Water-Supply and Irrigation Paper No. 118 «priM ( B' DescriPtlve Geology, 56 

benes \ 0, Underground Waters, 33

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

CHARLES D. WALCOTT, DIEECTOK

GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES

A PORTION OF EAST-CENTRAL WASHINGTON

O. CATKINS

WASHINGTON

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

1005
CONTENTS.

Page.

Letter of transmittal________________ _ __________ _ ____ 9

I n troduction _ _ _________________________________________________ _ _ _ _ 11

Geography______________________________________________ 13

Topography __________________________________________ 13

Main topographic divisions of eastern Washington------____ 13

Topographic details______ _ ____________________ 15

Kittitas Valley ______________________________ 15

The desert ___________________________________________ 15

Tin- wheat lands__________________.___ _____ 1C

Drainage____________ -_ ___________________ - 10

Columbia River_____ ________ __________________ 16

Crab Creek_ _ __________________________ 17

Coulees __________________ ____________ 17

Lakes_________________________________ 19

Climate_____________.._._______ _________________ 30

Vegetation____________________________ ____________ 21

Grazing___________ __.._______________________ 22

Agriculture_________ ____ ______ ______ ____________________ 25

General statement---..- _______________________ 25

Columbia Plains _________J______ ________ ___________ 25

Natural conditions _____ ____________________ 25

Development-_______ _______________________ 20

Grain culture ______ __________________ 20

Forage growing _. __ ___________________________ 20

Horticulture _______ ______ _____ _________ 20

Kittitas Valley______ _________________________ 28

Natural conditions _ ______ _ _____ _ _ _____ 28

Forage gro\ving____________ _________________________ 28

Dairying____ ._ _______ _________________ 28

Grain culture--__ _____ __________ ______ 29

Horticulture__ . ____. _______ __.___ ______ 29"

Geology __________________ _ ___________________ 29

General statement __ __________ _______________________ 29

Stratigraphy___________ ________ ___ ___ _ .._ _. 30

Yakima basalt__________ ___ _____ __._________ 30

Distribution and volume__________________________________ 30

Origin _____________!_____________________ 31

Litbologic character-_______ ______________________ 32

Surface features of lava flows__________________ 32

Contraction partings ____________________ ____ 33

Fragmental beds________________ _________ ____ 34

Materials interbedded with the basalts________________ 34

Ellensbnrg formation___ _________________ _____ 35

Distribution_________ ___________________ 35

Lithologic character---____ ____________________ 35
4 CONTENTS.

Page. Geology Continued.

Structure _______________________ _ _____________ 37

General character of deformation__ ______________________ 87

Character of folds___________________________________________ 39

Physiography _____________________._______________ 40

Relation of physiography to structure_____________________ 40

Work of streams.______________________________ _ 41

Relation of stream courses to structure _____ _________ 41

Consequent streams_____________________________ 41

Antecedent streams _______________________________ _ 41

Origin of coulees_________________ ________ __ 42

Terraces and gravel deposits ______ _______________ 42

Glacial history_______ _______________________________ 43

Wind work_______________ ______________________________ 44

Sand dunes___________________________ ____________ 44

Soils of the wheat lands_________ __________ 45

Comparative analyses__ _____.__.__ _________ 46

Transporting power of the \vind__________________ 48

Source of the soil _ ___________________ _ _____ 49

Bydrology _________________ ______________________ 49

Introductory statement _____ _ __________________._.__ 49

Streams _________________ _________________________ 50

Columbia Plains ___.__ ____-___ ______________ __ _____ 50

Crab Creek_____ ____ __ __ ______________ 50

Columbia River_________ __________ ______ __ _ _ 50

Kittitas Valley____________ _____ _____ _________ 51

Yakima River and tributaries--.-- _-___ __________________ 51

Canals from the Yakima_____ __ _ __ _____________ 52

Canals from tributaries.^ _____ ____ __ _______ __. 52

Conservation of the supply ___________________________ __ 53

Springs ____ ________ __ _______ ______ ____ ___ 54

Surface springs__________________________________ __ 54

Canyon springs_ ________________________ ________ ___ 55

Fissure springs^_ _____ ____ _____________________ 56

Clerf Spring________________________________ 56

Harrisoii Springs_ __________ ___________ _____ ___ 57

Surface wells___________ __ ________ ________________ 59

Deep wells__________________ _______ __ _ __ _ 60

Introductory statement _________ ___________ ____ __ 60

General theory of artesian water._____________ ____ ________ 61

Data concerning deep waters____________- _ _ 67

Artesian divisions of the region_____________________ 67

Stratigraphic conditions in Columbia Plains.____________ 69

Connell-Ritzville district ________________________ 09

Structure __________________ ___________ 69

Topography _ ___________________________ __ 70

Supply ___ ____________________ __ _____ 70

Well records __ ______________________ 71

Hartline district. ____________ __._______________ 75

Structure ____ ___________ ____ ________ 75

Topography ________ _________________ _ 75

Supply _______ __ ___ _____ _______ 75

Well records -. _______ __________----- 75
CONTENTS. 5

Page. 

Hydrology Continued.

Deep wells Continued.

Data concerning deep waters Continued.

Quincy district-________________________________

Structure.___ ______ __________ ___..______________

Topography _______________________ ______ ___ 77

Supply ___________ _ ______ _ ____________ 77

Well records___ __________ ______________ ______ 77

Areas without deep wells___---___-____-______-_--____ _____ 77

Desert near lower Crab Creek _______________ ___ 77

Bench south of Saddle Mountain ______ ________ 7S

Kittitas Valley._____________________________ 71)

Stratigraphy. ___ _____________________ _____ 7f)

Structure___ ____________________________ 70

Topography_ ________ ________________________________ 70

Supply . _ _____________________ 80

Well records-- _______ ___________________ 80

Suggestions in regard to deep welis_ ___________________________ 82

Testing artesian pressure. ________________ _ _____ 8l!

Depth of experimental borings. __ _____________________ 87

Casing nonflowing wells.-.____________ _________________ 88

Conclusion_______________________ ____________ 80

Index _________---____________________________________ 93
ILLUSTRATIONS.

Page. 

PLATE I. Geologic sketch map of part of the Columbia Plains______ 12

II. Geologic sketch map of Kittitas Valley____._____________ 14

III. A, Typical coulee south of Coulee City; B, Columnar parting in

basalt, Umptanum VaIIey____________-_____ 20

IV. --1, Grand Coulee; B, Reclaimed marsh land near Wilson Creek. 41 

FIG. 1. Index map. showing location and extent of district investigated__ 11

2. Section illustrating explanation of Ilarrison Springs on the hypothesis that the water-bearing stratum has been tapped by erosion- 58

.°>. Section illustrating Harrison Springs on the hypothesis that the

springs are situated along a break in the basalt____..____ 58

4. Ideal section illustrating the requisite conditions for artesian

wells ____________________________________ (52

f>. Section illustrating thinning out of porous water-hearing bed___ G'.}

(!. Section of an artesian slope______________________________ <>l

7. Seed bsig________-_________._ _ ____________1. _____ __ K\

8. Rubber packing, taken ::part______-___--_-___-__-----_-__-___ So

9. Rubber packing, screwed together__ ____ ____-__- ___________ 84

10. Section of well illustrating a negative te.-t _____ ____________ 84

11. Section of well illustrating a partial and misleading test_______ 85

12. Section of well illustrating an inverted test______________ 85

13. Section of strata and three wells, showing one correct and two

erroneous tests._________________________ 8(i

14. Ideal section showing relative probability of obtaining artesian

flows at various depths.___________________ _ ________ 87
LETTER OF TEANSMITTAL.

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY,

Washington, D. G., June 18. 1904.

SIR : I have the honor to transmit herewith, for publication in the 

series of Water-Supply and Irrigation Papers, a report by Mr. Frank 

C. Calkins on the water resources of a portion of east-central Washington, made in connection with the investigation of the underground 

waters of the Western States, under charge of Mr. N. H. Darton.

The information contained in this paper is believed to be of value 

as a help to the understanding of the underground waters of that portion of the country.

Very respectfully, F. H. NEWELL,

Chief Engineer. 

Hon. CHARLES D. WALCOTT,

Director United titatex Geological Surrey.
GEOLOGY AND WATER RESOURCES OF A PORTION 

OF EAST-CENTRAL WASHINGTON.

By FRANK C. CALKINS.

INTRODUCTION.

During the fall of 1902 the writer, acting under instructions from 

Mr. F. H. Newell, chief engineer, United States Geological Survey, 

made an examination of the water resources of a portion of eastcentral Washington. The location and extent of the district investigated are shown on the index map, fig. 1.

\^.^. ..: ^-.^dste?

FIG. 1. Index map. showing location and extent of district investigated.

The objects of the investigation were determined by the natural 

conditions of the region. The climate of central Washington is arid, 

and a large portion of the district here especially considered is almost 

without surface streams available for the uses of mankind. Surface 

wells capable of supplying perennially even the modest requirements 

of domestic use can be sunk only in places where conditions are 

locally favorable. Springs once formed the only source of water for

11
J 2 GEOLOGY, ETC., OF EAST-CENTRAL WASHINGTON. [NO. 118.

a large area, but they are so widely scattered and often so difficult 

of access that great labor is sometimes involved in hauling a supply 

from them. Deep wells, now fairly numerous and rapidly increasing 

in number, are coming to be considered the most satisfactory sources 

of water. To determine to what extent the supply from these wells 

may be increased, and to find whether there is hope of obtaining 

artesian flows in any portion of the region, were the prime objects 

of the writer's expedition.

Geologic reconnaissance was carried on at the same time, as a 

knowledge of the character of the rocks and of their geologic structure is necessary to an intelligent opinion in regard to the possibility 

of obtaining underground water. A sketch of the geology of the 

region will, therefore, be incorporated in this report. Tt is limited 

on the one hand by the economic purposes which it is meant to serve 

and by the fact that it is intended primarily for nonscientific readers, 

and on the other by the hasty character of the work and the lack 

of a good topographic base, which made impossible a complete 

geologic survey of the region. The routes indicated on PI. I show 

the ground covered and will enable the reader to judge to what 

extent the opinions expressed are based on actual observation.

Field work was carried on during the four weeks beginning October 0, 1902. The equipment consisted of a spring wagon and team, 

a saddle horse, used in occasional excursions from the main routes, 

and a light camp outfit. Mr. D. [<\ McDonald, a student at the 

University of Washington,was engaged as teamster, and his intelligent 

interest in the work enabled him to assist materially in the collection 

of data.

Mention should be made here of geologic and hydrographic work 

previously done in this region and in neighboring areas where conditions are similar. Among the earliest scientific explorations in the 

region whose results have been published were those of Thomas W. 

Symons, who, in the fall of 1881, explored the Columbia from Grand 

Rapids to the mouth of Snake River. His report ° includes a description of the Great Plains of the Columbia and a sketch of the geologic 

history of the region. The most extensive and important work in 

the Columbia Plains has been done by Prof. Israel C. Russell, the 

results of whose investigations in central Washington,6 southeastern 

Washington,0 and northwestern Idaho d have appeared in publications of the United States Geological Survey.

0 Report of an examination of the upper Columbia River: Forty-seventh Cong., 1st sess., 

3. Doc. No. 186, 1882.

6 Russell, I. C., Geologic reconnaissance in central Washington: Bull. TJ. S. Geol. Survey No. 108, 1893.

c Russell, I. C., Reconnaissance in southeastern Washington: Water-Sup, and Irr. 

Paper No. 4, U. S. Geol. Survey, 1897.

a Russell, I. C., Geology and water resources of Nez Percea County, Idaho: Water-Sup. 

&nd Irr. Papers Nos. 63 and 54, U. S. Geol. Survey, 1901.
U. fe. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WAT§R-8UPPLV PAPER NO. 118 PL. I

R.24 E. R.25 E. ft.29 E. R.30 E. R3I E. R.33 E. R.34 E. R.35 E.

LEGEND

Ellensburg formation

Yakima basalt

±. Direction of clip

£Wilson Crctek

 Winchester

0 U

R.22 E. R.23 EJ1 R.24 E. R.25 E. R.26 E. R.27E. R ^8 L R.29 E. R.3O E. R.3SE. R.32 E. R.33 E R.34 E. R.35 E

GEOLOGIC SKETCH MAP AND SECTIONS OF A PORTION OF THE COLUMBIA PLAINS, WASHINGTON 

TO.POGKAPHY COMPILED FEOM u. s. LAND OFFICE PLATS, NORTHERN TBANSCONTINENTAL SURVEY, AND FIELD OBSERVATIONS BY |K. c. CALKINS

GEOLOGY BY F. C. CALKINS «

1004 

Scale 

5 0_______B 10______15 20_______25 mileB

Contour interval ftOO feet 

t Imtvm if mean tecjpvel
CALKINS.] TOPOGRAPHY. 13

Professor Russell's first work in the region was a reconnaissance in 

1893, which embraced a large area in central Washington, including 

the greater part of the district considered in the present report. The 

conclusions in regard to certain geologic problems reached by the 

writer after a more thorough examination of the ground differ in 

some particulars from those of Professor Russell, but they can not 

claim the authority of final solutions, which must depend on more 

detailed studies. It is a pleasure, however, to acknowledge indebtedness to Professor Russell for many helpful suggestions contained in 

his reports.

The water resources of a portion of Yakima County were studied 

in 1900 by Mr. George Otis Smith." His report is of especial interest 

because it describes the most successful artesian basin in the State and 

because his data were based largely on detailed areal work in the 

Ellensburg quadrangle. The Ellensburg folio,6 which has recently 

been published, affords a detailed description of a region where the 

geologic conditions are similar to those of a part of the area described 

in the following pages.

The writer's acknowledgments are due to Mr. F. H. Newell and to 

Mr. George Otis Smith for suggestions and criticisms in regard to the 

preparation of this report. For assistance in the collection of well 

data he is indebted to a great number of drillers, ranchers, and others, 

to mention all of whom by name would require too much space, but to 

whom he expresses thanks collectively. He would, however, express 

especial obligations to Mr. Ralph Kauffman, of Ellensburg, who furnished a large part of the information concerning the water resources 

of Kittitas Valley.

GEOGRAPHT.

TOPOGRAPHY.

MAIN TOPOGRAPHIC DIVISIONS OF EASTERN WASHINGTON.

The most important topographic feature of Washington is the 

Cascade Range. This noble chain of mountains, beginning in northern California, extends north through Oregon and Washington, but 

in the neighborhood of the forty-ninth parallel it loses its mountainous elevation and ruggeduess and merges into a deeply dissected but 

distinctly lower plateau. The average elevation of the Cascade summits is between 6,000 and 7,000 feet, and though comparatively few 

peaks rise above the latter height, a large number are more than 6,000 

feet high. A few great extinct volcanoes, such as the well-known 

cones of Rainier, Adams, and St. Helens, covered with eternal snows, 

tower to double the height of the rest.

" Smith, G. O., Geology and water resources of a portion of Yakima County, Wash. : 

Waler-Sup. and Irr. Paper No. 55. T*. S. Geol. Survey, 1001.

* Ellenshurg quadrangle : Geologic Atlas U. S., folio 86, U. S. Geol. Survey, 1903.
14 GEOLOGY, ETC., OF EAST-CENTRAL WASHINGTON. [NO. 118.

The region east of the Cascade Mountains, in which the area considered in this report is embraced, lies for the most part in that 

broad topographic province known as the Great Plains of the Columbia. This province may be roughly defined as follows: On the south 

and southeast its boundary is somewhat irregularly marked by the 

Blue Mountains of Oregon and Idaho, on the east by the Bitterroot 

and Co?ur d'Alene ranges, on the north by a mountainous though 

not extremely rugged region comprising the Okanogan highlands and 

the Colville Mountains, and on the west by the Cascade Mountains, 

which merge into these highlands.

The extensive area thus outlined is by no means a plain in the strict 

sense of the word; between its lowest and highest points there is a 

difference in altitude of 4,000 feet. It includes great plateau-like 

areas in its eastern and northern portions and broad stretches of lowlying sandy waste along the Columbia in southern Washington and 

northern Oregon. The level expanses are broken, moreover, by hills 

and ridges, usually of rather gently rounded profile, and the high 

plateau-like portions are trenched by streams that have formed magnificent steep-walled canyons. But to the traveler upon the broad 

stretches between the streams the canyons are not visible until he 

reaches the brink, and the hills and ridges, not rising in general to 

great heights, are of little importance in comparison with the vast 

intermediate areas, level or but gently sloping. Thus the inequalities 

of the surface, while relieving the monotony of the landscape, do not 

determine its character, nor make its designation as a great plain 

seem inappropriate to one familiar with the region.

As the western border of the Columbia Plains crosses the area with 

which this report is especially concerned it will be necessary to make 

some further statement in regard to its character and its relations 

to the Cascade Mountains.

The boundary between the Cascade Mountains and the plains varies 

in sharpness of definition. North of Wenatchee the division is very 

accurately marked by Columbia Hiver. West of the profound canyon 

of this river the country is rugged and thoroughly dissected by 

streams that are generally separated by sharp, or at least narrow, 

divides. On the east the rim of the canyon is the edge of a plateau 

standing about 2,000 feet above the river, and although Badger 

Mountain rises rather prominently above its general level, and ith 

border is notched by canyons tributary to the Columbia, it has the 

general topographic character of the Columbia Plains.

South from Wenatchee to Sentinel Bluffs the plains are overlooked 

on the west by Table Mountain, which rises with a somewhat gentle 

slope from the brink of the river gorge to a broad summit over 5,000 

feet above the level of the sea. South of Table Mountain, however, 

the boundary between the mountains and the plains becomes less
U. 8. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 118 PL. II

- GEOLOGIC SKETCH MAP AND SECTION OF KITTITAS VALLEY'WASHINGTON

TOPOGRAPHY BY C. 8. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY AND "NORTHERN TRANSCONTINENTAL SCRVEY 

GEOLOGY COMPILED FKOM U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY SHEETS AND .FJELD OBSERVATIONS

BY F. C. CALKINS 

1904

2 | 0 2 C4 B , 8 

Contour interval 500 feet

 ALKINS.I TOPOGRAPHY. 15

definite, and there intervenes a region intermediate, not only in position but in topographic character, between the two great provinces in 

their typical aspects.

This border region is characterized by the presence of many welldefined ridges, whose trend varies from east-west to northwest - 

southwest, and whose even crests rise gently toward the west and 

merge with the Cascade Mountains proper, while to the east they 

gradually sink and are lost on the surface of the plains. Between 

these foothill ridges there are broad valleys which, by the aid of 

irrigation, have become the richest farming lands of eastern Washington ; the aggregate area of these valleys, however, is barely equal 

to that of the distinctly hilly lands. To a traveler in the valleys the 

landscape presents an aspect very similar to that of the Columbia, 

Plains, the resemblance being heightened by the fact that the character of the natural vegetation is similar in the two regions. The 

hills in the landscape, however, give it a certain degree of contrast 

with the more monotonous scenery of the plains. This borderland 

between the plains and the mountains, therefore, while not very distinctly marked off from either, is sufficiently well characterized to 

deserve recognition as a topographic province. It might appropriately be called the foothill region.

K1THTAS VALLEY.

The region considered in this report includes a portion of the 

foothill region, but lies mainly in the Columbia Plains.

Kittitas Valley (see PI. TI), which forms the westernmost portion 

of the area, is the northernmost of the large foothill valleys. The 

broad floor of this basin-like depression contains an immense area 

of fertile farm land. Its configuration is favorable to irrigation 

from Vakima River and from its numerous small tributaries that flow 

from the mountains west and north, for there is everywhere a gentle 

slope toward the principal stream. Vakima River, however, does 

not flow through the valley from end to end, but only traverses its 

western portion diagonally and makes an abrupt exit through a 

profound gorge. The southeastern continuation of the basin is without perennial streams, and since it has a somewhat steeper gradient 

than the western portion, a large part of it can not be irrigated from 

the highest ditch now taking water from the river.

The flat lands of Kittitas Valley are separated by a considerable 

stretch of hills from the Columbia, Plains.

THE DESERT.

That portion of the plains lying just east of the Columbia has a 

desolate, almost desert-like aspect, and will for the sake of brevity

JHR 118 Uo M 2
1<> UKnLoGY, ETC., OF EAST-CLNTRAL WASHINGTON. LN<>. 118.

be referred to as " the desert/' The greater portion of it is nearly 

level, but its monotony is relieved by two east-west ridges, the most 

prominent of which is known as Saddle Mountain. This straight 

and simple ridge extends to a point about 40 miles east of the river, 

where it sinks gradually to the level of the plain. It is, in fact, an 

offshoot from the larger Table Mountain uplift, from which it has 

been cut away by the Columbia. The basalt cliils known as Sentinel 

Bluffs, forming the portals of the gate which the river has made 

through the ridge, are among the grandest scenic features of the 

region. Saddle Mountain has a fairly gentle southern slope, but its 

northern face is strikingly abrupt, being for some miles east of the 

river a precipitous cliff more than a thousand feet high. Farther to 

the east this cliff gives way to a rather steep slope.

The surface of the desert is covered with a dry sandy soil, which 

is constantly shifted by the winds, although its motion is somewhat 

retarded by a scanty growth of shrubs and grass. The character of 

the soil and climate and the absence of surface water are conditions 

that have prevented attempts at cultivation, except along Columbia 

River and Crab Creek, though the northern border of the district is 

dotted with the cabins of a few homesteaders. The greater portion 

of the desert is given over to grazing and is without human habitation.

THK WHEAT

Embracing the desert-like area on the north and east is the more 

elevated portion of the Great Plains of the Columbia, which extend 

northward into the so-called Big Bend of the Columbia and eastward 

into Idaho. The topographic character of the part south of upper 

Crab Creek is that of a plateau dissected by canyons. North of 

Crab Creek there is a ridge, whose cross profile is that of a broad, 

flat arch forming the south side of a valley with gently sloping sides. 

The two last-mentioned features are terminated to the west by the 

Grand Coulee, beyond which rises an elevation, plateau-like in character. but considerably ravined and with no very broad level areas.

These plateau-like portions of the Columbia Plains are fitted by 

natural conditions to wheat growing, and have a considerable and 

an increasing farming population. They will be referred to generally in the following pages as the *' wheat lands/'

DRAINAGE.

fWvw&/« /?/rf;'. The master stream of the region is the Columbia. Despite its great volume, this river contributes little to the economic resources of east-central Washington. It has several rapids 

in its course through the region, among them being Priest Rapids, 

which can not be ascended by steamers except with great danger and
] TOPOGEAPHY. 17

difficulty. These rapids extend for about 7 miles and consist of 7 

" ripples;" at the foot of the last one the river is deflected by a 

ridge having a bold cliff for its northern face, along which it flows 

for several miles. The fatal obstacle to the use of the Columbia waters 

for irrigation lies in the fact that the stream (lows in a canyon with 

fairly abrupt walls, sunk from 800 to 1,000 feet below the broad, flat 

stretches to the east, and that its gradient, though fairly high considering the volume of its flow, is much lower than that of the rivers in 

the foothill region, so extensively used for irrigation.

rVv?& r?'ff^'. The large area of the Columbia Plains embraced in 

the great sweep of the river, bounded on the north and west by the 

Columbia, on the south by Snake River, and on the east by the one 

hundred and eighteenth meridian, has only very insignificant surface 

streams, the only one that maintains a perennial flow along the 

greater portion of its channel being Crab Creek, which rises in the 

vicinity of Davenport, Wash., at .an elevation of about 2,500 feet. 

Its total length, neglecting minor curves and including the lakes in 

its course and the stretches where it flows beneath the alluvium in 

the bottom of its canyon, is about 250 miles, about the same as that 

of Yakima River. Its course through this region is readily divisible 

into three parts. The first and longest of these, in which the general 

direction of the stream is nearly from east to west, may be designated 

upper Crab Creek. The surface flow is perennial along the greater 

part of this stretch, though at the time of the writer's visit the 

channel was dry from an unknown distance above Odessa to a point 

about 3 miles below, where the stream emerges from the gravels in 

considerable volume. It sinks again below Wilson Creek, to rise 

near the head of Moses Lake, which probably owes its existence 

to the formation of a range of sand dunes across the ancient channel 

of the creek. The dam thus formed, however, is a leaky one, and 

the waters seep through, to gather below, forming a stream perhaps 

slightly diminished from its former volume by evaporation in the 

lake. This southward-flowing portion of the stream may be designated middle Crab Creek. About 15 miles below the lake the stream 

again takes a westerly direction, flowing in a broad-bottomed, steepwalled canyon. At some point near the middle of this lower course 

Crab Creek sinks finally, and delivers no surface water to the Columbia at the mouth of its canyon. This west-flowing section of the 

stream may be designated lower Crab Creek.

