The Atlas and Encyclopedia Habit

Abstract

The Great Salt Lake of Utah is presently the object of a Supreme Court dispute between the State of Utah and the United States government, Mineral salts, estimated in value at many billions of dollars, are available for extraction, and major companies have already begun operations on lands exposed by a falling lake level. Decision as to the ownership of these relicted lands depends upon the classification of the lake as a “navigable waterway” and a determination of the mean shoreline; however, the lake fluctuations are erratic, temporary, and to a large extent manmade, and Federal efforts to establish a valid shoreline have been unsuccessful. The state claims a meander line, lying approximately 4,205 feet above sea level, as the legal boundary of the lake. Based on past legal precedents, the decision could favor the State.