The valleys of Utah Lake and Jordan River are situated in north-central Utah, in the extreme eastern part of the Great Basin. The lofty Wasatch Range (Pl. I), the westernmost of the Rocky Mountain system, limits the valleys on the east, and relatively low basin ranges - the Oquirrh, Lake, and East Tintic mountains - determine them on the west. The valleys trend north and south, and are almost separated by the low east-west Traverse Range, the slopes of which constitute a dam for Utah Lake, which drains through Jordan River to Great Salt Lake.
The area under consideration is the most populous and flourishing part of the State, Salt Lake City and Provo, the first and third cities in the State, and many other thriving settlements are there located. At Bingham Junction and Murray a number of smelters treat the ores from near-by mines, but agriculture is the main industry. Water for irrigation is supplied by mountain streams, and intensive farming is successfully pursued. The practice of irrigation was begun by the Mormon pioneers in 1847, and has been discussed in several publications; little attention, however, has been given to the underground water resources, and, so far as the writer is aware, they have not before been described. The present paper outlines conditions of occurrence of the subterranean waters and describes their development in the valleys of Utah Lake and Jordan River.