Cov?6^. Crab Creek has only a few branches that contribute to 

its surface flow throughout the year and a few more that flow during 

the rainy season, but it has a great number of tributary canyons which 

are perfectly dry except at periods of unusually heavy rainfall. Many 

of these are scores of miles in length and of corresponding width and
18 GEOLOGY, ETC., OF EAST-CENTRAL WASHINGTON. [NO. 118.

depth. These canyons, dry or containing only small streams disproportionate to their size, are known as coulees. They have all the topographic characters of stream-carved valleys, but it is evident that they 

could not have been formed by stream erosion under present conditions. Their origin must be referred to a prehistoric period in which 

the region had an abundant rainfall and was well watered by surface 

streams. These branching systems of dry canyons represent ancient 

river systems.

The most important of the branches of the ancient Crab Creek 

system, except Grand Coulee, whose peculiar history separates it from 

the others, is Lind Coulee, in which the Northern Pacific Railway 

runs from Providence to Ritzville.

Providence Coulee, in which Hatton, Scott, and Connell are situated, is now devoid of Mowing water, though it once formed the trunk 

of a river system almost as considerable as that for which Crab 

Creek is the master stream.

Of all the abandoned canyons of the Columbia Plains, however, the 

greatest and most remarkable is Grand Coulee. Not only does it 

possess many features of scenic grandeur, but its geologic history is of 

the highest interest. This great chasm was carved by Columbia 

River at a time when its profound gorge was dammed by a great ice 

lobe that came down the valley of the Okanogan and pushed southward some 30 miles across the plateau south of the master stream. 

The waters of the Columbia, deflected by the great glacier, flowed 

along its eastern face, and, continuing southward in what is now the 

bed of Crab Creek, regained their proper channel just above Sentinel 

Bluffs.

Opening from the canyon of the Columbia near the northwest corner of Lincoln County, the Grand Coulee extends in a southwesterly 

direction for over 30 miles. Throughout the greater %)ortion of this 

distance it is a wide, Rat-bottomed canyon, walled by cliffs, but a 

little south of its middle point its western wall subsides and it is 

joined by a broad valley with gently sloping sides. Opposite the 

mouth of this valley a plateau rises nearly a thousand feet above the 

bottom of the coulee, but the ascent to this upland is made on a moderate slope unbroken by cliffs. This break in the walls of the chasm, 

constituting the only point where the Grand Coulee proper can be 

crossed by a wagon, has determined the location of the small town 

known as Coulee City. Above this middle pass the coulee bottom, 

partly covered by alkaline lakes and playas, is about 1^ miles wide, 

with basalt cliffs which rise on either side to a height of about 400 feet. 

Two miles below the town the bottom of the canyon abruptly drops, 

and two amphitheaters, separated by a narrow point and walled by 

vertical cliifs 400 feet in height, mark the place where the Columbia 

once poured in a mighty cataract.
CALKINS.! TOPOGRAPHY. 19

The gorge extends southward 15 miles farther. The eastern wall 

of this lower section does not rise much higher than the level of Cou- 

'ee City, but its western side maintains a commanding elevation and 

forms a frowning escarpment visible for many leagues to the south 

:md east. The coulee finally opens out in the northeastern portion of 

the desert upon a gravel plain, the surface being higher than that of 

Soap Lake, the southernmost of the chain that lies in the deep chasm. 

Beneath the mantle of surface material, however, the rocky channel 

probably persists, and is continued in the depression occupied by 

Moses Lake and Crab Creek.

Lake*. Lakes, generally shallow and of small extent, are very

 uimerous in the northern portion of the region. They are invariably 

situated in coulees, their basins having been formed by the erosion of 

former streams or dammed by wind-blown materials. They are, 

^herefore, usually elongated in form and separated by stretches of 

dry or meadowy land; often they are disposed in chains. The most 

important series in this region is that which lies in the bottom of the 

Grand Coulee. In this chain we may include Moses Lake, the largest

-heet of water in the Columbia Plains.

The majority of the lakes in this arid region have no outlets, while 

others overflow only in the rainy season. As a consequence, the small 

amounts of salts contained in all surface waters are concentrated in 

the lake basins by evaporation, and a majority of the lakes are more 

or less alkaline, Moses Lake containing about 0.32 gram of total solids 

per liter of water."

The lakes in the lower section of the Grand Coulee are successively 

"uglier from south to north, and the northern lakes occasionally overflow to the south at seasons of high water. Tt follows that, while the 

water of the northernmost of these lakes is comparatively fresh and 

palatable, the waters of the others become successively more alkaline 

to the south. Soap Lake, the most southerly, is extremely alkaline; 

its wr aters when they lap against the shores on windy days are beaten 

into great masses of white foam like soap suds. The alkalinity of 

the lake is further showT n by the soapy feeling observed on rubbing 

the hands in its water and by its bitter taste, so strong and disagreeable that it is refused by a thirsty horse accustomed to more palalable water. The cattle of the neighborhood, however, constrained 

by necessity, have overcome this natural repugnance and the lake is 

a drinking place for a large number of them.

Soap Lake contains 28 parts in 1,000 of matter in solution, consisting essentially of carbonates, sulphates, chlorides, and bicarbonate 

of soda.b

Ann. Kept. Geol. Survey of Washington, vol. 1, 1901, p. 294. ''Ibid., p. 295.
20 GEOLOGY, ETC., OF EAST-CENTRAL WASHINGTON. [xo. 118.

Sulphur Lake, in Washtucna Coulee, is another pond in which the 

water is an extremely concentrated alkaline solution.

In this connection should be mentioned the numerous " alkali flats " 

or playas, which are ponds during a portion of the year, but become 

dry every summer, and which have their supply of salts annually 

increased by the amount held in solution by the waters that flow into 

them during the rainy season.

A typical coulee, containing small lakes, is shown on PI. Ill, .4.

CLIMATE.

The most characteristic climatic features of eastern Washington are 

due to the fact that the region is separated from the ocean by a broad 

belt of fairly high mountains. The great influence of the Cascade 

Range is rendered manifest by the sharp contrast that obtains between 

the climates of eastern and western Washington. The region on the 

seaward side of these mountains has a climate that is remarkably mild, 

considering the rather high northern latitude, and that is without 

extremes of heat or cold. The most characteristic feature, however, 

is its extreme humidity. The eastern part of the State, on the contrary, being removed from the tempering influence of the ocean and 

the warm Japan Current, which flows along the north Pacific coast, 

has the wide range of temperature that is characteristic of the climate 

of interior regions. The winds of the Pacific, which supply the 

abundant rainfall of the Sound country, can not cross the broad Cascade Range without losing the greater portion of their moisture by 

condensation in the form of rain or snow, and the climate of eastern 

Washington is therefore as decidedly arid as that of western Washington is humid.

The average yearly rainfall in Kittitas Valley, as deduced from 

Weather Bureau statistics covering many years, is approximately 8 

inches. For other localities in the area with which we are directly 

concerned there are only the most fragmentary records. At Lind, in 

the wheat lands, the observations for 1898 and 1899 show a total for 

each year of about 12 inches. Incomplete records at Ritzville during 

the same years apparently indicate an annual average about equal to 

or slightly less than that of Ellensburg. At Coulee City the scanty 

data indicate an annual rainfall not far different from that of Ritzville. At Connell, in the southeast quarter of the area considered, the 

precipitation in 1900 was 2.29 inches for all of the year except April 

and November; in 1899, 2.24 for all except January, February, and 

March. These figures indicate that the mean precipitation at that 

locality is extremely low, probably not above 5 inches per annum. 

Although figures are lacking for what has been termed the desert, 

its general aspect indicates that its annual rainfall probably does not 

average more than that of the vicinity of Connell.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 118 PL. Ill

A. TYPICAL COULEE SOUTH OF COULEE CITY.

B. COLUMNAR PARTING IN BASALT, UMPTANUM VALLEY.
OALKIXS.] CLIMATE AND VEGETATION. 2

Tlic seasonal distribution of the precipitation is very characteristic ; as in all the far West, there is a wet season and a dry season. 

By far the greater portion of the annual supply of rain and snow 

falls between Octolxr 1 and May 31. The precipitation is for the 

most part in the form of gentle rain, which is generally almost entirely absorbed without considerable ioss by run-off. The amount 

of snowfall in winter is often fairly large, however, and the drifts 

are often sufficiently deep on the hills to obstruct travel from Kittita-s 

Valley to the Columbia.

The mean annual temperature at Ellensburg is approximately 

48°. For localities in that portion of the area considered which lies 

in the Columbia Plains very scanty records are available. In 1809, 

when the annual average for Ellensburg was 40.5°, that for Lind 

was 50.i2°. It may be safely asserted that the average temperature 

for the eastern part of the area is slightly above that for Kittitas 

Valley, and probably not far from 50°. The range of temperature, 

as mentioned before, is high, the greatest variation noted being in 

the Weather Bureau record for Lind during 1899, when the maximum was 112° and the minimum 33°. The temperature at Ellensburg, however, generally keeps within the limits -|-9G° and 15°, 

while in the lower portions of the Columbia Plains both limits are 

somewhat higher. The figures giving the dates between the last 

killing frost in spring and the first in autumn are of considerable 

interest to students of agricultural conditions. The last spring frost 

usually occurs in the latter part of May, but has been known to be 

deferred until early in June. The first severe frost of autumn 

usually falls near October 1, but occurred at Ellensburg on September 9 in the unusually severe year of 1895. The lateness of spring 

frosts is inimical to the culture of such fruits as peaches, cherries, 

and apricots.

VEGETATION.

The natural vegetation of central Washington is chiefly influenced 

in its broad variations by climatic conditions. The only great 

forested area in the region here considered is on Table Mountain, 

whose height gives it a much moister and cooler climate than that of 

most of the region. The Columbia Plains and the comparatively 

low foothills are almost treeless, though Yakima River and certain 

small streams are bordered with a more or less considerable growth 

of trees and shrubbery. The treeless regions are clothed with a 

scanty vegetation composed of hardy grasses and shrubs, whose general aspect would be familiar to anyone acquainted with the arid 

regions of the West. In addition to the important influences of 

climate and water supply, soil conditions cause more local and less 

conspicuous variations in the flora.
22 GEOLOGY, ETC.. OF EAST-CENTRAL WASHINGTON. [NO. 118.

The forest that clothes the top of Table Mountain comprises many 

species of fir. spruce, pine, and tamarack. In the sparse growth of 

its lower slopes the prevailing species is the yellow pine. The woody 

growth that borders the Yakima includes many large trees, mainly 

cottonwood and alder, with a sprinkling of yellow pine and a dense 

undergrowth of willows and other shrubbery. East of Kittitas Valley 

there are few plants worthy to be called trees. The small streams 

and springs are fringed with a more or less scattered growth of willow, birch, and wild cherry. The Columbians banks are destitute of 

trees except for a few small junipers growing on its flood plain.

On (he Columbia Plains and the southeastern foothills, almost 

desert-like in their aspect, the characteristic species are sagebrush 

and bunch grass, occurring in variable proportions. Sagebrush is 

moderately plentiful in all the western part of the region exclusive 

of the forested areas, attaining %?erhaps its greatest size and abundance in the central portion, near the boundary between the desert 

and the wheat lands. Kastward it diminishes, growing rather sparsely 

about Conne.il, Ritzville, and the other towns along the Northern 

Pacific Railroad. launch grass was seen in greatest luxuriance where 

the sagebrush is least abundant, but as it had there been protected for 

some years by fencing, it is difRcult to say where it grew thickest 

before the land was swept by grazing herds.

The local variations of flora, determined by the character of the 

soils, are of considerable interest. In the sandy western portions of 

the plains, for example, while the general aspect is similar to that 

of the typical sagebrush land, the shrubs are mainly of species other 

than the true sage, and the true bunch grass is replaced by species 

more adapted to survive in this very dry soil. In the coulee bottoms 

other peculiar conditions have an equally decided influence on vegetation. The borders of the fresh-water ponds support a growth of 

tules. The meadow lands are covered with wild grasses, the short 

stiff-bladed salt grass being characteristic of the more alkaline soil. 

In soil that is alkaline but dry rye grass and greasewood, or thorny 

sage, form the principal growth. The character of the vegetation 

thus affords an index of the agricultural properties of the soil.

GRAZING.

The early settlers found eastern Washington a rich grazing region. 

The natural growth of nutritious bunch grass was so abundant that 

winter feeding often could be dispensed with and cattle and horses 

wintered on the open range, though there was doubtless great hardshi%3 and frequent death from cold in the more inclement winters. In 

the eastern portion, however, there was always the great drawback 

common to so many of the western ranges, of scanty water supply,
CALKINS.] GRAZING. 23

and during the hot months the necessity of keeping within a moderate distance of water prevented the stock from availing themselves 

of the entire grazing area.

Since the enrly days, however, the ranges of east Washington have 

greatly deteriorated. In this, as in most other western grazing 

regions, the forage plants have been eaten down so constantly that 

the forces of growth have been unable to compensate for the continual 

loss, and the evils of overgrazing have conspired with the encroachment of other agricultural industries to cause a decline in the extent 

and profitableness of the stock business. In consequence of the lastnamed cause the areas devoted to open grazing have been reduced to 

include only the lands unfitted by their topography, the nature of 

their soil, or the insufficiency of their water for the growth of hay, 

grain, and other crops.

The most important of the areas still devoted to grazing are the 

hills and the desert.

The rolling hills in the southwest part of the region and the slopes 

of Table Mountain constitute a large and important stock range. 

They have few level tracts extensive enough for economical cultivation, and the soil is generally thin and interrupted by patches of barren rock. Tn a state of nature the hills were abundantly clothed with 

bunch grass, and still afford excellent pasture where excessive grazing has not occurred. Springs and rivulets, though not abundant, 

are plentiful enough to render the greater part of the grass available 

to the stock.

The second great stock range is coextensive with what we have 

termed the desert, where the sandy character of the soil, combined 

with great aridity of climate, seems to forbid the hope of dry farming, and where there is no water for irrigation. Watering places are 

here few and far between. In the northeast quarter the grazing 

animals resort principally to Moses Lake; farther south, and near 

the eastern limit of the range, to Skuten Springs: in the central portion of the desert, to lower and middle Crab Creek: and along the 

south and west edges, for the most part, to Columbia River, although 

in the northwestern portion, where the stream is bordered by lofty 

basalt cliffs, they resort in part to springs. The dispersion of drinking places, as an inspection of the map will show, is so great that 

there are spots that lie many miles from any surface water.

The effects of excessive grazing are first felt in the areas near 

springs and streams, a fact strikingly evident to every traveler in 

this desert-like region. Along the borders of the, streams there are 

broad stretches, often many miles across, where the bunch grass has 

been eaten down to nearly complete extermination. Farther back
24 GEOLOGY, ETC., OF EAST-CENTRAL WASHINGTON. fxo. US.

from water the grass is much less closely cropped, and there are areas 

that seem to lie almost untouched from year to year.

There is another way in which the hard conditions of life on the 

range are forced upon the attention of the traveler. He will soon 

notice that the plain is traversed by numberless straight, deep-worn 

trails, and further observation will show that they are arranged in 

systems, converging toward points on the borders of a stream canyon 

or of some coulee in whose depths there is a spring or lake. Following a trail in the direction of water, he will find the minor paths 

gathering together as do the branches of a river system, to unite 

finally in a broad, well-beaten track that passes down some gully 

affording a graded route to the drinking place. A thirsty animal 

at any point in the arid range, by merely falling into the nearest trail 

and following it to the end, may generally make his way to water by 

the shortest possible route. A frequent and impressive sight is that 

of a band of horses on the way to a drinking place, following a trail 

in single file and moving at a swinging trot or easy lope in order to 

consume a minimum of time in the necessary quest for the refreshing 

element. In the dry season this journey must be made daily, but in 

the other months, when the demands of nature are less and are partly 

supplied by snow and the rain absorbed by the dry grass, the stock 

may abstain from drinking for several days at a time.

Since the horse can cover more ground and can afford the time to 

make longer journeys to water, the excessive restriction of the range 

has been more prejudicial to cattle than to horses, and horses have 

therefore become much more numerous than cattle upon the open 

range.

Two minor classes of range land remain to be noticed. The first 

comprises the slopes bordering the coulees of the wheat lands. 

Broken by terraces and by outcrops of basalt, they are unsuited for 

grain culture, but bear a considerable growth of bunch grass. In the 

aggregate these lands constitute a large area adapted for grazing, and 

one that probably never can be available for any other use.

The second class comprises certain narrow strips lying along rivers 

and lakes and watered by their underflow or seepage. The gravelly 

flood plain of the Columbia supports in places a scanty growth of 

lupine and other weeds that are eaten by cattle. The horses prefer 

to range back where the forage, though less palatable than thisverdant growth, can be gathered more rapidly, and thus the green 

fodder is left to the sluggish cattle. More important, however, are 

the natural meadows that border Crab Creek and some of its tributaries, with certain of the desert lakes. These meadows are covered 

with abundant grass, and the generous growth has led to their being 

appropriated, fenced off, and used for pasturing and hay growing.
LANDS OF TEE COLUMBIA PLAINS. 25 

AGRICULTURE.

GENERAL STATEMENT.

In the early days of settlement the sole agricultural pursuit of 

eastern Washington was grazing on the open range. ()wing, however, to natural laws of development, this industry has keen displaced to a large extent by others which involve the tilling of the soil, 

and which, while yielding immensely greater returns, acre for acre, 

than grazing, require less capital than is required for the inception of 

a profitable stock-raising business. The directions of this later development have differed in Kittitas Valley and on the Columbia Plains. 

This fact, while due in pni't to differences in soil and climate, depends 

in a far higher degree, on the conditions of water supply. Kittitas 

Valley is an irrigated region, while on by far the greater part of the 

Columbia Plains dry farming alone is practicable. While the discussion of open grazing, therefore, has been made general for the 

entire region, the other agricultural industries must be described 

separately for Kittitas Valley and the plains.

THE COLUMBIA PLAINS. 

NATURAL CONDITIONS.

The cultivated %]ortion of the Columbia Plains may be classified 

as plateau lands, meadow lands, and bench lands.

By far the most im%)ortant in extent are the plateau lands, comprising the broad, level upland areas. The important natural conditions influencing agriculture upon the plateaus are (1) an arid climate, (2) absence of surface water for irrigation, and (8) a soil easily 

tilled, fertile, and peculiarly adapted to retaining and utilizing the 

scanty precipitation. The soil of the plateau lands is shown by 

chemical analysis to abound in the elements necessary to support 

plant life. Its peculiar virtues, however, are probably due less to its 

chemical than to its physical properties, its fine o%]en texture rendering the plant food readily available and its friable character and 

freedom from stones making it very easy to till. Probably most 

important of all, however, is its behavior toward water. On the one 

hand, it is so porous that rain or melted snow is quickly absorbed by 

it, so that a smaller proportion is lost by run-off or by eva%]oration 

from puddles than would be lost if it were more clayey and impervious, and, on the other hand, it is not loose enough to allow the water 

to sink rapidly and become unavailable, as it does in a deep sandy soil. 

The spaces between the particles of the fine loam are so small that 

the water is held in them by adhesion or capillary attraction, and 

yields to the force of gravity only slowly and to a comparatively 

small extent. Therefore a large proportion of the slight precipitation is kept sufBciently near the surface to be used by the growing
2fi GEOLOGY, ETC., OF EAST-CENTRAL WASHINGTON. f*o. 118.

wheat, and successful grain culture is possible with a rainfall that 

would be insufficient in a soil of less advantageous physical constitution. Dry farming of grain is the industry found most profitable 

under these conditions, and absorbs by far the greatest part of the 

energies of the farming population in this district, as well as in eastern Washington generally.

Far less in area than the grain lands are the meadows of Crab 

Creek, Grand Coulee, and Harrison Springs, characterized by heavy, 

moist, generally alkaline soils, and chiefly devoted to hay and pasture.

The bench lands comprise a comparatively small area on the terraces of Columbia River, where the sandy alluvial soil is irrigated 

with river water and produces a variety of crops.

. The invasion of the land by the wheat industry 

has proceeded from the northeast. The settlement of the district 

about Ritzville, the thriving county seat ()f Adams County, dates back 

nearly a score of years, and the well-tilled farms, the numerous small 

but flourishing orchards, and the substantial farm buildings give this 

vicinity a gratifying aspect of prosperity. The villages on the Northern Pacific Railroad southwest of Ritzville and along the Great 

Northern are lively and growing, but glaringly new, and the hastily 

constructed, often unpainted frame house is the prevailing architectural type. The whole aspect of the country also speaks of its recent 

settlement. In the vicinity of Connell a large proportion of the, 

wheat land has been broken in the past year, and many sections, protected from grazing by fences, still bear an abundant growth of 

bunch grass.

To the west also the frontier of the wheat belt is being pushed 

to the border of the desert. The land is dotted with the board shanties of homesteaders and with newly plowed squares that break the 

surface of the virgin ground. The clearing away of the strong and 

abundant sagebrush of this district preliminary to the first sowing 

is no small task, and many entire families are to be seen engaged 

in uprooting the shrubs, collecting them in wagons, and feeding them 

to blazing bonfires. The wholesale destruction of the brush is rather 

to be deplored, for the roots and lower stalks are used as fuel in many 

homes, and, while far from ideal for this purpose, must be of considerable value in a region where wood is so dimcult to obtain.

The earlier settlement of the northeastern part of this region is not 

due to chance alone, but in part to better natural conditions, the 

greater rainfall giving this section a natural advantage over the country to the southwest. The appearance of the stubble after the fall 

harvest, as well as general report, indicates that it is superior in 

natural productiveness to the more arid districts. Part of the
CALKINS. J AOKK'ULTURK. 27

apparent superiority is doubtless due to long cultivation of the land, 

for the best results are not obtained until about three years after the 

first breaking, when the roots of the sagebrush and bunch grass are 

quite decomposed. But after making all allowances it still seems 

unreasonable to expect as good returns in the recently settled districts 

to the south and west as from the older land, where crops may suiter 

heavily in years of especially light rainfall.

Exact data concerning the yield of wheat are difficult to obtain, 

but the general run of crops appears to be from 16 to 25 bushels per 

acre. Extremely large yields are not necessary for profitable culture, 

for the land is low in price and so easily worked that the cost of cultivation is much less than in heavier lands. It seems necessary, however, to work a considerable holding, and the ranches are probably in 

a majority of cases a section or more in area. The advantages of 

close settlement and small farms will perhaps never be attained.

/^om^e growm*/. An important adjunct to the grazing industry 

is the culture of hay for winter feeding. There are numerous 

farms along upper and middle Crab Creek where hay is gathered 

from the meadows, the crop being stored in large stacks and the 

mown fields used as pastures for some time after harvest. The 

greater portion of this hay is fed on the ranches, for while a minor 

quantity is hauled to villages in the wheat lands it can hardly compete successfully with wheat hay and hay imported from the irrigated districts to the west. Unfortunately, the strongly alkaline 

character of the soil is fatal to the better forage plants, and the crop 

is of wild hay, very inferior in nutrient qualities to timothy, clover, 

or alfalfa. One hay ranch, perhaps the most important seen during 

this reconnaissance, is located on spring-watered land at the foot of 

Priest Rapids. At this locality the excessive moisture of the soil is 

prejudicial to domesticated grasses, though they have gradually been 

introduced to a slight extent, and the quality of the crop is thereby 

improved.

ZZoT^fM^M/'g. Though horticulture in this portion of the State 

is not an important industry, orchards for supplying the needs 

of a household are very generally to be found on the older ranches, 

and larger ones are fairly numerous in the neighborhood of Bitzville. Two were seen on Columbia River, one irrigated by a water 

wheel and another by a small ditch from a neighboring canyon. So 

far as known, no shipments of fruit are made to distant parts of the 

State.

The natural conditions in the wheat country are unfavorable to 

fruit culture in many ways. The late frosts in spring, as experience 

has shown, are often fatal to the growth of peaches where they have 

been tried. The hardier apples often attain good size and quality, 

especially upon high ground, and prune trees are s.a,id..tp
28 GEOLOGY, ETC., OK KAST-(iENTRAL WASHINGTON. [NO. 118.

crops. Excellent pears are grown on the McMamiainon ranch on 

middle Crab Creek, where the alkali of the soil is injurious to most 

other fruit trees. In the land bordering Columbia River there seems 

reason to hope that fruits may be grown with much success if extensive irrigation can be provided, for at Wenatchee, where temperature 

conditions are %)robably very similar, fruit culture is a flourishing 

industry.

