GREAT EASTERN 390 GREAT SALT LAKE War Cabinet by the inclusion of the Prime Ministers, and other representa- tive ministers, of the various parts of the Empire. In July, 1918, the Prime Minister of each Dominion was given the right to nominate a Cabinet Min- ister either as a resident or a visitor in London, to represent him at the meet- ings of the Cabinet held between full meetings. In October, 1919, the War Cabinet was dissolved and a full Cabinet with about 20 members constituted. The head of the Ministry is the Prime Min- ister, and it is usually held in conjunc- tion with some other high office of State, usually that of First Lord of the Treas- ury. The other members are appointed on the recommendation of the Prime Minister, and he dispenses the greater part of the patronage of the Crown. History. — The history of the United Kingdom is practically identical with that of England (q. v.). For the col- onies of the United Kingdom, see British Empire. GREAT EASTERN, an English iron steamship, before the "Celtic" the larg- est vessel constructed, built (1854-1858) at Millwall, on the Thames, for the East- ern Steam Navigation Co., by Scott Rus- sell, from plans by I. K. Brunei; length, 680 feet; breadth, 82l^, or, including paddle-boxes, 118 feet; height, 58 feet (70 to top of bulwarks). She had 6 masts, 5 of iron and one of wood, and could spread 7,000 yards of sail, besides having 8 engines, divided between her screws and paddles, and capable of work- ing at 11,000 horse power. From the first her career was unfortunate, the launching process alone lasting three months and costing $300,000. After sev- eral unremunerative trips to New York she was employed first as a troopship, and then as a cable-laying ship, for which her size and steadiness specially qualified her. Various attempts were afterward made to utilize her, but she at last came to be a mere holiday spectacle, and was broken up in 1888. GREAT FALLS, a city of Montana, the county-seat of Cascade co. It is on the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul, and the Great Northern railroads, and on the Missouri river. It is the center of an important mining region, and has ex- tensive smelting works for the reduction of copper, gold, and silver ores. Lead, iron, zinc, and coal are also mined in the vicinity. The industries include the manufacture of flour, mining machinery, etc. It has an important trade in wool and is the center of an important agri- cultural region. The river here is spanned by two steel bridges, each over 1,000 feet long. The notable buildings include a public library, a city hall, and a hotel. There are seven parks. The neighboring country is of great scenic beauty. Water power is developed from Rainbow and Great Falls, which produces more than 200,000 horse power. Pop. (1910) 13,- 948; (1920) 24,121. GREAT FISH RIVER. (1) In Cape Colony, a river rising in the Sneeuwberg Mountains, and, after a generally S. E. course of 230 miles, entering the Indian Ocean in latitude 33° 25' S. and longitude 27° E. The Midland railway which con- nects Port Elizabeth and Port Alfred with Kimberley skirts part of the river; there is an iron bridge at Cradock, and Fish River Station is 207 miles from Port Elizabeth. (2) Great Fish river, or Back's river, in North America, enters an inlet of the Arctic Ocean in long. 95° W., after passing through Lake Pelly. Sir George Back traced its course to the ocean. GREAT KANAWHA (ka-na'wa), an affluent of the Ohio river called New river in the upper part of its course, and rising in the Blue Ridge of North Caro- lina ; it has a course of 450 miles, and is navigable to a fall 30 miles above Charles- ton, and about 100 miles from its mouth. GREAT LAKES, the name given to that chain of lakes lying on the N. bor- ders of the United States; they include Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario. GREAT SALT LAKE, in Utah, a sheet of water stretching along the W. base of the Wahsatch Mountains, about 4,200 feet above the sea, forming a principal drainage center of the Great Basin. The lake has well-marked shore lines on the mountains around, reaching 1,000 feet higher than the present level, show that the lake had formerly a vastly greater extent; this prehistoric sea has been named Lake Bonneville. Great Salt Lake is over 80 miles long and from 20 to 32 broad, but for the most part exceedingly shallow. It contains several islands, the largest, Antelope Island, about 18 miles long. Its tributaries are the Bear, Ogden, Jordan, and Weber, the Jordan bringing the fresh waters of Lake Utah ; but Great Salt Lake has no outlet save evaporation, and its clear water conse- quently holds at all times a considerable quantity of saline matter in solution; in 1850 the proportion was 22.4 per cent., in 1869 it was only 14.8. Between these dates the annual tribute exceeded the evaporation, and the area of the lake increased from 1,700 to 2,360 square miles; more recently, it has again been
