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Tbr Wonderful Sinks' I | i»ii this subject tin* i ireka Scab iicl sitys Iimt .ill of tin principal and j many of tin;simillei streams in Nevada | ha vi no ' is.il*.’ «»- it! • t -. I in larger n\-i crs all terminate lt;' lukt ** of romddei »ble| area, respectively. lu most singula tiling is that tblt;i water supjilj in these jj lakes in at al t it ties ii**.* h;iin» TheI SpriiiLT Ir-sln ts, filling tl «* livers from jbank to l ank, work no perceptible i changi m t to.* n*s»*rvoir.s Vv hat !•••* uues ■ of all tills witt* *• o tbs i.: • -1\. 't, hasi.**«■!i the gcnotally accepted theory that 1 there exi. ts su:tlt; rrahean connection between tie Nevada “sinks ml the | Pacific lt;ceau. Hut this theory is now disputed by a gentleman who has resided on tho shores of Humboldt Luke for years. The Winneinucea Silver State comments on tin- above us follows: ‘•A great many persons entertain the opinion that there is a siibtetraiiean outlet to the Sink of the Humboldt. Oneof these expressed his views on the stiie jeet in the presence of Walter Schmidt, who has resided near the Sink for several years, and built a quartz mill near the visible outlet of the lake. Schmidt dissented from this opinion, and argued that us tin* sink has a hard clayey bottom, impervious tlt;» water, it would be impossible for it to soak through underground, and attributed the disappearance of the river to evaporation. ‘This,’ said Mr. Schmidt, ‘is so great in tho summer time that n wooden bucket filled with water in the morning would be empty by noon, and would fall to pieces before night.’ To this the Inyo Independent adds: “That the sinks and lakes of I he(Beat Basin are held to their levels mainly thiougli evaporation is undoubtedly the fact of tlie case. Mono and Inyo counties have the most notable sinks in the world. Big Owens Lake receives as much or more water than the Humboldt stfnk. It is not true, however, that the quantity of water is at all times the same; the great lake is now some four feet higher than eleven or twelve years ago. The amount of snow fall in the mountains is the only thing governing it. In Summer heat tho total amount of eyaporation from its vast expanse of water is incalculable, and doubtless furnishes moisture for the Winter snowfall of the adjoining high Sierras. The minute particles of minerals and alkalies gathered from the soil by the inflowing streams are left in solution in the lake, and during the centuries of this process the lake has assumed this Dead »Sea character, in which no living thing can exist save worms and a small nondescript waterfall.” .Mono Lake is fully twelve feet higher than it wasvmany years ago. At the northwest• mcorner of the* lake, near the Frenchman’s, the posts of a former sheep corral can i be seen far out into the water. A pre-emptor recently appeared in the United States Land (Mice to prove up his claim located five or six years ago. Of his 1 GO acres, he stated that all but forty acres was^under water, and very naturally did not wish to pay for more than that amount. Some ascribe the fact of the water rising to an increased amount of snow on the mountains during the Winter over former times; some believe that the turning of Virginia creek into the lake has caused the change; whileothers hold to the theory that some»secret outlet to the lake has become filled up. Whatever may be the cause, the fact is evident that the lake is rising at the rate of a foot or two a year. There are numerous evidences that in former times Mono Lake extended over a vast extent of territory—certainly ten times as great as now. Is it not possible that in course of time it may again assume its ancient proportions!
Newspaper Details
Port Townsend Weekly Argus
Port Townsend, Washington, US
Thu, Jun 12, 1879
Page 6
Full Page
Clipped by
Dean T.
USA 30 Nov 2022
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