Small fruits are said to thrive where their culture has been attem%)ted, notably on the plateau west of Grand Coulee. Domestic 

vegetable gardens, with cabbage, corn, and other hardy plants, add 

to the comfort and convenience of many thrifty ranchers, but generally do not present a flourishing appearance.

Except at the two localities on Columbia River already mentioned, 

practically no fruits are irrigated in this region. Vegetables are 

sometimes watered by a small stream from the farm well, but no 

extensive, systematically irrigated gardens exist. If irrigation were 

possible there is no doubt that the quality and amount of fruit and 

vegetables raised in this region might be greatly increased. The 

extent to which irrigation may be practicable will be discussed later.

KITTITAS VALLEY. 

NATURAL CONDITIONS.

The broad floor of Kittitas Valley presents a large area of alluvial 

soil of great natural fertility. The annual rainfall is too low to sup- 

%]ort agriculture in itself, but this deficiency is more than overcome 

by the conditions that have made it possible to irrigate a large portion of the land from mountain streams. The rather low mean 

temperature and the lateness of spring frosts is disadvantageous and 

makes horticulture less successful than in the Yakima region, where 

conditions are otherwise similar. The character of the agricultural 

industries of Kittitas Valley has been determined by the conditions 

thus briefly outlined. They may be classified as follows: (1) Growing of forage; (2) dairying; (3) grain culture, and (4) horticulture.

.Fovwyg <//'OMVM#y. In the winter feeding of sheep, cattle, and 

horses that range the neighboring hills and mountains a large amount 

of forage is consumed on the valley farms. But as the irrigated 

lands are eminently suited to the growing of hay and the warm dry 

months of summer enable the farmer to cure it thoroughly with small 

risk of injury by rain, a large surplus over that consumed locally is 

raised, the different varieties of hay, mainly timothy, clover, and 

alfalfa, constituting one of the most important crops of the region. 

It is baled and exported in large quantities and finds ready sale at
< AI.IVI.NS. ] GEOLOGY. 29

prices considerably higher than those obtained for the forage grown 

in the more humid region west of the Cascades.

Dairying. The abundance of the best fodder and the excellent 

pasture afforded by hay fields in the intervals of cropping are conditions favorable for milch cattle, and dairying is an industry of considerable importance. While no large farms arc entirely deyoted to 

it, the great majority of ranchers produce small quantities of milk, 

which is collected daily by the seyeral creamery companies and 

worked into excellent butter on a large scale. There are six creameries in the county, which is among the most important dairying 

counties of the State.

(*?m//< rv(7/v/Y'. Grain, including wheat, barley, and oats, in order 

of importance as named, is a crop of considerable magnitude, the 

greater part being grown on the marginal portions of the yalley, 

where there is not sufficient water for the proper irrigation of hay.

77o/f/rv^*//'«?. There are probably no ranches in Kittitas Valley 

with horticulture for their principal dependence, but nearly eyery 

thriving farm has its garden and orchard to supply domestic needs. 

Nearly all vegetables do well under irrigation, and considerable quantities of small fruits and vegetables are exported. The climate, as 

before noted, is unfavorable to most orchard fruits. Apples are the 

only ones grown in sufficient quantity for export; these are of excellent appearance and flavor, and generally freer from worms and other 

defects than the fruit of western Washington.

GENERAL STATEMENT.

The area considered in this report lies wholly within the vast territory which, in Miocene time, was inundated by great floods of basaltic 

lava. Throughout the greater part of Hie region the basalt lies not 

far beneath the surface. Though for the most part covered with 

soil in the level upland stretches and gentle slopes, it is exposed in 

the walls of nearly every coulee or canyon. From this rock are carved 

the imposing but somber cliffs of the Grand Coulee, the gorge of the 

Columbia at the foot of Table Mountains, and the majestic Sentinel 

Bluffs. Its depth appears from the fact that nowhere within the 

limits of this reconnaissance has it been cut through by the streams 

that have so deeply trenched it.

Upon the basalt, in late Miocene time, there were laid down several hundred feet of sediments belonging to what is known as the 

Ellensburg formation. While these beds may have been deposited 

over the greater portion of the area considered, they have yielded 

with comparative readiness to erosion, and now occupy but a fraction 

of the land surface. In the White Uluffs of the Columbia this formation is splendidly exposed.
80 OEULUGY, ETC., OF KAST-CENTKAL WASHINGTON. I NO. UK.

Since the deposition of the Ellensburg beds the layers of rock, 

originally horizontal, have been tilted and folded, and the land has 

been modeled to its present form by the work of water, ice, and wind.

STRATIGRAPHY.

YAKIMA 15ASALT." 

DISTRIBUTION AND VOLUME.

By reason of its vast extent and great volume the basalt of the 

Columbia basin is one of the most important volcanic formations in 

"the world. Its greatest thickness is not less than 4,000 feet, and its 

area, including portions of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, has 

been estimated at about ^50,000 square miles. In Washington and 

Idaho the area underlain ?jy it includes practically the entire Columbia Plains and that portion of south-central Washington designated 

the " foothill province,"' as well as a considerable strip along the 

southern border of the State, crossing the Cascade Itange and extending west to the ocean.

East of the area immediately considered here the Yakima basalt, 

where its edge is exposed, is underlain by Tertiary sandstones. Just 

south of AVenatchee the northern face of Saddle Mountain is a lofty 

and precipitous cliif of basalt, at the foot of which lies a belt of low 

hills carved from the rather soft sandstones which occupy both sidc^ 

of the river at Wenatchee, but soon thin out to the north. From a 

hhort distance above Wenatchee to the mouth of the Okanogan the 

boundary of the lava is marked by the Columbia, whose left bank 

is overlooked by a precipitous wall, with a top or " rim "" of basalt, 

immediately underlain by old crystalline rocks, such as granite, 

gneiss, and schist; to the north these older rocks are not exposed, the 

basalt forming the entire wall of the canyon.

Near the Okanogan the boundary again crosses the Columbia, and 

is, in general, coincident with the southern border of the Okanogan 

highlands. On the northeast and the east the lava reaches up the 

lower slopes of the mountains in Idaho, remnants of it being found 

along the valley of Spokane River, about Co?ur d\Alene Lake, and 

along the lower parts of the rivers flowing into it. Along the entire 

northern and eastern boundaries the surface upon which the basalt 

was poured out is supposed to have consisted of ancient, mostly crystalline, rocks. To the south, southeast, and southwest the basalt area 

extends for considerable distances into Idaho and Oregon, but its 

delimitation in these directions need not be dicussed here.

" This name was Grst used by ]Jr. U. O. Smith In Water-Sup, and In-. Pa^er X«». 

and Is applied to the Miocene basaltic series of this region. The term " Columbia IM 

lava," as used by Professor Russell. Includes Eocene and Pleistocene lavas separa 

from the Yakima basalt by Important sedimentary formations.
CALKINS.] YAKIMA BASALT. 31

OBIGIN.

The origin of .a body of lava so vast and widespread is an interesting problem. It is a generally accepted view that the originally 

molten rock was forced up through great cracks or fissures in the 

crust of the earth; this theory is based on three kinds of evidence: 

(1) The volume and extent of the lava floods are so enormous that 

it is difficult to conceive of their eruption from ordinary craters; 

(_J) the comparative rarity of the fragmental materials known as 

" tuffs," kk breccias," etc., indicates a quiet welling up through fissures 

without the explosive action characteristic of crater eruptions; (3) 

the theory has received A'ery positive confirmation of late years by 

actual observation of the fissures from which these floods came forth, 

filled with the cooled and hardened basalt and exposed by the erosion 

of the overlying flows. In the Cascade Mountains there is a great 

system of dikes in the sandstone beneath the basalt, which has been 

described by Professor Russell " and by Mr. George Otis Smith.''

The thousands of feet of basalt in the plains were not poured forth 

in one great outburst. The series is made up of a great number of 

layers or flows that can be distinguished in the field by means to 

be discussed in another section. It is estimated that about twenty 

such flows have l>een cut through by the river at Sentinel Bluffs. 

Each of these layers represents a distinct outpouring of basalt, the 

eruptions being separated by various intervals of time. In some cases 

these periods of rest must have endured for centuries, for at certain 

localities there are beds of soil between the layers on which trees 

have grown to considerable size, to be charred and buried by later 

flows. The basalt eruptions, especially in the later stages of their 

activity, were interrupted by periods in which there were accumulated other materials, consisting of volcanic ashes of a composition 

different from that of the basalt, and beds of sand, clay, or gravel, 

laid down in lakes or rivers.

The average thickness of the individual tlows in this region is probably between 50 and 100 feet. Their extent, considered separately, 

must have been enormous, for it is rare to see the edge of a layer 

thinning out. This fact indicates that the molten rock was in a 

highly fluid condition and retained its fluidity long enough to spread 

out for great distances.

In addition to the massive flows that form the greater part of the 

series there are beds of fragmental volcanic material, such as bombs 

or smaller angular fragments of lava. Such materials either have 

been thrown up to great heights and spread out upon the surrounding

a Russell, I. C., Preliminary paper on the geology of the Cascade Mountains in northern 

Washington: Twentieth Ann. Kept. F. S. Geol. Survey, pt. i. 1899, pp. 121-122, pi. xii. 

6 Smith, G. O., Mount Stuart: Geologic Atlas U. S., folio 106, U. S. Geol. Survey, 1904.

IER 118 05 M 3
32 GEOLOGY, ETC., OF EAST-CENTRAL WASHINGTON. [NO. 118.

country, or, mixed with hot volcanic water, have formed mud flows 

and run out on the surface in much the same way as true lava. Their 

formation was perhaps due to the partial choking of fissures by congealed material, and the building of craters where the pent-up subterranean forces found constricted vents. The fragmental materials 

are not so generally distributed nor so widespread as the massive 

flows; they are most numerous and thickest in the mountains, while 

in the Columbia Plains they form but an insignificant proportion 

of the basalt series.

LITHOLOGIC CHARACTER.

The textural and structural features of the basaltic rocks are of 

interest not only to the scientist, as throwing light upon the manner 

in which the lavas were erupted, but to the practical man also, for 

the deep water of this region is found chiefly in the basalt series. 

The lithologic characters will therefore be considered somewhat 

fully.

The texture of the basaltic rock, viewed in small specimens or fragments, shows a considerable range of variation expressive of the 

different rates at which the lavas cooled. The central portions of 

thick flows, where cooling has been slow, are often completely crystalline. In thin flows, or near the surfaces of thicker ones, the rock 

is of finer texture, is generally dull in luster, and does not show, to 

the unaided eye, the minerals of which it is composed. Where the 

basalt has been suddenly chilled, especially at the base of a flow, the 

lava may solidify as a black glass. From the practical standpoint, 

however, the most important fact in regard to texture is that the 

basalt is generally fine and compact, with no pores capable of allowing water to pass to any appreciable extent through the solid rock.

The structural characters of lava flows are dependent on conditions 

attending their eruption and cooling, and may best be described with 

reference to their origin.

SURFACE FEATUBES OF LAVA FLOWS.

Molten lava, as it issues from the earth, is always charged with 

steam. While the lava remains underground the steam is intimately 

mixed with the molten rock and is prevented from expanding 

by the enormous pressure of the overlying crust. When the lava 

emerges on the surface, however, there is a sudden decrease in pressure, and the steam combined with the lava expands and collects in 

bubbles, which rise to the surface and burst, giving off the great 

clouds of vapor that always rise from a moving flow of lava. The 

solidification of the molten rock generally takes place, however, before 

the steam has entirely escaped, and the bubbles in the upper portion 

of the flow become, as it were, frozen, so that the upper surface of a 

lava flow has generally a vesicular or honeycombed character. It is
CALKINS.] YAKIMA BASALT. 33

by this structure that the upper surface of a flow is best distinguished 

and the different flows distinguished from one another. The bottom 

of a sheet sometimes has this vesicularity in a minor degree, owing to 

the sudden chilling and solidification of that portion before it has 

freed itself from watery vapor.

Another common surface feature is that produced by the formation 

of a crust on the top of a flow and its subsequent disruption by the 

onward movement of the still liquid lava beneath. The rough scoriaceous layer, formed by the fragments of this crust cemented by other 

molten material, is called a flow breccia. Again, the crust formed 

upon the advancing front of a lava flow may often be broken and the 

fragments rolled under and incorporated in the bottom part of the 

moving sheet of molten material.

CONTRACTION PARTINGS.

After the lava has completely solidified it is still at a temperature 

enormously higher than that which it must ultimately attain, and a 

gradual cooling progresses for a considerable time. Cooling, in the 

case of basalt as of most other substances, brings contraction. This 

necessarily leads to the formation of joints and small fissures, dividing the rocks into blocks or plates of varying size and regularity, and 

such contraction partings are of universal occurrence in the basalts 

of the Columbia basin. The forms into which the lavas are thus 

divided are multitudinous, but are divisible into a number of classes, 

each of which will be briefly described.

Columnar jointing, generally perpendicular to the cooling surfaces 

and therefore most often nearly vertical, is the most universal and 

striking structural feature of the basalt flows (PI. Ill, B}. The 

columns vary greatly in size and regularity of form, their diameters 

ranging from a few inches to 6 feet. They are sometimes so straight, 

sharp cornered, and clean cut as to simulate the work of human 

hands. More frequently, however, they exhibit imperfections of 

form, the sides being warped and not parallel to one another. Cross 

sections of the most perfect prisms are oftenest pentagonal or hexagonal, but polygons of 4, 7, or 8 sides are also common.

The main vertical columns of the basalt flows are generally subdivided by secondary partings. Most universal is a transverse jointing, dividing each column into sections of varying lengths. An 

extreme development of such jointing is characteristic of certain 

flows, mainly in the upper portion of the series, which are primarily 

divided into vertical columns of large size and great regularity, 

these in turn being divided by slightly curved, nearly parallel, and 

very numerous horizontal partings into scaly fragments which overlap irregularly and do not extend entirely across the columns.

Another secondary parting, which has been described by Professor
34 GEOLOGY, ETC., OF EAST-CENTRAL WASHINGTON. [NO. 118.

Russell." results in the formation of small columns perpendicular to 

the faces of the large vertical ones. This structure occurs where the 

vertical columns are irregular and especially large. In such cases 

the vertical cracks are comparatively wide, and probably allowed 

radiation and convection of heat from the sides of the columns. 

These were then cooling surfaces, and columns perpendicular to them 

were formed according to the usual law.

Lamellar parting parallel to the surface of Hows is frequent near 

the upper and lower surfaces. This may extend for varying horizontal distances and is frequently combined with irregular vertical 

jointing.

I'RAUMEJXTAl, HKDS.

The beds of fragmental material thrown out from craters are made 

up of rough, angular, and generally scoriaceons fragments of glassy 

lava, imperfectly sorted, and not clearly stratified. The scarcity of 

such beds in the plains has been noted, and few localities can be cited 

where they are to be observed. In Dry Coulee, north of Adrian, a 

bed of red. slaggy, and porous fragments was seen, which carries 

water and supplies two or three springs. The north front of Yakima 

Ridge exhibits exposures which, by their erosion forms, appear to 

be coarse, fragmental basalts. To the west, as has been remarked, 

finer grained materials of similar nature are more plentiful, and considerable exposures are to be seen in Shushuskin Canyon and other 

ravines in the hills about Kittitas Valley. The fragmental materials 

are uncemented, very porous, and well fitted to absorb and store up 

large quantities of water.

MATERIALS IXTERBEDDED WITH THE BASALT.

Materials other than basalt, interstratified with the lava, were 

observed only in the upper portion of the series. The most important 

of such beds is exposed in the escarpment of Saddle Mountain overlooking Crab Creek, and in the bluff opposite Craig's ferry. It is 

composed of fine grayish-white volcanic ash with very regular bedding, is about 100 feet thick, and is overlain by about an equal thickness of basalt. Similar ash beds in similar stratigraphic positions 

were observed on the sides of Kittitas, Squaw Creek, and middle Crab 

Creek valleys, but they do not seem to be continuous with the Saddle 

Mountain ash. The latter, indeed, is not observed on the west side 

of the river at Sentinel Bluffs, and seems to thin out or disappear to 

the east also.

About 500 feet below the top of the Sentinel Bluffs another lightcolored bed about 40 feet in thickness is interstratified with the basalt 

and exposed at the same level in the cliffs on either side. This bed 

consists of what is known as an arkose sandstone, made up of grains

" Russell, I. C., Reconnaissance In southeastern Washington : Water-Sup, and Irr. Taper 

No. 4, U. S. Geol. Survey, 1897, p. 45.
xs. 1 ELLENRBTJRG FORMATION. 35

of quartz, feldspar, and mica. This rock, moderately coarse grained. 

friable, and of open texture, is well fitted to act as a water-bearing 

stratum.

ELLEN SBUHG FORMATION.

DISTRIBUTION.

Lying upon the surface of the basalt at numerous localities in east 

Washington is a series of supposed lake 1%'ds known as (he Kllensburg formation," from their having been first carefully studied near 

the town of that name.^

The distribution of similar beds in the same stratigraphic position 

is extensive, and they are found in great volume in various places in 

the western and the southern parts of the Columbia Plains. That 

these deposits are, or ever were, continuous over this broad area can 

not be asserted positively, but their general similarity at the various 

localities points to the existence of similar conditions of deposition 

over an extensive strip of territory east of the Cascade Mountains in 

the period following the close of the basaltic eruptions.

The present distribution of the Ellensburg l)eds in the area covered 

by this report is not so easy to determine as the barren aspect of the 

country leads one to expect. The formation is rarely exposed except 

where cliffs have been carved in it by ancient or modern streams, and 

its boundaries are mostly concealed by a thick covering of wind-blown 

soil. These conditions, combined with the hasty character of the 

work and the lack of a good topographic base, forbade anything like 

accurate determination of boundaries, and those represented on the 

ma]) (1*1. T) are to be regarded as but roughly approximate.

CHARACTER.

The character of the typical Ellcnshurg material of the Columbia 

Plains is shown by Ihe following descriptive section of the exposure 

at the upper end of White HluH's. The beds are descrilted in ascending order.

Feel. 

Sand, partly consolidated, and sandy clay, mostly red, weathering in part

Into small spheroids _ _ _ _ _____ ___ _ __ _ . _ ____ _ _ _ _ 20

Red tuffacemiH sandstone, fine grained (ledge) _ _ _ _ _ ____ _ __ _ __ ___ 3

Soft, reddish, medium-grained sandstone _ _ ______ ___ _ 9* 

(YoRH-liedded sand and One gravel ; fragrants mostly of Hcorlacemis basalt.

somewhat rounded _ _ ____ _ _ _ .. _ _ _ ____ _ _ _ _ _ __ H

" " John Day system " of Bull. No. 1UM nnd Water-Sup, and Irr. 1'aper No. 4, T. S. Oeol. 

Survey, but so called erroneously, for the original John Day la of early Miocene age, and 

Hes l)eneath tue great basalt aeries See Merrlam, .T. (\, Hull. ])ep(. G^nloKy, TTnlv. uf 

Cal., vol. 2, No. 9, p. 276. The Ellensburg formation Is probably equivalent to (he 

M:isc:iH formation of the John Day Valley.

**For detailed description of this formation In the type-region, see Smith, (). O., 

Kliensbui-g, CeoluKK' Atlus, (L H., folio Kt, T. H. Ceol. Murvey, IQn::.
36 GEOLOGY, ETC., OF EAST-CENTRAL WASHINGTON. [NO. 118.

Feet. 

Fine saiid and silt, with small basalt pebbles_________________ 3£

Silt, not laminated, gray to terra cotta in color, nodular in upper part_____ 24

Fine soft sandstone, gray green to terra cotta___._..____ ___________ 20

Clay, gray green to pink________________________ ________ 15

Greenish white clay, not laminated, checking into small fragments, with 

feldspar grains-_____________________ _________ 70

Pale terra cotta silt, not laminated______________________ ___ 7

Greenish clay____________________________ _ _______ 3

Tale terra cotta silt, obscurely laminated________________________ 5

Soft greenish clay_________________________________________ 20

Above this, but probably not of the Bllensburg formation, are:

Gravel, with pebbles of basalt 5 inches or less in diameter, incrusted 

with limy material; matrix light-colored silt and sand, partly 

cemented with limy matter________________________ 15

Sand, lower part with fine wavy lamination, upper part with a peculiar 

chambered structure, having thin, highly contorted partitions of cemented sand stained with iron oxide, with soft unconsolidated sand 

between ____. _________________ ______________ 15

Total __________..__________________ _ _______ 225

The general character of this section offers some points of contrast 

with the typical section measured in the Ellensburg quadrangle.0 

The material in the White Bluffs is much finer, coarse sandstones 

being rare and coarse conglomerates entirely lacking. Cross-bedding, 

so common in the Naches Valley section, is not common in the White 

Bluffs. It is evident that the material has been carried far from its 

source and deposited under conditions of comparative quiet.

The Naches Valley section is characterized by a very large proportion of volcanic ash and tuff, mainly of andesitic composition. The 

extreme fineness of most of the White Bluffs rocks makes it difficult 

to prove their origin, but pumice grains and clear feldspar crystals 

are to be seen in some of the material, and dust scraped from a specimen of very fine grain is found, by the aid of the microscope, to consist of angular transparent fragments that seem to be volcanic glass. 

It is believed that ash erupted from volcanoes in the Cascade Eange, 

carried a great distance by the upper air currents, and finally falling 

gently into the waters of a shallow lake, form the most important constituent of the White Bluffs beds. Certain of the sandy layers, however, were probably laid down by river currents.

The writer found no fossils of any kind in the Ellensburg formation in the region examined, though it is said that shells and bones 

have been found in the bluffs near Pasco.

In the Moxee artesian basin the most abundant supply of flowing 

water is obtained from the lower part of the Ellensburg formation. 

The White Bluffs section also shows an alternation of relatively per-

" Smith, G. O., Geology and water resources of a portion of Yakima County, Washington : Water-Sup, and Irr. Paper No. 55, 1901, pp. 17 21; and Bllensburg quadrangle: 

Geologic Atlas U. S., folio 86, U. S. Geol. Survey, 1903.
CALKINS. J STRUCTURE. 37

meable and impermeable strata, which would seem favorable to the 

occurrence of artesian water, provided the requisite conditions of 

structure and supply are also present.

STRUCTURE.

GENERAL CHARACTER OF DEFORMATION.

At the close of the period during which the Ellensburg beds were 

deposited the rocks lay in a nearly horizontal position. Since that 

time they have been deformed in a manner that has a most important 

bearing on the artesian problems that will be discussed later on.

In his reconnaissance of a much larger area than the one here 

described, Professor Russell was led to the view that the characteristic orographic form of central Washington was the tilted fault 

block. The important economic bearing of this conclusion was recognized, as the presence of faults was held to be very discouraging to 

the hope of obtaining artesian water. The writer came to the field 

intending to investigate this point, and inclined to scepticism, for the 

examination of the Ellensburg quadrangle, also contained in Professor Russell's area, had shown that many of the supposed tilted blocks 

of the earth's crust were in reality unsymmetrical anticlines or folds 

in the strata.

The north face of Saddle Mountain, where it overlooks the lower 

stretch of Crab Creek, was cited by Russell as a very typical fault 

scarp. The topographic form here does indeed suggest faulting in 

a very striking way. South of Crab Creek a bold escarpment rises 

some 1,500 feet, exposing in section about 1.200 feet of basalt, overlain in order by a thick bed of white tuff, a flow of basalt, and a small 

thickness of Ellensburg formation proper. North of Crab Creek 

this lofty cliff is confronted by a low bluff of basalt, probably between 

100 and 200 feet in height. A few miles to the northeast a gentle 

escarpment is seen, carved from the Ellensburg beds, here overlying 

the horizontally bedded basalt. It is obvious that we must have here 

either a normal fault with the downthrow to the north or a sharp 

flexure, the down-folded portion having been removed by erosion, 

leaving only the nearly horizontal strata on either side. Evidence 

bearing on the choice between these alternative views was gathered 

by examination of the Saddle Mountain front to the east and to the 

west of the great cliff.

