“ Physical Features.—The eastern portion of Utah consists of high plateaus, and constitutes a part of the Colorado Plateau province. The remaining western portion of the state is lower, belongs in the Great Basin province, and is characterized by north-south mountain ranges separated by desert basins. The high plateaus consist of great blocks of the earth's crust which are separated from each other by fault-lines, and which have been uplifted to different heights. ”

“ The division of land among the Mormons was singularly equitable. Each city block consisted of 10 acres divided into eight 11⁄4-acre lots, which were assigned to professional and business men. Then a tier of 5-acre lots was apportioned to mechanics, and 10- and 20-acre parcels of land were given to farmers, according to the size of their families. As Great Salt Lake City grew all landholders benefited, either by the location of their property or because of its size, the smaller lots being closer to the business centre and the larger tracts being in the outlying districts. ”

“ In general Utah may be said to have a true continental climate, although the presence of Great Salt Lake has a modifying effect on the climate of that portion of the Basin Region in which it lies. Killing frosts occur early in September and as late as the last of May, and in the higher valleys they may occur at any time. The mean annual precipitation is only 11 in., the greater part of which occurs in the Form of snow in the winter months, summer being the dry season. At Salt Lake City the annual precipitation is 15.8 in., of which 2 in. fall in summer. ”

“ Coal was first discovered in Utah in 1851 along Coal Creek near Cedar City (in what is now Iron county) in the south-western part of Utah, and there was some mining of coal at Wales, Sanpete county, as early as 1855, but there was no general mining until about twenty years later, and the industry was not well established until 1888. Thereafter its development was rapid, and the discovery of outcroppings throughout the central and southern parts of the state gave evidence of the existence of great bodies of the mineral. ”

“ The auditor and treasurer may not succeed themselves, and governor and secretary of state must be at least thirty years old. The governor may call the legislature in extraordinary session or may summon the Senate alone. With the consent of the Senate he appoints all officers whose election or appointment is not otherwise provided for, including the bank examiner, state chemist, dairy and food commissioners, the boards of labour and health, the directors of the state institutions, &c., and fills all vacancies in elective offices until new officers are chosen and qualified. ”

“ The property of an intestate leaving a widow or widower, but no issue, goes to the survivor if not over $5000 in value; if over that amount, one-half the excess goes to the survivor and one-half to the father and mother of the deceased or to either of them. If neither father nor mother survives, their share goes to the brothers and sisters of the deceased or to their descendants. If there are no descendants, the whole goes to the surviving husband or wife. If a husband or wife and one child survive, they share the estate equally ”

“ The district courts have exclusive jurisdiction in divorce, which may be granted because of impotency at time of marriage, adultery, wilful desertion for more than one year, wilful neglect to provide the necessities of life, habitual drunkenness, conviction for felony, intolerable cruelty, and permanent insanity which has existed for at least five years. An interlocutory decree is entered which becomes absolute at the end of six months, unless appeal is entered. The guilty party forfeits all rights acquired through marriage. ”

“ The beet sugar industry is one of growing importance in Utah: there were in 1900 3 refineries, having a daily total capacity of 1100 tons of beets; in 1905, 4, with a daily total capacity of 2850 tons; and in 1909, [6] 5, which treated 455,064 tons of beets and produced 48,884 tons of sugar. In 1853 a sugar factory bought in England was erected at Provo, but no sugar was manufactured there, and none was successfully refined until 1889. Sugar beets were first grown by irrigation in Utah; under that system it becomes possible to estimate closely the tonnage of the product. ”

“ Willows and cottonwoods grow along streams. The west slope of the Wasatch has been largely denuded of its forests to supply the demands of the towns at its base. Among other plants common to the state are the elder, wild hop, dwarf sunflower, and several species of grease wood and cacti. The sagebrush, artemisia, is characteristic of the desert areas. Bunch grass is abundant on the hillsides the year round, and affords valuable pasturage.
Climate.—On account of its great diversity in topography, the state of Utah is characterized by a wide range in climatic conditions. ”

“ Very rich floodplain soils occur along the larger streams. Vast areas of unreclaimable desert exist in the west and south-east. In the protected valleys between the high plateaus alluvial soils are cultivated; but the plateau summits are relatively inaccessible, and, being subject to summer frosts, are not cultivated. Comparatively poor, sandy soil is found on the lower desert plateaus in the south-east, where population is scanty.
Forests.—The forest resources of Utah are of little value: the total wooded area was about 10,000 sq. ”

“ Every citizen of the United States, male or female, twenty-one years old or over, who has lived one year within the state, four months within the county and sixty days within the precinct has the right of suffrage, except that idiots, insane, and those convicted of treason or crime against the elective franchise are disfranchised ”

