their island homes. It is
no wonder that the people look upon the advent of the birds as a direct answer to their
appeal to God and that even, to-day the gulls are regarded as the great protectors of the
Mormon people.
The gull has been selected as the emblem of the State, and the monument recently erected
in Temple Square is intended to express the gratitude which the Mormon people feel for the
deliverance from the disaster that threatened the early settlers. The gull also appears on
the main piece in the handsome silver service given by the State to the battleship Utah.
Temple Square is the center of the Mormon stronghold in the city, for around it are
clustered many buildings of historic interest and also those used by the church at the
present time. These buildings include the, new Utah Hotel, built by the church, the church
tithing house, Lion House, Beehive House (the home of Brigham Young and his many wives),
Amelia Palace, and Eagle Gate, erected by Brigham Young . Across the street is the great
Zion Cooperative Mercantile Institution or Z. C. M. I., as it is familiarly called. The
Deseret News, founded in 1851, occupies the other corner, and many other buildings
belonging to the church are scattered throughout the city. There, are also fine
clubhouses, a public library, and numerous skyscrapers and manufacturing plants.
The city derives its water supply from the many canyons that seam the front of the Wasatch
Mountains. The first of these streams to be utilized was City Creek, which cuts through
the terrace east of the new Capitol Building. City Canyon has been made into one of the
most charming parks in the country, so that it serves the double purpose of keeping the
water supply uncontaminated and providing an outing place for the people. The streams in
the other canyons have been requisitioned by the city, and now much of the water comes
from Big Cottonwood Canyon, more than 20 miles to the south.
The city is noted for its fine shade trees and for the beautiful velvety lawns which
abound almost everywhere, especially around the public buildings and the handsome
residences on Brigham Street. There are some warm sulphur springs and bathhouses at the
foot of the terrace in the northwestern quarter of the city.
PARLEYS CANYON AND PARK CITY.
An interesting trip from Salt Lake City is that by way of the Denver & Rio Grande
Western Railroad through Parleys Canyon to Park City. This trip has much of
interest to almost every traveler, for the route follows for a distance the old Mormon
trail by which many of the immigrants reached Salt Lake City, thus giving it a historic
interest, and it ends at the mining town of Park City, one of the great gold, silver, and
lead camps in the State.
The route lies south along the main line of the railroad to Roper, a distance, of 21 miles
from the station at Salt Lake City. Here the road turns to the east (left) and pursues a
nearly direct course to
the mouth of Parleys Canyon, so named in honor of Parley P. Pratt, the leader of the 11
First Immigration," or handcart companies. In crossing the valley the traveler may
obtain a good idea of its productiveness, for here he sees all kinds of agricultural
activitiestruck gardening, fruit growing, and live-stock raising. The area passed through
is largely suburban, with comfortable bungalows embowered in shade. Just beyond the
station of Sugar House is the State penitentiary, on the left.
From time to time in passing across this low land the traveler can see the terraces back
of the city, the State Capitol, the University of Utah, and Fort Douglas. Parleys Canyon
is the second one south of the fort and the next one south of Emigration Canyon.
The canyon is narrow and somewhat winding and in its lower part is rather rugged and
rocky. The red sandstone and quartzite which form so conspicuous a feature of the Wasatch
Range show on the left, but in a, short distance they are cut through by the canyon, and
then they make the great mountain slope on the right. The rock is resistant to weathering
and stands out in great cliffs and ribs of red that cross the slope nearly at right
angles. Farther up, the canyon is cut entirely in gray limestone and calcareous shale, and
here the slopes are generally smooth and the canyon, though V-shaped, has not particularly
steep walls. The canyon continues to widen and the surrounding hills to diminish in height
until about a mile above the station of Dale the valley is very broad and shallow.
Here the creek forks and the railroad follows the south fork to its head. If the traveler
will observe closely the slope north of the stream at the point where it divides he will
see an old road winding up over the low ridge which separates it from Emigration Canyon.