On the west side of the Columbia, opposite the mouth of Crab 

Creek, the continuation of the mountain is bounded on the north not 

by a cliff, but by a steep slope, which passes continuously into the 

rolling surface at its base. The surface of this slope is nearly conformable to the structure of the basalt. The mountain shows no outcropping horizontal ledges, but rising through the mantle of soil,
38 GEOLOGY, ETC., OF EAST-CENTRAL WASHINGTON. TNO. US.

sloping backward on the spurs and forward in the gulches, can be 

traced the outcrop of one or more especially resistant beds of black 

lava, having a dip a little steeper than the slope, but in the same 

direction. A little north of the base of this slope basalt can b' seen 

with a very gentle dip to the south.

At another point, some 20 miles east of the mouth of Crab Creek, 

the north slope of the ridge was examined again, and a similar state 

of things observed. Crab Creek here flows in a canyon some hundreds 

of yards wide, bounded by precipitous walls about 100 feet high. 

Just to the south Saddle Mountain rises with a moderately steep 

terraced slope. For a few hundred yards back from the canyon's 

brink horizontal basalt, corresponding to that across the canyon, is 

exposed. On the lower slopes of the mountain the structure is concealed by terrace deposits and soil. Behind the uppermost terrace, 

however, the basalt is again exposed in a gully, where it shows a 

northerly dip of about 50°. The evidence indicates that there is here 

a sharp flexure and not a fault.

While the fact is not proved beyond doubt, the writer believes that 

this flexure, observed both east and west of the cliff, was once continuous along the entire front of Saddle Mountain; that the cliff 

along lower Crab Creek was produced by erosion, and that the flexure is here concealed below the sediments in Crab Creek bottom.

The existence of a fault along the Grand Coulee, which was 

asserted by Professor Russell, also appears open to doubt. In support, 

of the fault hypothesis, Russell cites in the first place the existence 

of a down folding or monocline, exposed in section on the east wall 

of the coulee, apparently without any corresponding flexure in the 

opposite wall. This flexure, however, is not absent to the west, but 

is only obscured by the alluvial deposits laid on the terraces which 

have been cut in the down-folded part of the basalt. The monoclinal structure was observed in a gully northwest of Coulee City. 

The strike here, so far as could be observed, seemed more nearly 

north and south than on the east side, and the relations indicated 

that the monocline had been continuous across the canyon, but that 

the, horizontal projection of its axis was probably somewhat curved. 

It seems unnecessary to suppose that there has been faulting. Further, the fact that the western wall of the coulee below the site of the 

cataract is much greater than that of the eastern wall is explained by 

Professor Russell as the result of faulting. To the writer it seems 

that this fact also could be accounted for by flexure. It is always to 

be borne in mind that the floor of a canyon half a mile wide and 

more or less covered by alluvial deposits may .conceal important 

structures.

To sum up, it appeai-s to the writer that the steep slopes supposed 

by Professor Russell to be fault scarps are, in the region considered
CALKiNa.1 STRUCTURE. 89

here, as in the Ellensburg area, the products of erosion and of sharp 

flexure in the basalt. It is necessary, however, in order to establish 

the view here advanced, to explain the remarkable fact that such 

important stream channels as the Grand Coulee, lower Crab Creek 

Coulee, and the canyon of the Columbia just below Priest Rapids 

have been intrenched along supposed lines of flexure. The most 

plausible explanation of this fact has lx»en suggested by Professor 

Russell himself in one of his more recent publications," in which he 

advances the theory that the location of the folds has been determined 

by the weakening of the crust through erosion along the stream 

courses. Tn other words, stream erosion, instead of deformation, has 

been the primary agent. This hypothesis appears to have much 

probability and to lend itself very aptly to the explanation of the 

course of lower Crab Creek and perhaps to the analogous position 

of the Columbia along the base of the ridge south of Saddle Mountain. In the case of the Saddle Mountain scarp, the surprise at its 

magnitude is diminished when we realize the fact, to be developed 

further on, that the Columbin, swollen beyond its present volume 

by water from a great glacier, once flowed in the channel now occupied by an insignificant and partly suballuvial stream.

CHARACTER OF FOLDS.

Folding is then considered by the writer as the prevalent type of 

deformation in the region here discussed, and he does not consider it 

probable that the injury of artesian basins by fissures is to be apprehended. In the western portion, lying in the foothill zone, the anticlines (structural arches) and synclines (structural troughs) are 

relatively pronounced, but they die out to the cast, and in the wheat 

lands the basalt has suffered only gentle tilting, often imperceptible 

in amount.

With regard to direction, the folds fall into two systems. The 

sharper anticlines, and by far the greater number, trend nearly east 

and west. To this system belong the anticlines of Yakima Ridge and 

Saddle Mountain. Coexisting with the east-west system there are 

broad and gentle north-south folds, exemplified in the, east slope 

of Table Mountain and the gentle westerly dip of the basalt underlying the wheat lands.

The form of the east-west folds is characterized by a lack of symmetry, the steeper side in the area dealt with in this paper being 

apparently always to the north. The contrast between the north 

and south faces of Saddle Mountain has been mentioned, and other 

more striking examples occur in the foothill region outside the area 

with which this report is concerned.

"Russell. T. ('., Geology and water resources of Nez 1'erres County, Idnlm; Water-Sup, 

and Irr. 1'nnw \<i. M, TT. M. (leol. Survey. 1!HH. p. ?n.
40 GEOLOGY, ETC., OF EAST-CENTRAL WASHINGTON. [NO. 118.

The coexistence of two perpendicular systems of folds is perhaps 

favorable to the conservation of water under pressure, in so far as 

it tends to form basin-like structural depressions.

The specific structural features of the region whose general character has been discussed in the preceding paragraphs can be made 

plainer by the structure sections accompanying the geologic map 

than by lengthy verbal description.

PHYSIOGRAPHY.

Physiography treats of the development of the existing form of 

the land surface. In that development two classes of agencies have 

been concerned: (1) Forces, probably generated for the most part 

by the slow cooling and contraction of the earth, which deform the 

strata originally laid down in horizontal position and heave them 

up into the form of folds and tilted blocks; (2) the action of frost, 

water, ice, and wind, which modifies the masses raised up by these 

mountain-making forces. Agencies of the second class are mainly 

degrading in their effect that is, they tend to tear down what the 

mountain-making forces have built up.

RELATION OF PHYSIOGRAPHY TO STRUCTURE.

The manner in which the Miocene rocks have been deformed has 

been discussed under the heading " Structure." The relation between 

this and the form of the land surface in the region considered is 

unusually close. There is over the greater part of the earth's surface a lack of concordance between the topography and the dip of 

the underlying rocks, because erosion has so deeply modified the original form of the uplifts as to make their character unrecognizable 

without careful study. Here, however, the principal uplifts and the 

basins or troughs between them have retained, in a general way, 

their original form. For instance, Kittitas Valley is a striking 

example of a structural basin in which the rock layers on all sides 

dip toward the center, while the portion of Table Mountain that 

lies within the area considered here is a structural elevation, its 

east face being a clear example of a "dip slope." The profile of 

the south face of Saddle Ridge also is in harmony with the arching 

structure of the underlying basalt so clearly exposed in Sentinel 

Bluffs. It may be said, in general, that the extensive gentle slopes 

in this region, unbroken by outcrops of rock ledges, are more or less 

nearly parallel to the underlying strata and are expressive of the 

structure of the rocks. In contrast to these comparatively gentle 

structural slopes are the bold cliffs exposing the rocks in section. 

These features are mainly the work of rivers, whose effect on the 

topography may now be considered.
CALKINS.] PHYSIOGEAPHY. 41

WORK OF STREAMS.

The conspicuous features formed by stream erosion are the canyons of the Columbia and the Yakima with their tributary streams, 

and the dry coulees of the wheat lands. Less prominent are the 

features that represent the depositing rather than the cutting activity of the streams, namely, the gravelly flood plains and terraces. 

A study of the topographic forms that have resulted from the 

work of streams throws much light on certain of the later episodes in 

the history of this region.

GELATION OF STREAM COURSES TO STRUCTURE.

When we consider the relation of watercourses to the structure of 

the rocks, the streams of the region are divisible into two classes 

those whose courses seem to have been determined by the structure 

of the underlying rocks, and those whose courses are independent of 

rock structure.

Consequent streams. To the first class, which are technically designated consequent streams, belong the majority of the smaller streams 

of the region. The creek draining Willow Springs, for example, 

and that flowing from the Clerf Spring, flow down pitching structural troughs or synclines. Another large class of small streams or 

channels seem to have been located by water flowing down a structural slope. Examples of canyons originating in such a manner are 

afforded by the gulches draining Table Mountain and Saddle Ridge.

Antecedent streams. The most striking examples of the second 

class of streams are Columbia and Yakima rivers, which in several 

instances cut squarely across great structural arches in the basalt. 

The Yakima leaves Kittitas Yalley not by the lowest portion of its 

rim, but by a deep gorge cut across Manastash and Umptanum ridges. 

Lower in its course it cuts other anticlinal ridges lying outside the 

area of this survey. Columbia River in like manner cuts across Saddle Ridge in a direction at right angles to its crest line. Another 

instance is furnished by Moses Coulee, which has cut its way through 

the Badger Mountain uplift without regard to structure, forming a 

canyon whose size is especially remarkable when we consider that for 

ages it has not contained a perennial stream.

The formation of the gorges thus briefly described can be explained 

only on the supposition that the streams which formed them are 

antecedent to the structure, or, in other words, that their courses 

were established before the upfolding of the basalt and Ellensburg 

beds began and were maintained throughout its progress. The arches 

were raised up against the down-cutting rivers as a log is pushed 

against a whirling saw. The uplift must have been in general an 

extremely slow process, since in most cases there is no evidence to
42 GEOLOGY, ETC'., OF EAST-CENTRAL WASHINGTON. fxo. 11H.

indicate that the rivers were ponded, as they would have been if the 

rise, had been so rapid that they failed to maintain their courses. 

The sudden uplift of Saddle Mountain would have deflected the 

Columbia and caused it to find an outlet over the lowest point in the 

dam, far to the east of the gate it actually made for itself. There is 

some reason to suspect, however, that the river was deflected by the 

next uplift athwart its course, and the eastward bend at the foot of 

Priest Rapids may have been due to the inability of the river to cut 

down against the rising ridge along whose face it flows for many miles 

below, to clear its lower end in the great sweep to the east inclosed on 

the left by the White Bluffs.

The three examples cited are not the only antecedent streams in the 

region. Crab Creek crosses an anticlinal arch of slight elevation 

below Moses Lake, while its course along the western portion of Saddle Ridge was not determined by structure. If the writer is correct 

in discrediting the hypothesis that the cliff in that locality is a fault 

scarp, the antecedent character of Crab Creek may be taken as 

explaining its origin, according to Professor Russell's hypothesis, 

cited on page 39.

ORIGIN OK COULEES.

The topographic character of the coulees in the wheat lands proves 

that they have been produced by stream erosion It is, however, perfectly obvious that they could not have been eroded, no matter how 

much time were allowed for the process, during the existence of the 

present arid climate. A few of the coulees have streams, perennial 

though insignificant in comparison with the canyons they occupy, but 

the majority never contain continuous surface streams, even in the 

rainy season. It is necessary to suppose that the coulees were eroded 

in a time long past, when the region had a fairly abundant rainfall. 

The causes which determined the formation of the Grand Coulee were, 

however, exceptional, and will be discussed later.

TERRACES AND GRAVEL DEPOSITS.

Ill the formation of their canyons the streams did not cut down 

steadily and without stopping. The task was accomplished in a somewhat spasmodic fashion, with alternating periods, during some of 

which the streams were occupied in sinking channels into bed rock, 

while in others they were occupied in filling with gravel those already 

cut. These episodes in the histoiy of the streams are recorded in the 

terraces and gravel deposits of the stream canyons.

Terraces of well-rounded basalt gravel are found along all the 

coulees of the wheat lands, such material being especially well exposed 

near Connell. Similar deposits are extensively developed near Coulee 

City and east of middle Crab Creek and of the foot of Moses Lake. 

Gravel terraces are found at high levels along Columbia River, the
CALKINS.] PHYSIOGRAPHY. 43

best examples occurring below Priest Rapids and in the gorge along 

the foot of Saddle Mountain. Great volumes of gravel underlie the 

central portion of Kittitas Valley and are well exposed in section on 

the banks of Yakima River.

Ancient gravels are found not only in the terraces above the present 

stream levels, but underlie the existing stream beds in many cases to 

considerable depths. At Connell records of well borings have shown 

that the bed of the coulee is filled with gravel to the .depth of at least 

ISO feet. Great depths of gravel are also found in borings along 

other coulees. The Columbia flows on gravel through the greater 

portion of its channel, but has reached bed rock at Priest Rapids and 

perhaps also at Coyote Rapids.

The history to be read from these gravel deposits is briefly as follows: (1) There was a period during which the streams, actively cutting downward, carved a system of canyons in bed rock deeper thnu 

those which exist at present; (^) a period succeeded during which the 

streams were overloaded with gravel and filled up their bed-ro(k 

channels to depths attaining, in the case of the Columbia, at, least 800 

feet; (3) there was a second period of down cutting, in which the 

streams cleared out the gravel from their bed-rock channels to a 

greater or less extent; temporary halts in the process of down cutting 

are marked by the lower terraces; (4) the large and numerous 

streams that carved the canyons dwindled because of the arrival of 

the present arid climate, and the down cutting into the gravel deposits practically ceased except in the cases of Columbia and Yakima, 

rivers.

The gravel deposits of the region are not only of scientific but also 

of economic interest, as the surface wells of the region are mainly 

located in the gravels on the valley and coulee bottoms.

GLACIAL HISTORY.

There was a period, recent as time is measured by the geologist, but 

long before the beginning of human history, when the valleys of the 

northern Cascades and of the Okanogan highlands were filled with 

immense glaciers, the largest of which reached the plains before they 

were melted in the warmer air of the lower country.

The greatest ice river of eastern Washington flowed down the 

Okanogan Valley, which it filled to a depth of several hundred feet. 

Upon reaching Columbia River Valley this glacier expanded. It 

seems not only to have dammed the Columbia, but to have filled its 

profound canyon down to the outlet of Lake Chelan, and to have 

spread out over the plateau embraced by the Big Bend for about 35 

miles to the east of this %)oint. The southern limit of the Okanogan 

glacier is marked, according to Salisbury," by a terminal moraine

" Salisbury, B. D., Jour. Ueol., vol. 9, 1901, p. 721.
44 GEOLOGY, ETC., OP EAST-CENTKAL WASHINGTON. [NO. 118.

extending from Chelan Falls to a point about 5 miles north of Coulee 

City, in a great curve convex to the south.

The eastern end of this moraine was seen in the course of this investigation. It is a low ridge or, more exactly, a slightly elevated hummocky zone formed of material pushed up in front of the advancing 

glacier or carried on its surface and stranded where the ice melted. 

Borne thus upon the southward-moving ice were many huge blocks 

of basalt and fewer of granite. Some of these were stranded upon 

the moraine, and many are to be seen on the plateau in the vicinity 

of St. Andrew. One of them, an enormous block of basalt, stands 

near the brink of the Grand Coulee and is a striking landmark visible 

for many miles. In early days it served to guide travelers from the 

east, and was generally known as Pilot Kock. Other large bowlders 

are strewn upon the terraces at Coulee City and Ephrata, and seem 

to have been dropped from icebergs that broke from the glacier front 

and floated for some distance southward on the stream which then 

filled the Grand Coulee.

While the Columbia was dammed by the Okanogan glacier it 

flowed along its western side southward into Crab Creek Valley, 

which was probably eroded to a considerable depth before this time. 

During the existence of the ice dam the Grand Coulee was carved, 

lower and middle Crab Creek Valley was much enlarged, and extensive deposits of gravel were laid down about Ephrata and Moses 

Lake. When the glacier retreated up Okanogan Valley the Columbia resumed its former channel.

WIND WORK.

Under the arid conditions that have prevailed in historic time 

water erosion has had comparatively little effect in modifying the 

general surface of the land. Various conditions, however, have 

enabled the wind to do considerable transportation; the air currents, 

which have a prevailing southerly direction, are strong and frequent, 

while the soil is dry and loose textured, and is but slightly protected 

by the meager growth of grass and shrubbery.

SAND DUTIES.

The most striking evidences of wind work occur in the sandy 

region that borders the Columbia, where groups of sand dunes of 

very perfect form are to be seen. They exhibit the characteristic 

wave-like profile, their steep sides constantly facing in the north or 

leeward direction, and the process of their growth and shifting is 

to be seen on any windy day. Other sand dunes of remarkable size 

and extent are to be seen below Moses Lake, which, as before 

remarked, owes its existence to them. Low hillocks, built up mainly 

by wind action, are also to be seen on the plain south of Saddle 

Mountain, but the dune form in these is not so pronounced as in the
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEV WATER-SUPPLY PAPER NO. 118 PL. IV

GRAND COULEE.

I'* "*v '--Kv-^Vir - ^£3^*^&«*^

Ito-^^fLl:.-^ 

£. RECLAIMED MARSH LAND NEAR WILSON CREEK.
CALKINS.] PHYSIOGEAPHY. 45

ones previously mentioned, probably because of the vegetation that 

has found a foothold upon them and allows the sand to move less 

freely.

SOILS OF THE WHEAT LANDS.

In the wheat lands also the wind has given the final touches in the 

molding of the surface. The minor branches of the dry coulees, 

carved originally from basalt, have had their once rugged sides mantled with fine wind-blown soil, which conceals the bed rock except in 

widely separated exposures. That the soil mantling the slopes of the 

coulees has been laid down by wind seems obvious. The present 

writer further believes that the thick soil of the wheat lands also is 

mainly wind deposited, or eolian. It has been assumed by most 

writers who have touched upon the subject that the typical wheat 

soil of the Columbia Plains is residuary, derived from the decomposition of the underlying basalt. Professor Russell, however, is the 

only geologist who has supported the residuary hypothesis by extended argument. In his report on southeastern Washington he 

advocates the view that the wheat soils are essentially residual, but 

superficially modified by wind action.0 In his later description of 

the Nez Perces region in Idaho he reaffirms the views expressed in the 

earlier paper, and applies the theory of residuary origin to the wheat 

soils of Idaho.6 The writer's observations in east-central Washington have led him to believe that the wheat soils are not residuary, but 

wind deposits. This belief is based primarily on the following facts 

observed in the field:

(1) The thickness of the wheat soils, as shown by well records, 

varies according to location from 50 feet to a minimum probably 

averaging something like 25 feet. They mantle completely most of 

the broad plateau surface and the gentle slopes, often concealing the 

bed rock in the smaller gullies for many miles. The greatest thicknesses, however, seem generally to be on the brows of slopes, where 

there are the most favorable opportunities for accumulation of windblown material.

(2) The physical properties of the wheat soils are highly characteristic and remarkably uniform. In texture they are fine loams, very 

light, open, and friable.

(3) Their prevailing color is a light tawny brown, varying according to the amount of organic matter present, but conspicuously in 

contrast to the deep red tints which one would expect in a soil derived 

from the decomposition of a rock so rich in iron oxides as basalt.

(4) When exposed in vertical sections the wheat soil is seen to preserve its surface characters with remarkable constancy down to the

"Russell, 1. C., Reconnaissance in southeastern Washington: Water-Sup, and Irr. Paper 

No. 4, U. S. Geol. Survey, 1897, pp. 60-64.

" Russell, I. C.. Geology and water resources of Nez Perces County, Idaho : Water-Sup. 

and Irr. Paper No. 53, U. S. Geol. Survey, 1901, pp. 44-48.
46 GEOLOGY, ETC., OF EAST-CENTRAL WASHINGTON. [NO. 118.

solid basalt beneath. There is rarely any lamination perceptible, 

such as would suggest deposition by water.

(5) In all sections observed by the writer, moreover, the division 

between the basalt and the tawny loam is sharp, without any transition from fresh rock, through decomposed rock and soil with rock 

particles, such as would be expected were the soil residuary.

The sharp definition between soil and basalt seems absolutely to 

forbid the belief that the soil is residuary in the strict sense that is, 

resting in the place of its formation. It must, therefore, be a transported soil. The absence of lamination in the soil, the fineness of its 

texture, and the absence of any particles so large as to be incapable 

of wind transportation seem almost to demonstrate that the agency 

concerned in its deposition was wind. Granting this much, however, 

it might still be argued that the material was derived from the 

decomposition of basalt and only slightly removed from its source. 

But the wheat soil's evident poverty in iron oxide, and its freedom 

from any recognizable particles of basalt, are facts which strike the 

observer in the field as discordant with such a supposition, and the 

results of detailed chemical analyses give additional evidence in the 

same direction.

Coini>aratirc (moli/sex. There are on record many analyses of the 

wheat soils of the Columbia Plains, made in the agricultural experiment stations of Washington and Idaho. It appears, however, that 

they are generally analyses merely of the portion soluble in hydrochloric acid, and while they may serve the purpose for which they 

were made they do not give the true chemical composition of the 

samples and throw but little light on the question of their origin. 

Partial analyses of basalt and of the overlying soil from Dayton, 

Wash., have been made by Dr. (5. P. Merrill and are published by 

Professor Russell," but the soil analysis differs so markedly from all 

those emanating from the experiment stations as to throw increased 

doubt upon their availability.

In view of these facts analyses were made in the chemical laboratory of the Geological Survey of a typical wheat soil and of an 

undoubtedly residuary soil. The following tables are designed to 

facilitate the consideration of the available chemical evidence bearing 

on the origin of the wheat soils. In Table A the results of the lastmentioned analyses are exhibited side by side with an analysis of 

basalt similar to that underlying the wheat lands from the Mount 

Stuart, Washington, quadrangle. In Table B the analyses given in 

the first table are presented in a condensed form for more ready comparison with the analyses given by Professor Russell.

a Russell, I. C., Reconnaissance in southeastern Washington : Water-Sup, and Irr. Paper 

No. 4, U. S. Geol. Survey, 1897, p. 61: and Geology and water resources of Nez Perces 

County, Idaho: Water-Snp. and Irr. Paper No. 53, U. S. Geol. Survey, 1901, p. 44.
CALKINS.] PHYSIOGRAPHY.

TABLE A. Analyses of basalt, residuary .toil, and irhe<tt soil made in Geological

laboratory.

SiO2 . . _ ...

A12 03 .. ...........

Fe,0:, -- ---- --- - - .- ------ --. -

FeO .. ...

MgO ...

CaO.. . .... ... ... .. .... .... ...

Na2O.. . ....

K2O. . . . ............

H./l) at 105 . . ..........

H,O above 105

TiO2 .....

PA ...... ...

C . __ . .. ...

Total . ...

I.

54. 50

14.43

2.17

8.80

4.24

8.01

3.05

1.29

.29

1.09

1.69

.21

99. 77

II.

52. 95

15. 69

^> u 1 1 85

j

2.05

4.40

2.09

1.11

2.19

4.01

11 57

.19

.63

99.72

III.

65.43

13.96

"5.35

1.54

2.90

2.42

2.08

2.32

2.42

.87

.20

.49

99.98

" Comprises all iron oxide leckoned as Fe^On.

I. Basalt, Mount'Stuart quadrangle; Hillebrand, analyst; contains also small 

quantities of SO,, MuO, BaO, and SrO, aggregating 0.3G per cent.

II. Residuary soil, Hanson Creek ; Steiger, analyst.

III. Virgin soil (surface), south of Krupp, Wash.; Steiger, analyst.

TABLE B. Analyses of Table A (condensed) compared with analysis given by

Professor Russell.

SiO2 ... ........ ......... ... _ _

AL03 ... ............. ..... .

Fe2O3 , etc _ _ ........ ... .....

MgO-.... ... .................

CaO... .................... ....

Na.,O.

KoO .. ...... . ...............

Ignition . . .... ... ,

Total. . ..... ....

I.

1«34.38

4.43

8.27

2 55

1.33

.95

99.26

II.

54. 40

«28.28

4 'H

8.01

3.05

1.29

1.38

100. 75

III.

52. 95

«30.30

2 04

4.40

2.09

1.11

6.83

99.72

IV.

65. 43

"20.38

1.54

2.90

2.42

2.08

5. 23

99.98

V.

63.58

«22.36

1.82

2.76

2.02

2 27

4.37

99.33

« Comprises all iron oxide reckoned as FeoOs, plus the P»Os and TiOaI. Basalt; Merrill, analyst; given by Russell.