“ An amendment may be submitted to the people at the next general election by a two-thirds vote of the members elected to each house of the legislature, and only a majority of the electors voting thereon is required for approval. By a two-thirds majority the legislature may recommend that a constitutional convention be called; and if a majority of the electors at the next general election approve, the legislature shall provide for the convention, but the approval of a majority of the electors voting is necessary for ratification of the work of the convention. ”

“ This unusual predominance of rural over urban manufacturing is further shown by the fact that in 1900, 64.3% of the establishments reporting, and 69.3% of the value of their products were from factories classified as rural, and in 1905 the proportion of rural factories was 58.8%, and the value of their products 72.9% of the total. This predominance was largely due to the smelting and refining industry, the smelters being chiefly in the rural districts. ”

“ The plateau summits rise to elevations of 9000, 10,000 and 11,000 ft., are generally forested, but are too difficult of access to be much inhabited. The people live along the streams in the valleys between the plateaus. In the southern part of the state the high plateaus are terminated by a series of giant terraces which descend to the general level of the Grand Canyon Platform in northern Arizona. ”

“ Children over ten years of age may select the parent to whom they will attach themselves. A marriage may be annulled on ground of idiocy, insanity, bigamy, loathsome disease at time of marriage, epilepsy, miscegenation (white and negro or white and Mongolian) , or when a male is less than sixteen or a female less than fourteen years of age. A marriage licence is required. No female and no male under fourteen may work in a mine. ”

“ Mercur, Tintic, Bingham and Park City are well-known mining centres.
Fauna.—In the open country the mule deer, the pronghorn antelope and the coyote are found, and the bison formerly ranged over the north-eastern part of the state; the side-striped ground squirrel, Townsend's spermophile, the desert pack-rat and the desert pack-rabbit inhabit the flat country. In the mountainous districts and high plateaus are the grizzly, formerly more common, the black bear, the four-striped chipmunk and the yellow-haired ”

“ An illegitimate child is an heir of its mother and of the person who acknowledges himself to be its father. Estates exceeding $10,000 pay an inheritance tax of 5% on the excess. A homestead not exceeding $1500 for the head of the family and $500 additional for the husband or wife and $250 additional for each other member of the family is not subject to execution except for the purchase price, or mechanic's and labourer's liens, lawful mortgage or taxes. ”

“ Miscellaneous Laws.—Men and women may hold and dispose of property on the same terms, except that a husband cannot devise more than two-thirds of real estate away from his wife without her consent, and that a woman attains her majority at eighteen or when she marries. ”

“ At the western base of the Wasatch are Salt Lake City, Ogden, Provo and other smaller towns, situated where streams issue from the mountains, soon to disappear on the desert plains. In such places agriculture is made possible by irrigation, and the Mormon villages, both here and farther south along the base of the Hurricane Ledge, depend largely on this industry. Important mining operations are carried on in the Wasatch Mountains and in a number of the basin ranges. ”

“ Erosion has developed deep and sometimes broad valleys along the fault-lines and elsewhere, so that many of the blocks and portions of blocks are isolated from their neighbours. As a rule the blocks have not been greatly tilted or deformed, but consist of nearly horizontal layers of sandstone, shales and limestone. ”

“ The membership of each house is fixed by law every five years, but the number of senators must never exceed thirty, and the number of representatives must never be less than twice nor more than three times the number of senators. ”

“ School attendance is compulsory for twenty weeks each year in rural districts and for thirty weeks each year in cities of the first and second class for all children between eight and sixteen years. In 1900 the percentage of illiterates at least ten years old was 3.1. ”

“ Of the 1900 native-born population 3870 were born in Illinois, 3032 in New York, 2525 in Ohio and 2519 in Pennsylvania. Of the foreign-born by far the largest number, 18,879, were natives of England, 9132 were Danes, 7025 were Swedes; and natives of Scotland, Germany, Wales and Norway were next in numbers. The large English immigration is to be ascribed to the successful proselytizing efforts of the Mormons in England. ”

“ In 1899, 255,639 acres, or 37.3% of the acreage of all crops, was sown to cereals, which were valued at $2,386,789, or 29% of the value of all crops. The production of cereals (which grow chiefly in the northern counties of the state) was 130,842 bu. in 1849, 770,287 bu. in 1869, 2,395,744 bu. in 1889, and 5,381,125 bu. in 1899. The principal cereal was wheat, the value of which was $1,575,064 (3,413,470 bu.) in 1899, and $5,481,000 (6,090,000 bu.) in 1909. [2] The value and product of oats in 1899 was $553,847 (1,436,225 bu.) ”

“ In 1908 more than two-thirds of the total output was from the low-grade porphyry ores mined at Newhouse, Beaver county, and at Bingham, Salt Lake county. There are copper smelters at Garfield, Copperton and Binghamton. An anti-smoke injunction in 1908 closed the furnaces in the immediate vicinity of Salt Lake City. ”