This road is the old Mormon trail. It crossed the high mountain that may be seen on the
left, came down the north f ork of the creek, and then crossed the divide to Emigration
Canyon, in which it may still be seen at the point where it comes down to the creek.
The railroad climbs steadily and makes several loops in order to decrease the grade and
finally arrives at the summit at the siding of Altus (6,900 feet), about 2,700 feet above
the starting point at Salt Lake City. By several loops and curves it descends on the east
to East Canyon Creek at Gogorza and then follows up that stream to Kimball. Although the
original trail by which Brigham Young and his party of pioneers entered the valley of
Great Salt Lake came up East Canyon Creek and crossed the crest of the mountains north of
Altus at nearly its highest point, this trail was used only a short time, for three years
later the incoming bands of Mormons, instead of following Weber River downstream from the
mouth of Echo Canyon, turned up Weber River and were soon in the open valley where
Coalville now stands. They continued up the Weber to Wanship, where they turned to the
west, and after crossing a low, flat divide reached Parleys Park at Kimball. From this
point their route practically followed that of the railroad, crossing the summit at Altus
and continuing down Parleys Canyon to the Salt Lake Valley. Over this trail came the
"handcart companies" of 1856 and most of the Mormon emigrants who entered the
valley prior to the building of the Union Pacific Railroad.
The Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad continues to the southeast from Kimball
through a wide flat known as Parleys Park, crosses a divide so low that it is all but
imperceptible, and then follows up one of the head branches of Weber River to Park City.
Parleys Park is at so high an altitude that the ordinary crops can not be grown
satisfactorily, so it is devoted almost exclusively to stock raising. It contains fine
fields of hay and pasture, and the surrounding mountains afford ample range.
The Wasatch Mountains are noted for the brilliancy of their autumn coloring, and should
the traveler pass this way in the early autumn, after the first week in September, he will
doubtless see a riot of color on the mountain sides, the dwarf maples showing great
streaks and splotches of the most vivid scarlet and the aspens rivaling them with a blaze
of yellow.
The ores mined at Park City carry silver, gold, lead, zinc, and copper. At the end of 1920
the camp had produced 142,490,000 ounces of silver, gold valued at $4,603,000, 661,000
tons of lead, 37,000 tons of zinc, and 17,000 tons of copper. This was marketed for over
$183,800,000. The ore occurs as vein fillings or in bedded layers in the sandstone and
limestone. of the Carboniferous system.
BINGHAM, THE GREAT COPPER CAMP.
A visit to Bingham can hardly
fail to interest the traveler, for almost everyone enjoys seeing the wonderful things man
is, accomplishing, even though he may not be interested in them financially or
professionally, and nothing more spectacular than the mining in Bingham Gulch can be
imagined. In a visit to most mining districts the traveler actually sees little of real
interest. He may be told that this or that mine has produced so many millions of dollars,
but great dump heaps and mine buildings are about all he sees, and he generally leaves the
camp with a very hazy idea of what actually takes place in the mine, for he can not see
the work that is being done; but in Bingham it is different. Here he can see the work
actually in progress, and he can almost watch the movement of the ore from the time it is
gathered up by the giant steam shovels until it is delivered to the smelter. It is a
wonderful sight that can be rivaled only at some of the great iron-ore mines of Minnesota.
In order to reach Bingham the traveler has the choice of three routes: He may go by train
on the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad or the Los Angeles & Salt Lake
Railroad, or he may go by automobile stage or private conveyance. As the camp should be
approached by the route that will give the best view with the least effort, for the sake
of first impressions, the writer would recommend that the traveler take the Los Angeles
& Salt Lake route, and then he may return if he wishes by any other of the routes
mentioned.
In going to Bingham by way of the Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad the traveler goes
to Garfield on the main line toward Los Angeles. In this part of his journey he has a good
opportunity to see the great flat plain at about the level of the lake, which stretches
from Salt Lake City to Garfield, a distance of 15 miles. Near Garfield he may see on the
north (right) the pavilion at Saltair and some of the salt-manufacturing plants in the
vicinity, but they are so far away that he may not be able to distinguish details. He sees
little or nothing of the lake, for it is far to the north. The town of Garfield was built
to accommodate the workers in the Garfield smelter, which was put in operation in 1906.