II. Basalt, Mount Stuart quadrangle; Hillebrand, analyst.

III. Residuary soil, Hanson Creek; Steiger, analyst.

IV. Virgin soil (surface), south of Krupp; Steiger, analyst.

V. Surface soil, wheat field near Dayton, Wash.; Merrill, analyst; given by 

Russell.

IER 118 05 M 4
48 GEOLOGY, ETC., OF EAST-CENTRAL WASHINGTON. INC. 118.

Upon comparison of the analyses in Table B it is evident that i and 

ii are very similar, and in view of the fact that the basalts of the 

Yakima series do not vary widely in petrographic character, analysis 

i in Table A may lie taken as sufficiently representative of the basalt 

series for the present purpose. The similarity also of the soil analyses iv and v is astonishingly close and strongly suggests that the two 

soils are of the same nature. Comparison of the analyses in Table A 

should therefore give some valid evidence in regard to the gener.al 

question of the origin of the wheat soils.

A mere glance at the table shows a general similarity between i and 

ii and a general dissimilarity of in from either of the others. When 

we proceed to more detailed comparison of the proportions of the 

various oxides, the most significant facts brought out seem to be the 

following:

(1) The alumina, in in is slightly less than in i and ii.

(2) The iron oxides are about equal in i and ii, but are much less 

abundant, in m.

(3) The alkalies in n show, as compared with i, a notable decrease, 

relatively greater in the case of potash; in contains little less soda 

than i and more than IT, while the potash is 60 per cent more abundant than in i.

Residuary soils generally show, as compared with the parent rocks 

from the decomposition of which they are derived:

(1) Increase in the proportion of alumina. In calculating the percentage of each constituent lost in the process of decomposition the 

alumina is generally assumed to remain constant.

(2) Equally or more abundant iron oxide, except where organic 

matter is present and reduces the iron to the soluble protoxide. 

There is no evidence, however, that the conditions in this region ever 

favored the removal of iron oxides by leaching.

(3) Greatly decreased percentage of alkalies, which are the most 

soluble constituents of the rock.

It is sufficiently obvious that the differences between the wheat soil 

and the underlying basalt are not only considerable, but, what is 

much more significant, are not of the character naturally to be expected if the wheat soil were derived from the basalt. The discrepancies between the facts of the case in point, on the one hand, and 

the usual results of weathering, on the other, if they do not quite 

invalidate the residuary theory, at least require explanation. In the 

writer's opinion, the chemical data available appear to agree with the 

field observations in supporting the theory that the soils in question 

were not derived from the decomposition of the basalt.

Transporting power of the wind. The competency of the wind as 

a transporting agent must be considered, however, in judging of the 

validity of the theory here advanced. That wind is, in the Columbia
CALKINS.] HYDROLOGY. 49

Plains, a transporting agent of importance is a fact which must, impress anyone who travels through the region. Winds of prevailing 

southerly direction blow with strength and frequency, while the soil 

is but very imperfectly protected from them by vegetation. Blinding dust storms are by no means rare, and clouds of fine dust envelop 

every traveler who drives along the roads. On the whole, there 

appears no reason to doubt that the wind is capable of doing the work 

assigned to it under the hypothesis here advanced.

Source of the soil. The argument, however, would not bo completewithout suggesting a source for the material if we reject the supposition that it was mostly derived from basalt. The writer believes that 

the principal source lies in the desert southwestern quarter of the 

Columbia Plains, where the basalt is overlain by the, soft sedimentary 

beds of the Ellensburg formation. This material is thought to have 

been washed down and loosened by the agency of water, and thus put 

in such form that it might readily be transported by wind.

HYDROLOGY.

INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT.

The remainder of this paper is devoted to the consideration of 

water supply proper. The various kinds of water resources will be 

described and their availability considered, and the attempt will be 

made to show how the water supply of the region may be increased. 

The sources of supply available in the region are streams, springs, 

and wells, wdiich will be considered in the order named. The first 

two classes of water resources will be treated rather briefly, but the 

wells, being more important, will be discussed more fully.

The wells may be divided into two classes first, surface wells, 

generally dug by hand in loose materials like soil, sand, and 

gravel, lying on the surface of the bed rock; second, deep wells, including those in which the underlying older rocks are penetrated, 

generally by means of a dril, to a considerable depth. Surface wells 

derive their supplies from rain or snow that falls in their immediate 

vicinity and percolates downward until some impervious material is 

reached, while deep wells generally tap beds of porous rock saturated 

with water that has been absorbed at some distant outcrop and has 

traveled underground often for great distances.

The most important question dealt with in this paper is that of the 

capabilities of deep wells, one of the principal objects of the investigation having been to determine whether in any part of the region 

examined deep wells could be made to yield artesian flows. In discussing this problem a number of districts may be marked out, in 

each of which the conditions affecting the deep underground waters 

are similar. For each of these districts the artesian conditions will
50 GEOLOGY, ET(%, OF EAST-CENTRAL WASHINGTON. [NO. 118.

first, be discussed from the theoretical standpoint; the evidence 

afforded by the wells actually sunk will then be presented, and conclusions will be drawn in regard to the probability of obtaining surface Hows. Suggestions will next be presented with a view to directing intelligent tests for artesian water and to economically using 

all the water obtainable. The paper will end with a brief recapitulation of the important conclusions and suggestions in regard to deep 

wells.

The preceding portions of this paper have been designed mainly 

to serve as an introduction to the portion on hydrology proper, as the 

discussion of the artesian problems will involve frequent reference to 

the facts regarding the character and structure of the rocks underlying the region.

STREAMS.

COLD M Ml A PLAINS.

CBAB CREEK.

From the fact that the valley of Crab Creek was eroded by a much 

larger stream than occupies it at present it has resulted that the 

existing stream has been unable to maintain a graded channel. Certain irregularities in the ancient channel and modifications produced 

by the drifting in of sand and silt have been sufncient to cause ponding in certain localities, with the consequent formation of marshes, 

and in some cases the water of the creek vanishes during at least a 

part of the dry season beneath porous surface deposits, to reappear in 

full force at a lower point.

The meadows used for the growing of hay and as pasture are generally sufnciently watered by the underflow of Crab Creek, but in 

certain localities ditches have been constructed to water portions of 

the bottom too high to utilize the underflowage.

On the other hand, some considerable areas of marshy land have 

been or are being reclaimed by drainage, a notable instance being 

afforded by the marshy tract extending from Krupp to Wilson 

Creek. This is being gradually drained, and a large amount of 

certain localities ditches have been constructed to water portions of 

the bottom too high to utilize the underflowage.

COLUMBIA BIYEB.

The use now made of Columbia River water, in its course through 

this region, is comparatively insignificant. A small amount of water 

is raised by water wheels, three or four of which are situated on 

the right bank of the Columbia below Priest Rapids. The availability of this method is limited by the comparatively small amount 

of land low enough to be watered by such means. In only one
C\LKINS.I STREAMS, 51

instance is any other means of irrigation used. This is in the case 

of the Babcock ranch, near Trinidad, where one of the lower terraces has become the site of a hay ranch, which is irrigated successfully by means of a gasoline pump and a number of windmills.

It is natural for the traveler in this region to be disappointed at the 

slight utilization of Columbia River water and to inquire into the 

possibility of bringing more of it upon the bordering arid lands, 

especially the extensive tract between the Saddle Mountains and the 

easterly stretch of the Columbia, the general elevation of this tract 

being about 300 to 400 feet above the Columbia at Sentinel Bluffs.

Two possible methods of accomplishing this suggest themselves. 

The first involves the construction of a ditch from some point on the 

upper Columbia or on some tributary of the Columbia. This idea, 

when scrutinized, offers great engineering and financial difficulties. 

To reach a point on the Columbia of sufficient elevation would necessitate the construction of many miles of flume along precipitous portions of the river gorge. To bring water from one of the tributaries 

flowing into the Columbia from the Cascade Mountains on the west 

would involve obstacles which, if less serious than those presented by 

the first-mentioned plan, would still be extremely formidable.

The second apparently possible, method is to raise the water from 

the Columbia by pumping, obtaining the power by utilizing the considerable fall of the river through Priest Rapids. The practicability of such a scheme must be determined by experienced engineers 

after examination of the ground, and the suggestion is made here only 

tentatively.

It is said that surveys were once made for a ditch to head at Sentinel Bluffs, with the hope of irrigating a large part of the sandy land 

below the great bench, but it was found that the ditch level abutted 

against the escarpment of a terrace, about 150 feet above the. river and 

fairly close to its shore at a point a few miles east of the Harrison 

ranch. The project was therefore abandoned, as it was considered 

that the small area of land irrigable by such a ditch would not justify 

its construction, while to secure an increase of elevation sufficient to 

overcome the obstacle mentioned would require, that the ditch be 

begun above the Sentinel Bluffs and far up the rocky gorge north of 

Crab Creek.

KITTITAS VALLEY.

YAKTMA RIVER AND TRIBUTARIES.

The greater part of the arable land in Kittitas Valley is more or 

less efficiently irrigated. The ditches may be divided, according to 

the source from which they derive their supply, into two classes: (1) 

those leading from Yakima River, and ('2) those obtaining water 

from the tributary streams that head in the mountains to the west,
52 GEOLOGY, ETC., OF EAST-CENTRAL WASHINGTON. [NO. 118.

north, and east. The ditches of the first class are nearly all controlled 

by corporations, and data concerning them are comparatively accessible. Those of the second class include only two incorporated 

ditches and a large number of private ditches, concerning which it is 

difficult to obtain accurate information.

Canals from tlie Yakima. The oldest large canal on Yakima River 

is that known as the Ellensburg ditch, controlled by the Ellensburg 

Water Company. The construction of this ditch was begun in 1885, 

and the greater portion of it was completed in 1887. It was enlarged 

and extended 3 miles in 1892. The cooperative plan upon which the 

controlling corporation was organized is typical for the Ellensburg 

region.

The ditch was built by the farmers in the irrigation district 

covered by the ditch, stock in the corporation being given in payment 

for the labor performed. The original value of the stock was placed 

at $5 per share, of which 8,000 were issued. The ownership of each 

share entitles the holder to one-half a miner's inch of water. The 

price of water is fixed each year and the money received applied to 

the payment of current expenses, which are low, and to the liquidation of indebtedness incurred in the construction of flumes. The 

present price of water is about $1 per inch, or 50 cents per acre, but 

it is expected, after the indebtedness is cleared off, to reduce this to 

about 50 to TO cents per inch.

The intake of the canal is at a point on Yakima River about 7 

miles above Ellensburg. It sweeps about the eastern side of the valley, doing duty for most of its entire length of about 20 miles, and 

terminates at a point about 5 miles southeast of Ellensburg. Its 

fall is 22 inches to the mile. The total area irrigated by this canal is 

about 8.000 acres.

The Bull canal is named for Walter A. Bull, by whom it was first 

constructed in 1885 for the irrigation of his own farm. It was afterwards enlarged and used by a score of farmers, who organized a corporation, to which the water rights of the ditch were transferred in 

1898. The plan of organization was cooperative, and similar to that 

of the Ellensburg Water Company. There are 50 shares of capital 

stock, each valued at $75 and entitling the holder to 20 inches of 

water. The capacity of the canal is thus about 1,000 inches, or sufficient for the irrigation of some 2,000 acres. The charges for water 

are extremely low. They average about 20 cents per inch per annum, 

and attained in 1898 the merely nominal figure of 5 cents per inch.

The water is taken from Yakima River, and first does duty in supplying power for the flour mill at Ellensburg. From the tailrace of 

the mill the water is led into the lower part of Wilson Creek channel, 

and this natural trench is made to serve the purposes of a ditch.

The only other large ditch from Yakima River is that of the West
CAUUNS.1 STREAMS. 53

Side Irrigation Company, which begins about 2 miles above Thorp 

and irrigates about 7,000 acres on the west side of the river. It has 

a capital stock of $80,000, divided into (iOO shares of $50 each. A 

share entitles its holder to 6 inches of water. The cost of maintenance is about $1,000 a year, or about 35 cents per inch of water 

delivered.

The Cascade Canal Company has just completed a canal higher 

than any previously constructed. It has been financed locally and is 

to be operated on cooperative principles. The intake of the canal is 

at Dudley, about 4 miles above Thorp, and its total length is about 42 

miles. The company has built a darn across the outlet of Lake 

Kaches that will raise the water about 15 feet above low-water mark. 

The cost of the canal is about $125,000, and it will irrigate about 

16,000 acres of land. The same company expects to construct a 

higher canal in the near future.

Canals from tributaries of the Yakima. Of the canals that take 

water from the mountain streams, only two are incorporated. These 

are the Taneum and the Manastash ditches, named from the streams 

from which they derive their respective supply. They are among 

the oldest ditches in central Washington, both having been constructed 

about 1875.

The larger of these is the Taneum ditch. It was constructed on a 

cooperative plan. The cost of construction was a little more than 

$1,000, and the corporation was capitalized at $2,000, divided into 40 

shares. The value of water is so great, however, that $500, or twenty 

times the par value, is now paid for a single share. The capacity of 

this ditch at high water is about 5,000 inches, but the supply often 

becomes deficient in late summer.

The Manastash ditch irrigates a smaller area than the Taneum. 

Its maximum capacity is 1,200 inches; after July 1 the supply is 

cut down to half this amount. The capital is about $1,500, but the 

actual value of the ditch is now estimated at about $25,000.

In addition to the canals above described, there are a great number 

of private ditches taking water from the small streams. It is supposed that the total acreage irrigated from these ditches is larger 

than that supplied by the larger incorporated ditches. However, 

those who are dependent on the supply of the mountain streams often 

suffer from an insufficiency of supply in the latter part of the summer, there being generally no more than enough to mature grain or 

a single crop of alfalfa.

CONSERVATION OF THE SUPPLY.

For the amelioration of this condition it is to be hoped that storage 

reservoirs in the mountain canyons may be constructed at some 

future time, so that the abundant run-off of the rainy months can
54 GEOLOGY, ETC1 ., OF EAST-CENTRAL WASHINGTON. fNo. 118

be stored and allowed to come down to the thirsty valley lands in 

the dry season, when it is needed. The writer is unable to suggest 

any sites where reservoirs can be constructed economically, but believes that future necessity may stimulate the discovery and survey 

of suitable reservoir sites.

It is also a matter of the highest importance to make certain that 

the means supplied by nature for the equalization of the run-off by 

the storage of water in snow banks and in the sponge-like mantle of 

humous soil and rootlets that is spread over the shaded forest areas 

shall be preserved to the fullest possible extent. It is probable that 

the regulations in regard to the pasturing of sheep in the forest 

reserves might advantageously be made more stringent. Greater 

pains should also be taken to prevent the spread of forest fires and 

to secure the punishment of those who start them. There can be no 

doubt that the origin of a great number of forest fires is traceable 

to criminal neglect, if not to the deliberate intention of those whose 

interest is furthered by the clearing of the land. There is much 

testimony to the usefulness of the foresters in checking forest fires, 

but it is also certain that the present force is inadequate to prevent 

immense annual destruction under existing conditions.

SPRINGS.

In the early days of the settlement of the arid Columbia Plains 

water for the use of man and beast was almost entirely derived from 

springs. Even up to the present time many families are entirely 

dependent upon springs for their supply, which they not infrequently 

haul for many miles either in barrels or in specially constructed tank 

wagons. The more provident farmers have cisterns sufficiently capacious to contain several tank loads, and are thus enabled to hold a 

supply in reserve to tide over periods when time can not be spared for 

hauling.

The springs of this region may be classified as surface, canyon, and 

fissure springs. The great majority belong to the first two classes.

SURFACE SPRINGS.

The term surface springs is applied here to springs in surface deposits overlying the basalt, supplying water that has not sunk to 

any considerable depth. These in many cases appear to be formed 

by the gathering of surface water that has percolated down through 

the soil mantle and, flowing slowly over the underlying surface of 

comparatively impermeable rock, has become concentrated in the 

stream channels that furrow its surface. The water, small in amount, 

is for the most part concealed in the alluvium and the wind-blown 

silt with which these channels are filled, and emerges only in excep-
CALKINS.l SPRINGS. 55

tionally favorable localities. Springs of this character are observed 

on the line of the Northern Pacific at Paha, and are of especial 

importance on the slope leading from Coulee City to the plateau 

northwest. It is probable that at this locality they are largely in the 

material of the great moraine that terminates in this neighborhood. 

In the sloping gullies these springs are numerous enough to furnish 

the domestic supply for the ranches there situated.

CANYON SPRINGS.

What are designated canyon springs are generally situated in 

the walls of coulees. In genetic character they do not differ widely 

from springs of the first class. The water supplying them has come 

from no great distance. In some cases they are supplied by rain 

water that is absorbed by the soil and finds its way slowly through 

crevices in the columnar basalt to a porous layer of scoria underlain by relatively impervious rock; favored by a slight slope, the 

water then flows to some outlet in a canyon wall. In other cases it 

is probable that much of the supply is absorbed at another edge of 

the water-bearing stratum exposed on the slope of a not far-distant 

canyon from which there is a decided dip toward the spring. Black 

Rock Spring, in the first coulee south of upper Crab Creek, appears 

to be a case in point. The water there rises, apparently under slight 

pressure, through the alluvium at the base of the northern wall of 

the coulee. At Wilson Creek, on. Crab Creek just north of this 

spring, the basalt has a dip of 5° to the south, and it is possible 

that some water falling on the side of Crab Creek Canyon finds its 

way to Black Rock Spring.

The number of canyon springs observed was very large. In the 

valley of Crab Creek near Krupp a spring in a small gully has 

been improved by digging, and by a system of piping has been made 

to supply excellent water to a house and barnyard. One of the 

most important springs in the region is that known as Skooten 

Spring, which is situated near the eastern end of Saddle Mountain, 

and supplies a small pond without outlet, and consequently strongly 

alkaline. There is no other surface water within some 15 miles, and 

therefore the horses that graze within that radius resort to this watering place in great numbers.

Professor Russell has suggested a method of increasing the flow 

from the springs that issue from sedimentary layers in the basalt 

series by driving horizontal tunnels in the water-bearing strata. No 

springs improved in this way were observed, although small welllike pits have been sunk in inairy places. It is probable that horizontal tunneling might be employed to advantage in many cases, but 

the springs generally seem to occur in comparatively thin layers of
56 GEOLOGY, ETC., OF EAST-CENTRAL WASHINGTON. [NO. 118.

scoriae or cinders, so that the digging of a tunnel would be considerably retarded by the resistance of hard rock above and below.

There is a water prospect of peculiar history on the northeastern 

slope of Saddle Mountain. Tradition has it that the sounds of rushing water used to attract the attention of passers-by, and tunneling 

was undertaken in the hope of tapping the subterranean stream. 

The writer visited the abandoned and caved-in excavation, which 

had penetrated only the mantle of soil and basalt rubble, but could 

not detect the faintest whisper of the alleged underground current.

FISSURE SPRINGS.

There remain to be described two very large springs, one of which 

is certainly a fissure spring from a deep source, while the other is 

only doubtfully to be classed as a fissure spring. The first of these is 

Clerf Spring, in Kittitas Valley, the second is a group of springs on a 

terrace of the Columbia overlooking the foot of Priest Rapids.

CLERF SPRING.

The salient features of Clerf Spring have been mentioned by Mr. 

George Otis Smith.0 It is situated at the side of a small canyon 

emptying into the east end of Kittitas Valley. The natural flow has 

been increased about fourfold by an excavation that affords a good 

exposure of the rocks from wrhich the spring issues. Fine shales and 

shaly sandstones of the Ellensburg formation here rest upon the 

vesicular surface of a basalt flow. The water boils up from the bottom of the excavation, which has penetrated the basalt to a slight 

extent, and probably emerges from crevices in the rock concealed by 

fine debris. The water is of good quality, but noticeably warm, the 

temperature being 62° F. An irrigating ditch leads from the spring 

along the side of the canyon to the side of the main valley. The supply from this fountain, wKich is all utilized in the dry season, is 

estimated to be about 120 miner's inches.

The high temperature of the water and the mode of its emergence 

show that this spring is, in eft'ect, a natural artesian well and that its 

water is forced up by hydrostatic pressure from a considerable 

depth. The facts point unmistakably to the existence in this vicinity 

of conditions favorable to obtaining flowing artesian water. An 

experiment in this direction has been made, and boring has been begun 

within a few rods of the spring in the hope of obtaining an additional 

supply of water. The well has been carried to a depth of about 40 

feet in the basalt, and water has been obtained which, on a test, rose 

just above the surface. The drilling was done with poor machinery

« Smith, 6. O., Geology and water resources of a portion of Yakima Coimty, Washington : Water-Sup, and Irr. Paper No. 55, IT. S. Geol. Survey, 1901, p. 45.
CALKINS.] SPRINGS. 57

and evidently by an inexperienced driller. The progress in the solid 

basalt is said to have generally been less than a foot a day, or about 

one-sixth of the rate attained by experienced drillers in the wheat 

country. The well was finally abandoned and has caved in about the 

top so as to be at present useless.

HARRTSOK SPRTNOS.

At the southwest extremity of the arid plain that stretches south 

from the base of Saddle Ridge there is a strip of land about 8 miles 

long by one-half mile wide which is green with a luxuriant growth of 

swamp hay. On the border of this oasis there are clustered a group 

of farm buildings and corrals and a strip of old orchard, flourishing 

and bearing abundantly. A large force of farmers and cattle men 

live upon the place, which is generally known as the Harrison ranch.

Along a line in the central part of the hay meadow there are a 

number of small ponds bordered with tules and other aquatic plants. 

The ponds are very deep in proportion to their small area, and are 

perennially supplied from beneath with living water colder than that 

of the river and of good quality. The overflow originally escaped to 

the river from both ends of the meadow, but since the east end is now 

banked by a sand dune the escape is mainly to the west, where it falls 

over the terrace in a stream of probably several hundred miner's 

inches.

In its original state the area now occupied by this oasis was a 

marshy lake, which has only been made available for agriculture by 

artificial drainage. Even now the meadow land beneath the surface 

is saturated with water and quakes in many places beneath the foot. 

It is therefore unfit for growing grain or alfalfa. The present crop 

is chiefly of wild swamp hay, but an endeavor is being made, to improve the quality of the forage by gradually supplanting it with 

domesticated grasses. The crop is mainly used on the ranch for the 

winter feeding of cattle and horses, whose summer range extends 

over a large part of the desert to the north. Alxmt 1,000 head of 

stock were wintered here in 1901-iJ.

The waste of the large surplus of water from these, springs, in a 

land where water is so precious, must strike anyone as a thing to be 

regretted, and gives rise to the inquiry whether more of it might not 

l*e used. The hope of this does not appear to l)e very good. The strip 

of land between the, meadow and the river is not in general more than 

H feet above the springs, and might, perhaps, be irrigated readily by 

\vindmills, but the soil is very gravelly and apparently infertile, so 

that it is doubtful whether the expense of irrigating it would l>e 

repaid. The ranch is situated on the lowest terrace above the actual 

Hood plain of the river, and there serins to be, little or no land that, 

can profitably l)e irrigated from the springs by gravity alone. On the
58 GEOLOGY, ETC., OF EAST-CENTRAL WASHINGTON.

other hand, however, it appears possible to extend the area of hay 

land by draining some of the broad shallow ponds at the eastern end 

of the meadows.

The geologic conditions which give rise to these springs can not 

be observed directly, for the bed rock in this vicinity is mostly concealed. A few small outcrops of basalt are seen north of the oasis, 

and this rock forms the bed of the river at Priest Rapids. The riverward escarpment of the terrace upon which the springs are situated

FIG. 2. Section illustrating explanation of Harrison Springs on the hypothesis that the 

water-bearing stratum has been tapped by erosion.

is of gravel, without rock exposures. The rock from which the water 

issues is not exposed. From the rather meager observations two explanations of the phenomena observed seem possible. Under either 

hypothesis the water is supposed to flow from pome porous reservoir 

stratum (possibly the white tuff bed exposed near Sentinel Bluffs) 

fed by rain and snow falling on Saddle Mountain.

According to the first hypothesis, illustrated in fig. 2, the waterbearing stratum has been tapped by erosion. The fact that the water 

issues along a comparatively short line may be explained on the supFio. -Section illustrating explanation of Harrison Springs on the hypothesis that (he 

springs are situated along a break in the basalt.

position that the water-bearing stratum is lenticular, and that a 

tongue-like projection has been cut off here. The tuff bed already 

mentioned appears, indeed, to have a lenticular form, since it is not 

seen west of the river at Sentinel Bluffs nor south of it at Priest, 

Rapids.

An alternative explanation may, however, be given for Harrison 

Springs. (See fig. 3.) The fact that the springs are in a straight 

line parallel to the structural ridge across the river strongly suggests 

that they may be situated along a break in the basalt formed by the.
CALKINS.] WELLS. 5

earth forces that produced the ridge. This hypothesis is, perhaps, on 

the whole, somewhat more probable than the one already given. The 

coolness of the water, however, shows that it does not come from n 

great depth. The fracture, if it exists, may therefore be a minor one 

in the basalt above the water-bearing stratum, produced by the rather 

sharp bending of the basalt and not extending indefinitely downward 

like a true fault fissure.

SURFACE WELLS.

The numerous farm wells in Kittitas Valley belong mainly to the 

surface type and arc sunk in valley alluvium. There are some, however, which penetrate Ellensburg sandstones for short distances and 

probably derive their supply from distant sources, thus being classifiable genetically with the deep wells. Their discussion, therefore, 

will l?e deferred to a later section.

The surface wells proper of the valley perhaps require no description. The few wells very near Columbia River, and the more numerous ones in Crab Creek bottom, which derive their supply from the 

underflow of the neighboring streams, may also be passed with brief 

mention.

The great majority of the shallow wells in the Columbia Plains 

are sunk to depths varying from 13 to TJ* feet in the alluvial deposits 

that floor the dry coulees and their tributary gulches. The suggestion advanced in the discussion of springs, that the water on reaching 

bed rock has l)een concentrated in the old subsurface channels according to natural laws of drainage, is equally applicable in the case of 

these wells, for the nature of springs and of surface wells is, in fact, 

essentially the same, save that in the former the configuration of the 

ground is such that the water-saturated bed emerges on the surface.

A notable well of this class supplies the small village of Ephrata. 

Just west of the town a canyon opens out upon the gravelly plain. 

There is a small surface flow in the lower part of the canyon, which 

vanishes in the broad delta-like alluvial fan below its mouth, where 

a shallow well taps the sunken stream, and a windmill pumps it 

into a tank, from which it is distributed through a system of pipes. 

There arc several other wells in the neighborhood of the town, generally from RO to Tn feet deep, and gathering their supply from 

gravel that was probably laid down by the Columbia in Glacial time.

Of more especial interest are the fairly numerous wells on the 

plateau west of Coulee City. These have all been dug by hand, 

for the most part in the sand, clay, and gravel brought down by the 

ancient glaciers from the north. Two such wells are situated in sec. 

14, E. JH, T. 2T E., one of which penetrates 42 feet of gravel, clay, 

and sand and 18 feet of basalt, while the other attains a depth cl' 

65 feet without reaching basalt.
60 GEOLOGY, ETC., OF EAST-CENTRAL WASHINGTON. [NO. 118.

The quantity and stability of the supply from surface wells vary 

widely in different cases. The wells last mentioned appear to meet 

all demands except when the wind for the windmills fails for a considerable time. The wells in the coulees often give an abundant 

supply; one in Lind Coulee, notably, met the domestic needs at one 

time of a score of families. On the other hand, some surface wells 

often fail to meet the demands made upon them in the dry season, 

and it may be said in general that the chances of obtaining a generous 

and reliable supply of water are smaller in surface wells than in deep 

borings in the basalt.

DEEP WELLS. 

li\ TKt ID LI (1TCIK Y STATEM EN T.

Historically the deep well represents the latest development, in 

the methods of obtaining water on the Columbia Plains. When the 

fertility of the plateau lands was recognized their settlement became 

inevitable, but the question of water supply was at first a serious one. 

The waste of time and labor involved in hauling from the widely 

scattered springs, often necessitating the pulling of a heavy tank 

over miles of deeply rutted and hilly road, led the wheat growers to 

seek a method by which a sufficient supply of water could be obtained 

at any desired point, even upon the summits of the plateau. The 

deep drilled wells solve the problem successfully, and they are being 

put down by all who are able to meet the expense, which is often 

considerable.

The charges for well drilling in the southern part of the wheat 

lands are as follows: In soil, gravel, etc., above basalt, 50 cents a 

foot; in rock (which is generally in great part massive basalt, though 

other varieties after the first basalt is struck are not differentiated), 

$2.25 per foot for the first 300 feet and 50 cents per foot additional 

for each 100 feet below that depth. Water for the engine, coal, and 

board for the outfit are furnished by the owner of the ranch.

In the vicinity of Ritzville the terms are slightly higher; for the 

first 300 feet the charge is there $2.50, and 50 cents higher for each 

additional 50 feet. On these terms, however, the driller furnishes 

coal, the cost of which is estimated at about 25 cents for each foot 

drilled in basalt. In all cases water is guaranteed, and the risk of losing tools (which generally also necessitates abandoning the hole) is 

borne by the driller. The average cost of a well at these rates is 

probably not far from $800, though it reaches a maximum of over 

$2,000.

The rates charged for drilling appear fairly reasonable considering the cost of machinery, the risk of loss, and the degree of skill 

required. The hardness of the rocks is such as to call for very careful tempering of the drills and skill and patience in manipulation.
CALKINS.J THEORY OF ARTESIAN WATER. 61

There seems to be a strong personal factor in the success of drilling 

operations, many drillers having records nnmarred by loss of tools 

or failure to obtain water, while the work of others seems frequently 

to end in disaster.

In Kittitas Valley deep wells have never attained importance as 

a source of water supply. This fact is due to the more favored condition of the valley. In the lower portion shallow hand-dug wells 

have been found adequate to supply the wants of the house and 

barnyard. The much larger demands of irrigation have been supplied more or less satisfactorily with water from the Yakima and its 

tributaries. Thus, although it has long been recognized by intelligent observers that the basin-like structure of the valley is favorable 

to artesian water, the demand for an artesian supply has not been 

strong enough to give rise to energetic prospecting. The two borings that have been made were unsuccessful and have thus tended to 

destroy the hope of obtaining flowing wells in the valley, but, as 

will be shown later, these experiments were so inefficiently carried 

out as to have little evidential value.

The purpose of the following discussion is primarily economic, and 

it will attain its object if it helps the reader to decide to what extent 

he can profitably invest in deep borings. It is the scientific questions 

involved in this problem that the writer proposes to treat here. It 

will be shown, for one thing, to what depths, approximately, it is 

necessary to go in a given part of the district for a sufficient supply. But a question which is perhaps more important, and whose 

solution requires scientific investigation of a special kind, is whether 

artesian water exists in the region. The fact that no flowing wells 

exist at present is not conclusive evidence for a negative answer to 

this question, since the all-important rules for the proper casing of 

wells have been generally ignored. Furthermore, an endeavor will 

be made to show that underground pressure, even though insufficient 

to raise water to the surface, may often advantageously be utilized 

by proper casing.

Since this paper is intended chiefly for the benefit of nonscientific 

readers, it will be necessary, in order to make the discussion of artesian problems clear, to insert at this point a statement of the principles upon which artesian flow depends, and to show how those principles should be applied in prospecting for artesian waters and in 

constructing artesian wells.

GENERAL THEORY OF ARTESIAN WATER.

The conditions that usually determine the flow of an artesian well 

may be illustrated as follows: Suppose two water-tight basins of 

similar form are so fastened together as to lie one within the other, 

with a small water-filled space between. Let the upper basin be per-
62 GEOLOGY, ETC., OF EAST-CENTKAL WASHINGTON. I NO. 118.

forated, and let the perforation be tightly fitted with a tube. According to a simple and familiar law, the water will rise in this tube 

to the height at which it stands in the space between the basins, and 

if the mouth of the tube be lower than the rim of the lower vessel 

and the latter be kept full by some external supply a constant stream 

will issue from the pipe. Such an arrangement as is here described 

would be a working model of an artesian basin. The construction of 

our model might be slightly modified, however, without essentially 

changing the principles involved. For the basin-shaped space we 

may substitute one between two superposed troughs or between two 

inclined boards, provided that the space is closed except along its 

upper edge. Tii either case a floAv would be obtained from any aperture below the lowest point of the rim of the reservoir space. The 

essential principle illustrated in this simple manner is expressed by 

the familiar saying that " water seeks its own level."

In natural artesian districts, however, the conditions do not have 

the ideal simplicity of our primitive model. A number of additional 

factors come into play, materially complicating the problem. We

PIG. 4. Ideal section illustrating the requisite conditions for artesian wells. (After

Chamberlinj

have now to show to what extent natural conditions are represented 

by our model, and in what respects the difference of actual from ideal 

conditions leads to modification of the simple rules of artesian flow.

Suppose a basin-like valley, underlain by a stratified series of rocks 

that have a basin structure, so that the form of the layers corresponds 

in a general way to that of the surface of the ground. Suppose that 

in this stratified series there lies a bed of porous material, such as a 

coarse, open sandstone, capable of absorbing and storing a large 

quantity of water, and that this porous bed is overlain and underlain by some material, such as compact clay shale, which is practically water-tight. If the upturned edges of the sandstone stratum 

are exposed along the slopes of the hills surrounding the valley, they 

will absorb a portion of the rain falling upon the hills, and, in some 

cases, of streams flowing over the outcrop. The porous bed will 

become saturated with water and constitute a great underground 

reservoir, from which an artesian flow may be obtained by sinking a 

well at some point lower than the exposed area where the bed absorbs 

its supply. (See figs. 4, 5, 6.)

While the conditions in the basin valle}^ are similar to those of the 

simple model in the most essential respects, there are two noteworthy 

particulars in which the natural and the ideal conditions differ.
CAuaxs.l THEORY OF ARTESIAN WATER. 63

In our working model we have for a reservoir an open space, and 

the basins that form its walls are water-tight. In nature the reservoir is generally constituted by an aggregation of minute but connected pores between the grains or fragments that constitute the 

water-bearing bed, and the confining strata are never absolutely 

impervious. Roth these modifications of ideal conditions have an 

important influence upon the flow of artesian streams.

First, the water flowing to a well through the small interstitial 

spaces encounters a notable amount of frictional resistance, which 

has the effect of retarding the flow. In order to counterbalance the 

consequent loss of artesian pressure and obtain a generous flow the 

well must be situated at a point considerably lower than the area of 

absorption and the depression must be increased in proportion to the 

distance from the source of supply.

Second, leakage through the confining strata, by diminishing artesian pressure,acts in the same unfavorable way as frictional resistance, 

though loss from this source is not likely to be serious if the, region 

between the area of supply and the wells is elevated.

When, therefore, we inquire as to whether the stratigraphie conditions in a given region are favorable to the hope of obtaining artesian 

water we must not look for absolute impermeability in the strata confining the water beds. It is necessarv onlv that the resistance which o * *

the water must overcome in escaping through the confining strata be 

large in comparison with that which it encounters in flowing through 

the porous stratum. In other words, the stratigraphic conditions are 

fulfilled when we have a relatively permeable stratum confined 

between strata that are relatively impermeable.

We have still to consider another difference, perhaps even more 

important, between theoretical and actual conditions. We have 

assumed up to this point the absence of any exposure of the waterbearing stratum affording opportunity for leakage lower than the 

mouth of the artesian wells. It is probable that this condition is

Km. 5. Section illustrating thinning out of a porous water-bearing bed. (After Chamborlln.)

rarely fulfilled in nature. Most valleys are drained by streams, and 

'he gorge by which a river leaves a basin-like structural depression 

"vill cut the water-bearing stratum and expose it at a lower elevation 

^han any point on the valley floor. An ideal artesian basin must be 

'opographically an undrained basin, and that is an exceptional topographic form. It is probable that in the great majority of artesian 

districts the water-bearing stratum is cut at points lower than any of 

^he wells.

IRR US 0.^ At 5
64 GEOLOGY, ETC., OF EAST-CENTRAL WASHINGTON. I NO. US.

The effect of such leakage upon the behavior of artesian water 

must therefore be inquired into and the reason shown why it does 

not destroy underground pressure in the imperfect 

reservoirs. It is a more or less familiar truth that 

moving underground water follows the path of least 

resistance. More definitely and specifically, we may 

say that the water at any given point in an artesian 

basin will tend to escape to the surface by the route 

011 which it will have to do the least work in overcoming resistance. The resistances to be overcome 

are friction and gravitation. It is readily conceivable that in the area near a well the water can 

more easily overcome the gravitative resistance and 

rise to the surface as an artesian flow than the great 

frictional resistance it would encounter in passing 

to a distant low outcrop, even though aided by 

gravity.

An illustration of the principle here involved may 

be cited which is familiar to the experience of everyone. In a city house furnished with a system of 

wate pipes, the turning on of faucets in the lower 

stories will not generally stop the flow from the 

faucets on the floors above, though it may materially diminish its force and volume.

The considerations set forth in the later paragraphs have been recognized by others,0 and Professor Russell, from whose paper 6 the accompanying 

figure (fig. 0) has been taken, has proposed for the 

form of reservoir in question the term " artesian 

slope." It seems to the present writer, however, 

that it has not been sufficiently recognized that leakage in natural reservoirs is almost universal. When 

a district is examined with reference to artesian conditions, hope of obtaining artesian flows should not 

be abandoned on finding that the water-bearing 

strata were exposed at low levels, but an attempt 

should rather be made to estimate the degree to which 

the existing natural leakage will injure the artesian 

reservoir. It will be interesting to discuss briefly the 

lata upon which such estimates may be based.

It is obvious, in the first place, that the danger 

from leakage is great in proportion as low outcrops are extensive. 

In the case of a basin valley, for example, it is desirable that the

a Chamberlin, T. C. Requisite and qualifying conditions of artesian wells: Fifth Ann. Rept. 

U S. Geol. Survey, 1W4, p. 142. fig. 17. 

fcBull. U. S. Geol. Survey'No. 199, 1902, p. 1ST.

Fio.6-section of

an artesian slope.

(After RnsseiD
CALKINS. 1 THEORY OF ARTESIAN WATER. 65

gorge through which the river emerges be narrow in proportion to the 

size of the expanded part of the valley. Another fact, perhaps less 

evident, is that it is disadvantageous for the river to have cut down 

deeply below the general level of the valley floor. In such a case the 

water-bearing stratum may be very extensively exposed, and the artesian basin indeed be divided into two scoop-shaped segments with the 

water bed exposed along the entire edge of each. By a similar course 

of reasoning it may be perceived that in a given artesian district 

porous beds lying low down in the series will in general be less extensively exposed along the rivers than higher beds (see fig. 1^, p. 65).

The effect of leakage is dependent, in the second place, on the 

proximity of the low-level outcrops to the place where the well is 

to be sunk. In the close vicinity of such outcrops the route of 

escape by the natural exposure of the porous stratum may offer 

less resistance than must be overcome in rising through the wells. 

At points more remote from the region of leakage, on the other 

hand, the loss of pressure will be much less serious, and at great 

distances it may become negligible. In a long synclinal valley, 

underlain by a water-bearing stratum having the form of a trough 

with open ends, the chances of obtaining an artesian flow in the 

central portions of the depression would generally be excellent, and 

loss of pressure by leakage need be apprehended only near the ends of 

the trough. In the case of an inclined stratum exposed along the 

greater portion of its lower edges the danger from leakage would 

probably reach a maximum. The diminution of pressure from leakage would be greatest near the low outcrops; but, on the other hand, 

those situated farther away would generally be at a disadvantage from 

being on higher ground, and the most favorable location for wells 

would be in an intermediate zone where conditions were somewhat 

balanced.

From the foregoing discussion it should be evident that the prospector for artesian water may. according to his judgment and 

experience, make a more or less approximate estimate of the effect 

of natural leakage. Each case must of course be considered for 

itself, yet certain rough generalizations can be made. In the central 

portion of a basin valley, from which a river flows by a narrow gorge 

and does not deeply trench the valley floor, or in the middle of a 

synclinal trough of great length, the loss of pressure by leakage is 

lot likely to diminish the pressure in a fatal degree. On the other 

land, a well sunk to an inclined stratum extensively exposed at a 

1 ow level will generally not succeed unless the stratum is of very great 

extent and other conditions are favorable. The effect of leakage 

's, however, at best a somewhat indefinite factor in the artesian 

problem.
66 GEOLOGY, ETC., OF EAST-CENTKAL WASHINGTON. [NO. 118.

The discussion to this point has related to the structural, stratigraphic, and topographic conditions influencing artesian flows, or, 

in other words, to the nature of the reservoir. Of no less importance is the supply which fills this reservoir and supplies the loss 

from wells and springs. In order that a well shall continue to flow, 

the water level in the artesian reservoir must be kept higher than the 

mouth of the well. This supply, as has been briefly noted, is chiefly 

from rain falling upon the high exposures of the porous stratum 

and immediately absorbed. It may, however, be augmented by a considerable amount not falling directly upon the area of absorption, 

but flowing over it for short distances in temporary rills, and by leakage from streams that flow across the outcrop of the porous stratum. 

A case illustrating leakage from a stream is cited by Mr. George Otis 

Smith in his description of the Moxee-Atanum basin.0 In this manner areas remote from the zone of outcrop may contribute to the 

artesian reservoir.

The amount of water supplied to an artesian basin depends on the 

area of the zone of absorption and on the amount of precipitation 

along that zone. The zone of absorption is necessarily higher than 

the flowing wells and consequently lies usually in a region of greater 

rainfall. Its area, however, is generally small in proportion to that 

of the whole artesian basin, and the amount of water that can be 

drawn from the underground reservoir, far from being unlimited, is 

very definitely determined by the average precipitation on a comparatively small area. If the amount drawn off by wells and springs 

exceeds the amount annually furnished by rain and snow, a diminution of artesian pressure must result. Many wells that gave a powerful stream at the beginning have ceased to flow when borings have 

multiplied in their vicinity. This danger of wasting the artesian 

supply has been recognized by the legislature of the State of Washington,6 which has framed a wise law compelling owners to cap their 

wells during the rainy season (from October 1 to April 1) and to use 

only such amounts during that period as are necessary for domestic 

purposes and stock.

We may now recapitulate the necessary conditions of artesian flow, 

as follows:

(1) A porous stratum capable of absorbing large quantities of 

water and allowing it free passage.

(2) Relatively impermeable strata above and below, capable of 

confining most of the water under pressure.

(3) An exposure of the edge of the porous stratum where it may 

absorb water falling upon it, and, to some extent, that of rills and 

streams flowing across it.

a Smith, G. O., Geology and water resources of a portion of Yakima County, Wash.: WaterSup, and Irr Paper No. 55, U. S. Geol. Survey, 1901, p. 5B. 

&Stat. Washington, chap. 121.(H. B. No. 203).
CALKINS.! ARTESIAN DIVISIONS. 67

(4) An inclination or folding of the water-bearing stratum and 

a corresponding slope of the surface of the ground, so that the proposed wells may be located below the zone of supply.

(5) Absence of low-level outcrops sufficiently extensive and sufficiently near the proposed w^ells to cause great loss of pressure by 

leakage.

(fi) A sufficient supply of rain water to maintain the artesian 

head.

DATA C'ONCEHXIXG DEEP WATERS. 

AETESIAN DIVISIONS OF THE REGION.

We may now proceed to discuss, in the light of the general principles just laid down, the artesian problems for the region here considered. In this discussion we must use the facts already set forth 

concerning the natural conditions of the region and, further, the well 

records that give direct evidence regarding the occurrence and 

behavior of underground waters.

The facts can not be discussed for the region as a whole, since conditions vary considerably in different portions. A division can be 

made, however, into districts in each of which the natural conditions 

are fairly uniform. Those in which deep wells already exist are 

designated (1) the Connell-Ritzville district, (2) the Hartline district, 

(X) the Quincy district, and (-J-) the Kittitas Valley district. In the 

desert area traversed by Saddle Ridge there are 110 deep wells, but 

the natural conditions will be discussed separately for the portions 

of the desert south of and north of that prominent structural feature.

STKATIURAPIITC CONDITIONS IN OOLrMIJIA PLAINS.

The stratigraphic conditions are so uniform throughout the Columbia Plains that it will be profitable to consider these conditions from 

the artesian standpoint before proceeding to discuss the special features obtaining in each of the districts just blocked out, all of which 

lie within the Columbia Plains except the Kittitas Valley, where the 

stratigraphy is somewhat different and must be discussed separately.

In that portion of the Columbia Plains considered in this report 

the Ellensburg beds are so distributed as to afford little ground for 

the hope that an artesian supply can be obtained from them. The 

obstacles to such a hope are the facts that the high outcrops receive 

but a very small supply of atmospheric water, and that the beds are 

too extensively dissected by the canyons and coulees.

If artesian water is to be obtained in this portion of the plains it 

must be from the basalt series or from beds of sandstone intercalated 

with the basalt. In discussing the artesian problem for this area, 

therefore, it is important to consider whether the manner in which 

the basalt series is built up is favorable to the storage of deep water 

and its conservation under pressure. The required condition, it
68 GEOLOGY, ETC., OF EAST-CENTRAL WASHINGTON. CM>. 118.

will l>e remembered, is that strata capable of containing much water 

and of allowing it to pass with comparative freedom shall alternate 

with strata that are comparatively impervious.

The lithologic character of the basalt, including its texture and the 

structural features of the massive flows and pyroclastic beds, and the 

character and extent of the materials other than basalt intercalated 

with the upper layers of the series, have been described in a previous 

section. The facts pertinent to the present purpose may be recapitulated briefly as follows: The lava series is built up mainly of a great 

number of massive flows with rough vesicular surfaces. The massive 

lava is universally cut up by joints developed in the process of cooling into columns, plates, and irregular blocks. Intercalated with the 

massive flows are beds of porous tuff and breccia, which, however, 

occur in small volume as compared with the true lavas. A few beds 

of acid tuff and of sandstone are interbedded with the upper layers 

of the series, but are very rare in the lower portion of the section.

To the hasty observer the vesicular or " honeycombed "" upper portions of the basalt flows might seem well adapted for the storage of 

water, but a little thought will show- that such an idea is largely fallacious. The vesicles of the amygdaloids are not connected, but are 

inclosed chambers incapable of receiving water except by slow infiltration and quite incapable of allowing its free passage. To quote 

the language of Chamberlin, the porosity of a water-bearing stratum 

should be of an '" interstitial and not a vesicular kind."1

But if the vesicular portions of the flows are not available for waver 

storage there seems reason to believe that there are spaces between the 

lava flows, thin and irregular but extensive, that might serve as reservoirs. The surface of a freshly cooled lava flow, though level and 

monotonous in its broad aspects, is rough in detail. A second flood 

rolling upon a surface thoroughly cooled will probably not generally 

completely fill the inequalities of the preexisting surface. The crust 

forming upon the top and front of the liquid flow, broken and rolled 

under by its advancing motion, will often form a rough layer that 

does not fit closely into the minor unevenness of the cooled lava beneath. It is believed that waterways are often constituted by the 

spaces thus left by the failure of a more or less viscous flow to fill 

completely the roughnesses of the surface upon which it was poured. 

Though small in the beginning, these subterranean spaces may subsequently become enlarged by the solvent action of deep waters.

The ability of the porous tuff beds and breccias to absorb and contain water is evident to anyone familiar with their character, and it 

is believed that they probably contain the most generous supplies of 

water to be found in the basalt series in the region here considered.

Some of the beds of siliceous tuff and sandstone already described
CALKINS.] ARTESIAN DIVISIONS. 69

are probably well fitted for water storage, but they are apparently of 

only local importance. They may be found a source of water in the 

low-lying southwestern portion of the region, but the records of wT ells 

and observations of natural sections go to show that sandy beds are 

so rare in the eastern and northeastern portion as to be practically 

negligible.

We have next to consider whether the massive basalt is capable of 

confining under pressure the water stored in the porous beds.

The massive compact basalt is in itself a practically impermeable 

rock. The universal presence, however, of crevices, due to contraction partings, has led some observers to believe that the basalt is in 

general incapable of confining water under pressure. With this view 

the writer has been led to disagree, mainly by certain facts learned 

from wrell records.

Water in the deep wells of the plains is never found in any useful 

quantity in the massive basalt itself, but always in softer material 

between the compact layers. It is known to exist under pressure sufficient to raise it 250 feet in certain localities where there is no evidence of any strata of clay or silt which could have been efficient in 

preventing its escape from the pervious bed. It is concluded, therefore, that the basalt does to a notable extent have the ability to confine w^ater under pressure. The crevices in the massive rock, especially in the case of flows wT here the columns are small and irregular, 

are believed to be not only minute but generally not continuous 

throughout the flow, and to allow the passage of water in but comparatively small amount. At the same time it is admitted that 

jointed basalt is probably less efficient material for a confining 

stratum than clay or fine shale.