The smelter is not visible from the train, but the high stack rises from behind the sharp
point of rocks on the right as the train makes the curve into Garfield.
From Garfield the route lies almost south along the eastern foot of the Oquirrh Range.
At Arthur and Magna there are large mills for crushing and concentrating the copper ores
of the Bingham district. The Magna plant (see Pl. XCVI, A) has a capacity
of 14,000 tons daily of low-grade ore, and the Arthur plant of 10,000 tons. From Magna
southward the train runs over the tracks of the Bingham & Garfield Railway, which was
built in 1911 for the sole purpose of transporting ore from Bingham to Garfield. This road
is said to handle a greater tonnage of freight to the mile, than any other railroad in the
United States.
After leaving Magna the track winds up the slopes of the mountain, but as it traverses
mainly the sand and gravel deposited in ancient Lake Bonneville, there are few rock cuts.
In this interval the traveler has several excellent views of the terraces of Lake
Bonneville, and as the track enters the mouth of Bingham Canyon the road has attained
about the level of the highest or Bonneville shore line.
By climbing steadily from Garfield the railroad is here about 200 feet above the bottom
of the canyon, and the traveler may look down on the left and note all the activities of a
mining town. (See Pl. XCV, A.) The
canyon is very narrow, and the town consists of a single street with scarcely room enough
for houses on both sides. The view from the train would be fine were, it not that the road
is chiefly carved through the mountains. From time to time the train emerges from the
portal of a tunnel and crosses one of the side canyons on a steel trestle 200 feet or more
high. The traveler may then have a good view of the canyon, but the mines are mostly above
the town, so that they are not visible until the train stops.
When the traveler alights from the train he finds himself high up on the side of the
canyon and at its largest fork. He may well stop here to look at the surroundings, for it
is doubtful if he will find as good a viewpoint without considerable climbing. He may look
in vain for the mines, but instead he will see the wall of the canyon before him creased
with horizontal benches and on each of these benches an enormous steam shovel lifting the
ore and its overburden upon waiting cars. (See Pl. XCV, B.) When the cars are
full they are drawn away and made up into trains to be sent to the concentrators at Magna
and Arthur. The side of the canyon in front of the traveler is 1,600 feet high, and it is
divided into 24 steam-shovel levels, on each of which is a railroad track. At present
about 60,000 tons of material is being handled daily, of which 38,000 tons is cap rock and
22,000 tons ore.
As seen from the station of the Bingham & Garfield Railway the canyon resembles a
fairy scene. Here and there on the mountain side gnomes and dwarfs are digging their way
along its front. Puffs of steam show the location of tiny steam shovels laboring away to
help tear down the mountain. Locomotives with long lines of ore cars shuttle back and
forth across the face of the mountain, at times directly above the spectator, then again
far below. It seems to be pandemonium let loose, but out of it comes the ore in a steady
stream that makes the spectator wonder.
The town of Bingham may be as interesting to the traveler as the great mines that give
it life. Through force of circumstances it is a one-street town, and this street winds and
twists with the winding and twisting of the narrow canyon. The street is so narrow that
the traffic is accommodated with difficulty. By patience teams and wagons are, maneuvered
so as to allow automobiles to pass, but even these autocrats of the highway are sometimes
involved in an almost hopeless tangle. Residences have been built wherever there was
space, if this space was on level ground so much the better, but it was not left vacant
even if it was on the steep mountain side. People live almost in the midst of the great
excavation, and they soon become accustomed to the rumble of the train above, below,
around, and in fact on all sides.
When the traveler has satisfied his curiosity regarding both the mine and the town he can
return by way of the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad, which runs in the bottom of
the canyon, to Salt Lake City to resume his westward journey, if he has not reached the
end of his route.
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