To sum up, then, it appears that the basalt series presents an 

alternation of strata of differing permeability favorable to the storage of artesian water, though the stratigraphic conditions are probably not so favorable as they are in a series of open sandstones 

alternating with beds of fine shale or clay. The waiter-bearing layers 

in the basalt series consist of acid tuft's and sandstones, thin irregular 

spaces between the flows, and basaltic tuffs and breccias. The massive basalt, although universally creviced, is considered to be of low 

permeability in comparison with these porous layers.

CONNELL-BITZVILLE DISTRICT.

By this name wT e may designate that portion of the wheat lands 

which lies south of upper Crab Creek. This area, though very extensive, is characterized by a similarity of conditions that justifies its 

treatment as a unit in the discussion of deep wells.

Structtire. The structure of the basalt underlying this district is
70 GEOLOGY, ETC., OF EAST CENTRAL WASHINGTON. [NO. 118.

not easily made out except through a broad study of the region, 

because the inclination of the lava flows, as observed in the walls of 

the coulees, is almost imperceptible in amount, and its direction and 

degree can not generally be determined except by careful instrumental 

observations, which the writer was not able to make. The interpretation of the structure is based largely on topographic grounds. The 

general surface of the land east of the Northern Pacific, lying at an 

elevation of nearly ij,000 feet above sea level, probably coincides 

nearly with the original surface of the basalt, or is below that surface, which may have been largely reduced by erosion. The desert 

area to the west and southwest, lying at a considerably lower level, is 

underlain in part by Ellensburg beds, which cover the basalt to a 

depth of several hundred feet. The surface of the basalt is, therefore, 

farther below the surf ace-of the ground in this region than in the 

more elevated lands to the northeast. Tt may therefore be inferred 

that the basalt underlying the Connell-Bitzville district has in general a very gentle inclination to the southwest.

T^joofy/vz/)/!;;/. The upper portion of the basalt series in this district is trenched by a large number of coulees, having a maximum 

depth below the surface of about 400 feet, though when the thickness 

of the gravel deposits in their bottoms is considered it appears that 

the trenches in the bed rock have depths as great as (100 feet. The 

average depth of the coulees is greatest in the southwestern portion 

of the district, which is nearest the master streams of the Columbia 

Plains, the Snake and the Columbia. Far to the west the basalt is 

deeply cut into by Columbia River, which exposes strata many hundred feet Mow the top of the series.

The general iutrenchment in the wheat lands has an important 

relation to the deep wells. It is evident that any porous strata existing in the basalt series at horizons above the general level of the neighboring canyon bottoms would be extensively exposed to leakage along 

the canyon walls, and that while it might at some localities carry considerable water, it could not be expected to contain it under artesian 

pressure.

^M^Zz/* The writer is unable to present any information based 

on detailed observation in regard to a region of supply for the deeplying porous strata under the eastern wheat lands. Study of maps 

and level lines shows that along the eastern boundary of Washington 

and in northern Tdaho there is an elevated region which receives a 

more abundant rainfall than the district considered. Part of this 

region was seen by the writer in traveling by rail between Ritzville 

and Spokane. It is a surface of erosion with many inequalities that 

would probably increase its eiRciency as a gathering ground. Some 

of the lower l)eds in the basalt series may be exposed there, and may
CALKINS. 1 AETESIA^T DIVISIONS.

absorb a portion of (he rainfall. A supply may also be furnished 

from the edge of the basalt formation at the base of the mountains 

in Idaho, though that region is so far distant that it seems doubtful 

whether it may be assumed that any porous beds extend continuously 

thence to the Ritzville region.

1TW7 /YYvm/x. The reader may gather from the facts above stated 

that the natural conditions, considered apart from experimental evidence, in the (\>nncll-I?it%ville district do not seem greatly to encourage the hope of obtaining artesian water. There are several factors 

of uncertainty in the theoretical problem, however, that make it desirable to scrutinize all the evidence obtainable from wells that have 

already been sunk. The appended list gives the data collected by the 

writer in regard to these. The list does not include by any means all 

the wells in the district, but it is believed that the expenditure of time 

necessary to make an exhaustive list would not have been justified, 

and that the data obtained will serve the main purposes of the examination.

A few words applying to all the data for the Columbia Plains may 

also be prefaced in regard to the fullness and reliability of the well 

records obtained. Owing to the fact that the rock penetrated is 

mostly basalt, not intercalated with any considerable amounts of 

tuffs, sandstones, or shales, it has not become customary to keep any 

regular records of the material through which the drill passes. 

There has been simply a differentiation between ^" rock " and "* dirt," 

for the purpose of reckoning charges. Any more detailed information that has been gathered, therefore, has Ixien supplied from the 

memory of drillers or of others interested in the wells. In regard 

to depth, the figures have in some eases been taken from written 

records, but in others from the memory of owners and drillers. It is 

Mieved, however, since most of the wells are of comparatively recent 

construction, that the figures given are substantially accurate.

Owner.

1. Northern Pacific 

B. B.

3. Do ........ .

8. J. W. Gover.....

5. Bray den Bros .... 

6. M. C. Moore.....

Location.

Eltopia .

Sec. 34, T. 

Sec. 83, T. 

Sec. 83. T. 

Sec. 31. T.

18. B. 80. 

18, B. 83. 

18, B. 83. 

18, R. 83.

Depth.

151

854 

811 

838

fit*1 A

o*4

78

Depth 

to surface of 

water.

115

384 

397 

383 

639

Depth 

of soil. Remarks, 

etc. I

"84 

14

Water at 810 feet.

Supply not abundant.

"60 dirt; 4 gravel.
*72 GEOLOGY, ETC., OF EAST-CENTRAL WASHINGTON. [NO. 118. 

Partial list of wells in C on ndl-Ritzville district, Washington Continued.

Owner.

7. 

s.

9. 

10. 

11.

12.

13. 

14. 

15.

16.

17. 

18. 

19.

20.

21. 

22. 

23.

24.

25.

26.

27. 

28.

29

30. 

31. 

32.

33.

34.

H. C. Baker _---_

Northern Pacific 

R. R.

H. W. Brummond 

Eugene Adams _ 

Win. MittelstadtWm. Dickinson. _

Wm. Brown.

Town -____-_-___ 

Andrew Newlaiid

Cunningham - _ -

C. S. Hedrick-^

McM a n 11 a m a 11 

and Van Marten

Northern Pacific 

R. R.

Town __-____-_-

Adam Buehler _ _ 

Lonis Pflugard . . 

Fred Scheel

Chas. Lakes

Dan Scott _ . - _ . _

Henry Myers _ . _

Location. Depth.

Sec. 29, T. 13 

Comiell

Sec. 8, T. 14, 

Sec. G.T. 14,

Sec. 35, T. 15

Sec. 25, T. 15

Sec. 13, T. 15 

Hattoii __--_

Sec, 35, T. 16

Sec. 10. T. 16

Sec, 34, T. 16 

Below Lind 

East of Lind

Lind _____...

.....do ------

Sec. 15, T. 18 

Sec. 14, T. 18

Sec. 8, T. 18,

Sec. 32, T. 19

Sec. 30, T. 19 

Sec. 35, T. 19 

Sec. 32, T. 19

A. Johaiisoii . _ . . . Sec. 32, T. 19

City of Ritzville . 

J. W. Johnson. __ 

Scott -..___.__.__

Odessa Mill . _ _ _ .

Sec 23, T. 19

Ritzville _ . . . _

, R. 33_ 575 

228

Depth 

to surface of 

water.

551

R. 32-_ 410 

R. 32-_ 510 ............

Depth 

of soil, 

etc.

23

Ul80

395 42

. R. 31. 318 293 30

, R. 31.

. R. 31.

, R. 31.

, R. 32.

, R. 32.

, R. 33- 

. R. 33.

R. 36--

, R. 33.

, R. 33- 

, R. 34. 

, R. 34_

360 330 75

425 , 325 

300 7 

430 380

255 ' 150

300

130 

225

286 

363 

318 

297

250 

320

100 

32

30

328 

298 

172

50 

37 

50

40

25

10 

14 

35 

25

300 250 ! 40

110 20 

358 258 

350 250

, R. 34- 250 235

, R. 35_

6 miles west of Ritzville.

Sec. o,T. 21. 

Sec. 26, T. 21

R. 33.. 

, R. 30.

360 

180 

358

137 

211

200

270

40 

206

20 

50 

70

Remarks.

Water rises.

In bottom of coulee.

Water rose to top 

of basalt.

In coulee.

70

50 

46

23 

31

Elevation. 1890.

Water in red 

" honeycomb 

rock;" lateral 

flow wash ed 

away drillings.

''Gravel.

A few general statements may be deduced from the list concerning 

these wells.
CALKINS.] ARTESIAN DIVISIONS. 78

In comparing depths, allowance must, be made for the fact that 

some wells are sunk from the high plateau surface of the wheat lands, 

while others are situated in the coulees, from oO to 400 feet below the 

general upland levels. Comparing the average depths of wells in the 

uplands, we obtain the following results: For the thirteenth and 

fourteenth rows of townships, 40(1 feet; for the fifteenth and sixteenth, 3GT feet; for the eighteenth and nineteenth, 32T feet. There 

is thus, in general, a slight increase in average depth from north to 

south. The explanation of this fact is probably to be found in the 

greater depth of the coulees in the southern portion of the district, 

which is near the master stream of the region, where the ancient 

streams were most deeply intrenched.

The figures in regard to depth of soil have interest, though without 

direct bearing on water-supply problems. The soil is seen to be in 

general very deep, apparently attaining its greatest depth on the 

brows of slopes, where the conditions are most favorable for wind 

accumulation. Some indication of the amount of hardpan was 

gathered from descriptions of wells. This material seems to be 

thickest in the neighborhood of Ritzville. The depth of gravel in 

certain of the coulee bottoms is also given by the well records.

In regard to the character of the rock in which water is found, 

the information is, of course, not very definite, since it is based upon 

the relative ease with which the material is penetrated by the drill 

and by the appearance of small fragments brought up by the sand 

pump. No case is recorded, however, where the water-Jbearing 

stratum is sandstone, a material that could hardly fail to be recognized. The water-bearing material is always softer than the massive 

rock, and is usually described as ^ honeycomb/' less seldom as " brown 

gravel," or ^ bowlder formation,"' etc.. but no true waterworn 

gravels were seen in any of the natural exposures of the basaltic series. 

The testimony all seems to indicate that the deep water is generally 

found in porous or fragmental basalt.

The third column, headed "' depth to water surface," contains data 

that are of the highest interest, because they give the most positive 

evidence obtainable in regard to artesian conditions. Drilling is 

usually stopped almost immediately upon obtaining a good supply 

of water, and any considerable difference between the corresponding 

figures in the third and fourth columns usually indicates that the 

water has risen from the water-bearing stratum. Such a rise indicates that the underground water is under pressure and, therefore, 

in the general sense of the word, artesian.

This artesian rise of water varies in different portions of the region. 

To the south it attains TO feet in the railroad well at Lake. But
74 GEOLOGY, ETC., OF EAST-CENTRAL WASHINGTON. [NO. 118.

nowhere in the southern portion of the district is the rise considerable enough to give much hope of obtaining artesian flows.

The most encouraging information was obtained in the vicinity of 

Lind, where the town well has water standing within 30 feet of the 

surface, having risen some 250 feet by artesian pressure. Another 

well was recently bored there for the Northern Pacific Railway Company to a depth of 225 feet. The water was in a porous rock which 

extended from within GO feet of the surface to the bottom, where the 

principal flow was obtained. The water rose 200 feet, to the top of 

bed rock. Another well in Lind Coulee, a short distance below the 

town, tapped water which quickly rose to within 3 feet of the surface, 

but sank afterwards some 20 feet. The latter fact is accounted for 

on the supposition that the loose surface material was packed and 

rendered partly impervious by the friction of the drill rope, but 

became porous again after the water had washed the fine material 

from the sides of the bore. A consideration of this case should 

enforce the important lesson that the failure of the water to reach 

the surface may often be due, not to lack of sufficient pressure, but 

to leakage through porous material forming the sides of the upper 

portion of the well. There seems to be very good reason for the 

hope that artesian water, at least in small quantity, might be obtained 

at Lind by properly casing the wells.

Northward, in the neighborhood of Ritzville, a rise generally 

occurs. The water seems to lie at an average depth of about 300 

feet belo\v the upland surface, from which depth it is forced up by 

artesian pressure from 50 to 100 feet, resting from 250 to 200 feet 

below the general plateau level. In the town well at Ritzville the 

water surface lies less than 100 feet below the nearest point in the. 

coulee bottom. In the mill well at Odessa the water has risen within 

40 feet of the surface, or within 17 feet of the top of the basalt. In 

a well 110 feet deep in sec. 30, T. 19, R. 33, the water conies within 20 

feet of the mouth, and probably escapes by leakage. Attention is 

called to the importance of the fact that a rise of water in the wells 

is very general throughout the region. This matter will receive further discussion in the sequel.

Another phenomenon indicating the distant source of the water is 

a lateral flow noted in one or two cases and shown by the washing 

away of the drillings.

In regard to the quality and quantity of the water a few general 

statements may be made. Nearly all of the deep wells, so far as 

known, yield a supply sufficient to meet all demands for present uses, 

and one that remains constant throughout the year. The largest 

supply known to have been furnished was given by the Ritzville 

city well, which was guaranteed by the contractors to furnish 5,000
CALKINS.] ARTESIAN WATER IN HAETLINE DISTRICT. 75

gallons an hour and which has, in fact, furnished a stream of that 

volume for twenty-four hours without perceptible lowering. The 

quality of the deep waters is generally excellent and far superior to 

that of surface wells or springs, the underground water being soft 

and of good flavor. Regarding temperature, the data gathered were 

too meager to form the basis of discussion, but there ?s as usual a 

general increase of temperature with depth.

HARTUNE DISTRICT.

The Hartline district i^ defined as comprising the western part of 

the valley traversed by the branch line to Coulee City, in.which lie 

the villages of Parnell, Wilbur, and Hartline.

*9f/';/(V<//Y\ The layers of basalt beneath Hartline Valley have 

been gently Hexed into a synclinal or trough-like form, limited on the 

south by a low, gently arching swell and on the north by a plateau. 

The western end of the valley meets the Grand Coulee almost at its 

own level and is faced by the moderate slope up which the road to 

the plateau beyond is laid. This slope is in a measure conformable 

with the structure of the basalt underlying it, the layers of basalt 

being turned up in such a way as to close up the western end of the 

syncline. The eastern end of the Hartline trough was not visited, 

but observations from a moving train give reason to believe that its 

bottom rises in that direction and that the syncline dies out upon the 

high plateau land. The Hartline district therefore seems to lie in 

a spoon-like structural depression, a fact which in itself favors the 

hope of obtaining artesian water.

7^/w(//'«/;/;//. The greatest imperfection in the Hartline basin is 

its deep dissection by the Grand Coulee. The northern portion of 

the coulee lies nearly 400 feet, and the southern portion below the 

old cataract nearly 800 feet, lower than the floor of the valley at 

Hartline. The close proximity of a chasm so deep must have a very 

considerable effect in reducing pressure in the basin by affording 

opportunities for leakage from the water-bearing strata.

*S'w///)?;/. In regard to the source of the underground water of the 

district, the remarks on that matter in the description of the southern 

wheat lands apply equally in this place. The principal area of 

absorption probably lies on the high land to the east, but the writer 

can supply no data based on actual observation.

1TW7 /'frwrZa. Theoretical consideration of the conditions in 

Hartline Valley do not, on the whole, indicate very decisively the 

existence of a true artesian basin, and the evidence of the wells, as in 

the case of the southern wheat lands, will be useful in aiding a judgment on the possibility of obtaining surface flows. Most of the 

data exhibited in the following table have been supplied by Mr. J. A. 

Wilburn, of Hartline, one of the principal drillers of the district.
76 GEOLOGY, ETC., OF EAST-CENTRAL WASHINGTON. Ixo. 118. 

Partial list of wells in the HartUnc district, Washington.

Owner. Locality.

33. Wasapa ......... Sec. 14, T. 24, R. 29 _.

34. H. Childs........ Sec. 19. T. 24, R. 30 - -

35. Toin Elder ...... Sec. 18,T.24,R.30 ..

36. Do......... Sec. 12,T.24,R.30 ..

37. Rodgers!...._._ Sec. 7, T. 24, B. 30 ...

38. J. Harris ........ Sec. 4, T. 24, R. 30 -..

39. Sinclair Bros .... Sec. 29, T. 25. R. 30 _ _

40. Do......... Sec. 33. T. 35, B. 30..

41. Jim Hill........ ' Sec. 6. T.25.R.30 _._

42. A. J. Burke .... J Sec. 25, T. 25. R. 29 __

43. John McDonald_ _! Sec. 24, T. 25. R. 29 _ _ 

44 Buckhannon-._..! Sec. 11,T.25, R. 29 ..

Depth.

Feet.

400

203

147 

168

168

210

137

293

242

116

184

173

Depth 

to 

water 

surface.

Feet.

173

115

138

196

83

193

42

65

40

40

Thickness of 

soil.

Feet.

16

28

22

22

20

13

32

45

28

16

Remarks.

No water.

Water in a crevice.

Do.

The water is said by Mr. Wilburn to occur generally in " brown 

gravel,' 1 though it is more probable that the material thus designated 

is fragmental or scoriaceous basalt rather than true alluvial gravel. 

In two cases, however, the water was found in a crevice, which may 

have been either a joint opening or a space between two flows, formed 

in the manner described on page 68.

The figures in the third column are of especial interest. In the 

last 4 wells of the list the water has risen to within short distances of 

the surface, varying from 40 to 65 feet. In the Hill well it is 

within 10 feet of the top of the basalt. In the other wells on higher 

ground the water has generally risen, but the pressure has not been 

sufficient to lift the water as near the top as in the other cases. The 

general rise of water indicates considerable underground pressure, 

and gives reason to hope that artesian flows might be obtained from 

the lower wells if they were properly cased.

QUINCY DISTRICT.

This district comprises the northwest quarter of what has been 

termed the desert, upon the northern border of which lies the small 

hamlet of Quincy, where 4 drilled wells have been sunk.

Structure. Quincy lies in a structural depression, though the fact 

is not evident at once, since the basin is a broad one and has been 

greatly marred by erosion. Just north of the village a structural 

slope rises to the ridge overlooking Willow Springs, and 18 miles to 

the south a low arch forms the opposite side of the east-west trough.
CALKINS.] A ETESIAN WATETC I1ST HAKTLINE DISTRICT. 77

Far to the east the basalt rises to the wheat-lands plateau, and to the 

west the lava flows are turned up, forming the long gentle slope of 

Table Mountain.

Topography. If, however, only the upper portion of the basalt 

series is considered, it appears that the Quincy basin is merely a 

trough, open at both ends. The Grand Coulee and its southern continuation have cut down at least 150 feet, and the Columbia 800 feet, 

below the top of the basalt series. The proximity of the river gorge 

is, of course, disadvantageous.

Supply. Only a small amount of water can be supplied to the 

upper strata of the basalt series from the ridges north and south of 

the Quincy basin, on which the rainfall is extremely light. There 

may be a slight contribution from middle Crab Creek, though there 

is no positive evidence of the fact. The deeper-lying porous beds 

may draw a supply from the far-distant elevated land east of the 

Ritzville region, but it is doubtful whether there are any such beds 

continuous for so great distances.

Well record*. On the whole, the uncertainty of supply, combined 

with the deep dissection of the basin, discourages the hope of obtaining surface flows, at least any of moderate depth, in the Quincy 

district. The well records, of which a list follows, confirm these 

inferences:

List of wells in the Quincy district, Washington.

Marble

ier.

Sec. 13, T 

Do

Do _.

Sec. 6. T.

Location. ^otal

Feet.

. 20, R. 24 _ ... ... .. _..._. 194

..... . 194

. ....... ....... 260

30, R. 24... . . __ 330

Depth to Deptli of 

water, soil, etc.

Feet. 

190 

190 

190 

190

Feet. 

40 

40 

40 

23

The water is found in soft material that seems to be basaltic tuff. 

Two soft layers were penetrated in the Marble well and one in the 

wells in the town itself.

AREAS WITHOUT DEEP WELLS.

Desert near lower Oral) Creek.- In the region between Saddle 

Mountain and the next ridge north the conditions are very similar 

to those that obtain in the Quincy district. Between these two anticlinal ridges is a synclinal trough, rising in a general way toward the 

wheat lands at the east and closed at the west by the structural slope 

of Table Mountain.
78 GEOLOGY, ETC., OF EAST-CENTRAL WASHINGTON. FNO. 118.

Topographically this area is generally lower than the Quincy district. It is bordered on the west by Columbia Canyon, which here is 

not very dee%), and is trenched by Crab Creek coulee in its central 

and southern portions.

The conditions of supply for this desert section seem to be unfavorable, for it is bordered on all sides by arid country. A large portion 

of the front of Saddle Mountain is a cliff, along which no water 

could be furnished to the porous beds underlying the region north 

of it.

The conclusion reached by consideration of natural conditions and 

by comparison with other districts is that, while water could probably 

be obtained from deep wells sunk down as far as the level of Crab 

Creek, there would be no reasonable hope of obtaining artesian Hows 

in this portion of the desert.

2?f/#r/; am/fA o/ /S'«f7<7& i!A)MN^m;. This broad unwatered area is 

underlain by Ellensburg beds, which in turn lie upon basalt, with 

interbedded acidic tufT and sandstone. The base of the Ellensburg 

and portions of the upper layers in the basalt series are exposed along 

the slope of Saddle Mountain and far to the east. The district is on 

the marginal portion of a great structural basin, in which lie Fasco 

and the Rattlesnake Desert.

The strata underlying the broad expanse of this bench are, so extensively dissected by the Columbia that there seems nothing to warrant expectation of their containing water under sufRcient %]ressure 

to rise to the surface. There is little doubt, however, that water 

could be obtained in this district from wells of moderate de%oth. The 

abundant flow of cool water from Harrison Springs appears to indicate the %)resence of a saturated bed at no very great distance below 

the surface, but the water in this layer, finding such free outlet at the 

springs, can not be under sufRcient pressure to raise it very far above 

their level.

The terrace land near the head of White Bluffs and across the 

Columbia is lower, and therefore more favorably situated. It has 

not been siifRciently examined by the writer, however, to entitle him 

to a very definite opinion in regard to the prospects of artesian water. 

The arid character of the surrounding country and its dissection by 

Columbia, Yakima, and Snake rivers are unfavorable features.

Two experimental borings have been made in this region. One is 

at Pasco, where a well has been sunk and cased to a depth of about 

400 feet in sandstone without obtaining a Aow. The second is on the 

right bank of the Columbia, below Craig's ranch, where a boring 400 

feet deep has been made without any successful result. This hole 

had been abandoned at last accounts, owing to the loss of the drilling 

tools. Neither of the borings described reached basalt, and neither
CALKINS. 1 ARTESIAN WATER IN HARTLTNK DISTRICT. 79

seems to furnish conclusive evidence that artesian water could not 

be obtained in the low arid region south of the area examined in this 

reconn ai ssance.

KITTITAS VALLKY.

. Sections of the Ellensburg beds, wherever studied, 

have shown an alternation of layers varying in coarseness, which is 

favorable to the conservation of artesian water under pressure. In 

the White Bluff section such alternation has been noted. In Ivittitas 

Valley the Ellensburg beds exposed in numerous sections are found 

to consist of gravels, sandstones, and fine silty stuff in frequent 

alternation. The lowermost part of the section, according to Mr. 

George Otis Smith, contains a large proportion of gravel, and is 

therefore especially adapted to store a large quantity of water, which 

would be confined between the basalt below and the silty materials 

above. The basal portion of the Ellensburg in Ivittitas Valley therefore seems well fitted by its lithologic character to serve as an artesian 

reservoir.

The Ellensburg beds underlie the floor of Kittitas Valley to a 

depth of several hundred feet, possibly a thousand feet or more. In 

the Moxee basin artesian water is found, at depths generally ranging 

between ()00 and 1,000 feet, near the base of the Ellensburg formation. It is probable that if artesian water is to be found in Kittitas 

Valley it will %)robably be in the same stratigraphic position and at 

about the same depths.

^/'wrZv?'('. The structure of Kittitas Valley may best be comprehended by reference to the map and structure sections. It will be 

seen that the dips on all sides of the valley converge toward its center, 

and that the basin structure is complete though not simple. The 

form of the basin may be roughly reproduced by taking a sheet of 

paper and pinching up a wrinkle in one end, when a scoop that will 

hold water will be formed. The wrinkle is represented by the anticlinal ridge between Clerf Springs and the main southeastern continuation of Kittitas Valley, known as the " Radger Pocket."

7\)y/()(ymy;A!/. The structural conditions here seem to fulfill the 

artesian requirements almost ideally. The cross section of the valley 

hhown in PI. II might well serve as a diagram of a typical basin. 

Like nearly all structural basins, however, its rim is cut by a stream 

\vhich exposes the edges of the water-bearing series from top to 

bottom, and we have to consider to what extent the pressure is thus 

diminished by leakage. General considerations already stated in the 

theoretical discussion of artesian conditions lead to the belief that the 

exposures in the narrow canyons by which the river enters and leaves 

the broad valley are not extensive enough to cause great less of presIRK 11» 05 M 6
80 GEOLOGY, ETC., OF EAST-CENTRAL WASHINGTON. [NO. 118.

sure. Another consideration urged by Mr. Smith " may also be noted 

here.

The Moxee artesian basin is cut by Yakima River in exactly tho 

same manner as the Kittitas basin. Mr. Smith considers that leakage 

at the low outcrops in the Yakima gap has been to a large extent prevented by the action of mountain-making pressure, which has produced intense folding along the southern side of the Atanum-Moxcc 

valley, and has incidentally compacted and indurated the beds of 

sandstones. Mr. Smith cites evidence of similar intense dynamic 

action at the head of Yakima Canyon, and suggests that leakage at 

this point may be largely prevented in the manner indicated. While 

the present writer is hardly inclined to concede to this agency the 

degree of einciency that Mr. Smith ascribes to it, he believes that it 

may, by increasing the resistance to leakage, help to maintain pressure in the water-bearing strata.

^?//?j9^. The supply of water for the reservoir strata in this case 

must be imbibed along the outcrop of the base of the Ellensbiirg on 

the surrounding hills. This supply will not consist solely, however, 

of rain water falling on the slopes and immediately absorbed, but may 

be largely augmented by leakage from the bottoms of streams that 

flow across the upturned edges of the sandstones.

Probably the greater portion of the water that *inds its way into 

the Ellensbiirg sandstones of this valley conies from the slopes of 

Table Mountain to the north and northeast. The outcrop along 

this slope is probably washed by more rain than falls in other portions 

"of the valley, and is crossed by a great number of streams which can 

hardly fail to make some contribution to the underground supply. 

On the whole a large amount of water must enter the Ellensbiirg 

sandstones along its very extensive high outcrops, and should be 

sufficient to supply many flowing wells.

7IW7 )vco/y7«. As may be gathered from the preceding paragraphs, the conditions of structure, stratigraphy, topography, and 

supply all seem to favor the hope of obtaining artesian water in this 

valley. Rut to many practical persons it may seem that the conclusions arrived at by theoretical deduction are less valid than evidence 

derived by actual experiment. Some attempts have been made to 

obtain artesian water in this district, without any positive success. It 

will be well to review the results of well digging in the Ellensburg 

sandstones, and to try to judge tlie value of the evidence derived in 

this manner.

Information was obtained from Mr. Joseph Preece of several 

hand-dug and drilled wells in the southeastern part of the valley. They 

penetrate the Ellensbiirg sandstones to slight depths only, and prob-

" Smith, GK O., Geology and water resources of a portion of Yakima County, Wash.: WaterSup, and Irr. Paper No. 55, U. S. Geol. Survey. 191)1, p. 41.
CALKINS.! ARTESIAN WATER IN HARTLINE DISTRICT. 81

ably do not approach the base of the series by hundreds of feet. On 

the Stoney ranch, 0 miles southeast of the Preece ranch, there is a 

well 150 feet deep in which the water rose 25 feet after the waterbearing layer was first struck.

In an old well 45 feet deep on the Preece ranch, dug by the owner, 

the water rapidly rose 10 feet from the bottom, though the sides 

had remained perfectly dry until the water-bearing stratum was 

struck. The water was soft, noticeably warm, and maintained a 

constant temperature throughout the year, so that it would " steam M 

in the cold air of winter. The warmth of the water at so moderate 

a depth indicates its derivation from a distant source, and its sudden 

rise from the water-bearing layer shows it to be under pressure. In 

short, the water is artesian in the broad sense of the word. No 

attempt was made to case the wells or -to determine by a test how far 

the water would rise in an open tube connected with the porous 

stratum if it were prevented from escaping except by way of the 

tube.

The Sanders well, north of Ellensburg, which is the only deep 

boring ever sunk in Kittitas Valley, is said to have reached basalt 

after passing through TOO feet of sandstone and clay. The tools were 

lost at that depth and the well was abandoned with the water standing 10 feet below the surface. The negative result of this experimental boring has been pretty generally accepted as demonstrating 

the futility of any further attempts to obtain artesian water in 

Kittitas Valley . a

Before we accept this discouraging view, however, we should ascertain whether the record is trustworthy and whether the well was 

properly cased. On neither point has the writer been able to obtain 

satisfactory information. There is reason to believe, however, that 

the driller was both inexperienced and incompetent, and altogether 

unfit to be intrusted with the important task of boring an experimental well. The evidence afforded by the Sanders well, therefore, 

should by no means be accepted as conclusive.

But we are not without positive evidence in a strong degree contradictory to that just considered in the phenomena at the Clerf Spring. 

Clerf Spring is, in effect, a natural flowing artesian well. A well 

was bored near the spring in 1900 in the hope of augmenting the supply obtained from the spring, with the result that water was obtained 

at a depth of 10 feet below the surface of the basalt, which rose to the 

surface in an open pipe. The drilling at this point was made with 

poor machinery and by an incompetent driller. The hole has been 

abandoned and allowed to cave in about the top, though it is probable

0 Russell, I. C., Geological reconnaissance in central Washington : Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 108, 1893, p. 69.
82 GEOLOGY, ETC., OF EAST-CENTRAL WASHINGTON. [NO. 118.

that a more generous supply could be obtained by going deeper. The 

well as it stands gives no new evidence, however, beyond that afforded 

by the spring, which demonstrates the existence beneath this locality 

of underground water under pressure sufficient to force it up to a 

level considerably higher than that of the floor of the valley.

After a consideration from a theoretical standpoint of the natural 

conditions obtaining in the district and an examination of the evidence afforded by existing wells, the writer is confident that artesian 

flows would be obtained at most points in the valley floor lying below 

the level of Clerf Spring by properly constructed wells reaching to 

the base of the Ellensburg series. Anyone intending to prospect for 

an artesian supply should, however, intrust the task of boring to a 

driller of known skill, experience, and integrity.

If the possibility of tapping an artesian reservoir be admitted, however, it still remains open to question whether the expense of deep 

borings would be justified, in view of the prospective construction of 

high ditches from the upper Yakima River. When the proposed 

ditches shall have been built they may efficiently supply all the area 

above and beyond the present irrigation ditches that could be benefited by an artesian supply. It may, however, be considered desirable 

to have a town water supply from a deep source free from the danger 

of polutiou, which is never entirely absent from surface streams.

SUGGESTIONS IN REGARD TO DEEP WELLS.

A few suggestions may appropriately be given here to guide drillers and others interested in deep wells, and especially to direct intelligent prospecting for artesian water.

TESTING ARTESIAN PRESSURE.

It is remarkable, in view of the encouraging indications of underground pressure afforded by certain wells in the vicinity of Hartline 

and of Liiid, that no tests whatever have been made in the wheat 

lands to determine definitely whether artesian flows might be obtained 

from properly caseJ wells. A few such tests, intelligently made, 

might show, at no great expense, the existence of an important natural 

resource in the region. The development of flowing artesian water 

would not only benefit the landowners, but the drillers as well, for it 

would enhance the demand of their services. It would therefore 

be to the interest of drillers to provide themselves with the simple 

apparatus necessary and to test the underground pressure wherever 

there appears reasonable hope of obtaining a surface flow.
CALKINS. 1 SUGGESTIONS IN REGARD TO DEEP WELLS. 83

A general description of the kinds of apparatus used and of the 

methods and principles involved in such tests is given in the following extract from Chainberlin's admirable essay on artesian wells:"

Control of flotc. It is clear, upon consideration, that perfect control may be 

obtained by putting down a tube to the densest portion of the upper confining 

bed, if, by some device, the space surrounding it may be closed 

up so that no water can rise outside of the tube. Formerly 

this was done by a very simple and ingenious device known 

as the seed bag (fig. 7). A long, stout leather bag is made in 

the form of a cylinder, open at both ends, and just the size of 

the well bore. This is slipped on the lower end of the pipe, 

and the bottom of the bag securely fastened about the tube by 

wrapping with marline. A thimble just above the tie will 

aid in preventing slipping. It is then filled with dried flaxseed, and the upper end likewise closed around the tube. 

When thus adjusted it is lowered into the well to the point 

determined upon and supported there until the seeds swell by 

absorbing water. This enlarges the bag so as to fit the bore 

tightly and shut off all water from rising outside the pipe, 

and so all is compelled to ascend through the tube to the surface, or at least as high as the pressure is competent to 

force it.

A better and more convenient, but more expensive, packing 

takes advantage of the expansion of rubber disks when 

pressed together, instead of the swelling of flaxseed. A series 

of thick, washer-like rings of rubber are fitted about a section 

of pipe, so adjusted between iron disks that, after being put 

down, they can be screwed together and so caused to expand 

laterally and completely fill the bore.

The construction of the parts and their adjustment are 

sufficiently indicated in the accompanying figures, which illustrate one of the forms in use.

In a form employed in the oil regions the expansion of the 

rubber disks, or of a single cylindrical one, is accomplished 

by pressing a conical hollow wedge between the pipe and the 

rings, thus forcing them out against the walls of the well.

In this case the packing is supported by a perforated tube an " anchor " 

reaching to the bottom of the well. As the packing in artesian wells is often 

located near the top, the necessity for support from below excludes this form in 

most cases.

Detection of flow. It has been remarked above that the water may rise from 

the bottom to some higher portion of the \vell and there find escape by passing 

off laterally through the upper strata. In the absence of control the water 

does not always rise and overflow. It is a matter of some practical moment, 

therefore, to know when a stream is struck which may yield a flow at the surface when put under proper control. (1) Such a stream usually discovers 

itself by a rise of water in the well, but this is not always the case. (2) Some

FIG. 7. Seed 

bag. a, Delivery 

tube, leading to 

the surface of the 

well, and terminating below the 

seed bag; c. a leather bag filled with 

dry flaxseed; £>, mar line wrappings to secure 

the end of the seed 

bag. (After Chain - 

berlin.)

a Chamberlaih, T. C., Requisite and qualifying conditions of artesian wells: Fifth Ann. 

Kept. U. S. Geol. Survey, 1885, pp. 1:11-172.
84 GEOLOGY, ETC., OF EAST-CENTRAL WASHINGTON. [NO. 118.

influence on the action of the drill is liable to be felt, which may arouse suspicion. (3) In any instance of a strong flow the drillings are apt to be carried 

away, so that when the sand pump fails to bring these up, or brings only 

coarser material, there is good reason to believe that a stream has been struck, 

and the proper tests should be made. In enterprises that do not require a 

voluminous flow, tests should usually be made when such indications appear.

PIG. 9. Rubber packing, shown screwed

together as it 

Chamberlln.)

is in the well. (After

FIG. 8. Rubber packing, shown apart. 

a, Section of delivery tube, extending to the 

surface: l>, a large thimble iuto which k 

screws ; e, an iron washer; c, a set of rubber disks fitting on fc, between b and d k, 

a section of pipe on which is turned a long 

screw fitting in the thimble 6; d, a disk 

forming the head of the screw fc; /(, a section of pipe extending about 2 feet below 

the packing; i, a spring to press against 

the walls and hold the pipe li while the 

section a and thimble 6 are screwed upon fc. 

(After Chamberlln.)

It is ordinarily desirable to test the capacity of any stratum which gives any 

of these or other indications, before sinking to a lower one. It is advisable to 

make provision in the contract for siich tests, since it is not always to the interest of the driller, once his machinery is set.up and well at work, to stop at the 

more limited depth. The capabilities of the flow may be tested by the use of a 

tube and seed bag, or by rubber packing, as explained above.

Negative ami false tests. It is possible, in perfect honesty, to make both a 

negative and a false test. Suppose the two porous beds, A and B (fig. 10). 

separated by an impervious layer, are traversed and the testing of the first 

has been neglected, either because it failed to give encouraging indications or 

for other reasons. It is now desired to test these. Suppose the seed bag or 

rubber packing be placed above the upper one. Now, if both bear a water
OALKINS.l SUGGESTIONS IN KEGABD TO DEEP WELLS. 85

FIG. 10. Section 

of well illustrating 

a negative test.

level equally high, the test will be fairly made and the result will indicate 

fheir combined capacity, or if both heads are at least as high as the surface at 

'he well the test may be accepted. Hut suppose that the bed 

.1 has been cut into by erosion, or been reached by crevices, 

or is otherwise defective, while the other. It, remains intact 

"nd bears an elevated fountain head. Under these conditions 

'he water may now from B through the bore into .i and 

<^cape laterally through it, as illustrated in the figure. Now, 

: n this case the result may be either simply negative or posi- 

'ively false and misleading. If the lateral leakage through 

'he stratum A effectually disposed of the now from B and 

'here was no leakage in the upper portion of the well, the 

""ater in the test tube would stand during the test at essen- 

'ially the same height as before, and the result would be 

negative, merely failing to indicate a possi- 

/^ bility that really existed. If, on the other 

hand, there was lateral leakage through the 

upper strata as well as through .1, neither 

alone being quite competent to dispose of 

the flow from B, then the introduction of 

the test pipe would cut off the upper leakage, leaving the bed .1 unable to dispose of 

the entire flow. In this case there would 

be a rise of water in the tube, and possibly 

a flow. The mischievousness of a test of this sort lies in the 

fact that it appears to be a true test, while in reality it is 

false and misleading. The true test in this case can only be 

made by placing the packing between the porous beds ,1 and/?. 

2. Take another instance where two porous beds, as .1 and 

B (fig. 11), have been traversed. Let the 

packing be placed between these. Then (1), 

if A equals B in productive capacity, water 

will stand at the same height \vithin and 

without the test pipe if there is no leakage 

in the upper beds. (2) If the failure to 

flow was due to such leakage, then a now 

will result from B, but the additional flow 

which might be secured from A is lost (see figure). (.°>) If A 

has a greater head than B. and if there is no loss above, the 

water in the test pipe will actually be lower than that outside, as illustrated in fig. 12. This may be said to be an 

inverted test, and is less misleading than the false and negative tests, since it plainly indicates an error of manipulation. 

1 have known of such a case of reduced head as the result of 

an attempted test. (-4) If, however, there is in this case 

considerable lateral waste in the upper strata, the valuable 

flow from A will be lost, just as before the test was made, 

while B may give a rise in the tube, or even a flow, which 

would foster the impression that a fair test had been made, 

while in reality the greater flow has been lost. (5) If A 

gives a feebler flow than B, but has an equal head, the test 

will fail of being completely satisfactory only in excluding the feebler flow 

from A. ((!) If, however, A has a lower head and is a possible means of escape

FIG. 11. Section 

'if well illustrating 

 . partial and misleading test.

FIG. 12. Section 

of well illustrating 

inverted test.
86 GEOLOGY, ETC., OF EAST-CENTRAL WASHINGTON. Lxo. 118.

for the flowage from L', then the packing has been placed at the right point and 

the test gives the best results.

3. In still another case let A and B represent porous beds (fig. 13), the lower 

of which is so conditioned as to drain the upper one by virtue of a lower outcrop iu the manner previously explained and illustrated. (1) If the drainage 

loss below is not complete, and if the packing is placed above A, as shown iu 

fig. 13, 7, the result will be negative if there is no leakage in the upper strata. 

(2) Should there be considerable loss there it will be cut off by the tube and 

packing, and some rise in the tube will be the result in most cases. In either 

instance the result is misleading, particularly in the last, because the small 

rise of the water is apt to allay any suspicion as to the effectiveness of the 

test. The real fact, however, remains that the flow from the productive 

stratum is mainly lost below. (8) Suppose that the packing is located 

between A and B, as in fig. 13, //, it will then shut off the flow from ,4, 

while that in B, because of a lower outlet, will fail to flow. Now, if there is 

opportunity for lateral leakage in the upper strata the water from A will rise 

in the well outside of the test pipe and pass off into these open upper beds. 

(4) But if no such opportunity is afforded it may rise to the surface and overflow outside of the test pipe, while the water within the test pipe will probably 

be found to be lower than before the test was made.

PIG. 13. Section of strata and three wells, showing one correct and two erroneous tests.

The proper method of testing wells known or suspected to present these conditions is to sink a simple bag of seed or other obstruction to a point in the 

impervious stratum between A and B, which, when it tightens iu its place, will 

shut off the flow below. Then a tube with packing sunk to a point above A will 

effectually cut off all leakage in the upper strata and the full capacity of the 

water bed A will be tested.

These examples, while not exhaustive of possible cases, illustrate the nature 

of defective tests and the deceptive conclusions liable to be drawn from them. 

The remedy is manifest. Test each water-bearing stratum as it is encountered, 

or else vary the final tests so as effectually to exclude all liabilities to error.

Some comment may be made on the special application of these 

directions in this region. In Kittitas Valley the strata encountered 

in the downward progress of the, drill outcrop along the neighboring hill slopes at successively higher elevations, so that there, does not 

seem to be much danger of leakage from a water-bearing stratum to 

the one, beneath, and a plug inserted just above the highest strong 

flow should bo sufficient. In the wheat lands, where conditions are 

less thoroughly understood, more care should be taken to make the 

tests exhaustive.

It has been noted that in wells sunk from the plateau levels of the 

wheat lands water is generally found at about the same depth as in 

the bottoms of the neiirhboriiiir coulees. An artesian flow could
CALKINS.] SUGGESTIONS IN REGARD TO DEEP WELLS. 87

hardly be expected at a less depth, for the extensively dissected upper 

strata would be too leaky to hold water under pressure. Wells on 

high ground, therefore, should be sunk lower than the bottom of any 

neighboring coulee and the test plug inserted below all porous layers 

that are exposed in the coulee walls. In wells sunk in canyon bottoms it would perhaps answer in most cases to insert the plug in the 

first layer of compact basalt below the loose and porous surface 

material.

By way of summarizing this brief consideration of artesian tests 

it is desired to state emphatically the following important points:

(1) The fact that the water does not overflow from an uncased 

well does not prove that an artesian flow might not be developed 

under proper conditions.

(2) A well in which water rises appreciably is worthy of being 

exhaustively tested, unless the nonexistence of artesian conditions in 

its neighborhood has been proved, and the tests should be carried out 

with an understanding of the principles that govern artesian flow.

(3) It is unnecessarily wasteful to case a well before it has been 

tested. The preliminary tests may be made with inexpensive apparatus, thus saving the heavy expense of casing until it is known to be 

justifiable.

DEPTH OF EXPERIMENTAL BORINGS.

It is a question of some moment to what depth it is proper to carry 

experimental borings. An idea is widely prevalent that the chances 

of obtaining artesian water increase with the depth of the well, and 

even that artesian water may be obtained at any place if the well goes 

deep enough. This notion has a certain basis in the fact that deeper 

strata are less liable to be tapped by erosion than higher ones. Under 

certain conditions, however, which are illustrated in fig. 14, the 

deeper strata may be less likely to yield a flow than those above.

Kit!. 14. Ideal section showing relative probability of obtaining artesian flow at various 

depths. The stratum A is tupped by the river at II, while O and I) are unfavorably situated for receiving a supply. 15 is capable of imbibing a good supply along its upper 

edge, and is not cut by the river, so that it is likely to yield a flow from a well sunk 

'at W.

Many drillers in the wheat lands have thought that it would be 

worth while to sink wells to a depth of from 1,000 to 1,500 feet, in 

order to reach below the strata that are extensively exposed in the 

river canyons. Such a belief should not be adopted hastily. These 

deep strata would probably be less exposed to leakage, although the
88 GEOLOGY, ETC., OF EAST-CENTRAL WASHINGTON. [xo. 118.

writer is not sufficiently acquainted with the region to the east to 

speak positively, hut it is doubtful whether they are favorably exposed to take in a supply available in the wheat lands. The doubt 

existing on this point in the present state of our knowledge should be 

frankly faced by anyone who contemplates putting down a very deep 

well. Before any such costly experiments are made some of the more 

favorably situated wells of the present moderate depths should be 

thoroughly tested. In wells to be sunk in the future each waterbearing layer should be tested as soon as reached, and if a satisfactory flow is developed at any point the owner should rest satisfied and 

not tempt fortune by continuing to greater depths.

CASING NONFLOWTNG WELLS.

If upon test a flow be developed, the well should be cased down to 

the point at which it is found that the packing is most advantageously located. But it does not seem wise or economical to confine casing to those wells that develop a surface flow. Suppose a 

well in which the underground pressure is sufficient to force the 

water in an open tube, inserted with a tight joint above the porous 

water-bearing layer, to within 50 feet of the surface, but that in its 

rise through the uncased well it meets a leaky, porous bed through 

which it escapes at 100 feet from the surface. In such a case as this 

the windmill or other pumping engine must raise the water 100 feet, 

when, if the underground pressure were fully conserved, the wT ater 

need be lifted only half that distance. There is a clear waste of 50 

per cent of the power, for, as is evident to all who are acquainted wT ith 

the elementary principles of mechanics, a pump capable of lifting 

1,000 gallons per hour through a vertical distance of 100 feet could 

lift 2,000 gallons per hour through half that height. The comparatively slight expense of packing the lower end of the pipe might in 

many cases be repaid time and time again by the saving in power 

where power is a source of considerable expenditure, or by the 

increased yield of water where all the water developed can be used to 

advantage.

Two qualifying phrases in the last sentence require some further 

explanation. In the vast majority of the deep wr ells now existing the 

pumping engines are windmills, and the cost of power is confined to 

the small annual expenditure for repairs, oil, etc., plus the ordinary 

wT ear and tear on the machine. Moreover, the amount of water furnished by a single mill is usually sufficient for all farm uses. Under 

such circumstances as these, where the running expenses are almost 

nothing and the supply meets all demands, there seems to be little 

inducement to make even a small outlay for packing the well pipe.

Where, however, a large and constant supply, such as is required 

to furnish a town wT ater system, is demanded, a gasoline or steam 

pump is generally used. The necessary fuel is then a constant
CALKINS.1 SUGGESTIONS IN REGARD TO DEEP WELLS. 89

source of expense, and, consequently, a possible saving of power, 

such as may be accomplished by packing, is worthy of careful 

consideration.

In the second place, if the rancher were able to use economically 

a large quantity of water it would be desirable for him to draw 

from his well the greatest amount that his windmill could supply 

under the most favorable conditions. It seems to the writer that 

such a use for the surplus above what is needed for ordinary farm 

uses is to be found in the irrigation of fruits and vegetables. While 

in the region east of the Columbia the conditions are such that 

horticulture will probably never become a leading industry, it seems 

certain that vegetables, small fruits, and certain orchard fruits 

might be produced in greater quantity and of much better quality 

than they are at present if the fullest use were made of the possibilities of irrigation from wells. If such a use were found for all 

the water available, the desirability of packing in all cases where 

the water level in the well could thereby be materially heightened is 

evident.

Efficient and systematic irrigation of gardens from deep wells 

would involve the construction of reservoirs, either wooden tanks or 

excavations lined with masonry or sod. The methods of irrigation 

can not, however, be dealt with in this paper. Those interested in 

the subject will do well to refer to Mr. Newell's recent work on 

irrigation," where all the branches of that important art are treated 

fully.

CONCLUSION.

This report may be closed appropriately with a brief recapitulation 

of the more important points developed in the preceding pages on the 

deep wells of east-central Washington.

In the wheat lands the records of numerous wells demonstrate that 

abundant water of good quality can be obtained from porous layers 

in the basalt series at depths varying from 40 to 670 feet. In general, 

the average depth at which a good supply is reached increases gradually toward the south.

The water generally rises in these wells to a greater or less extent, 

which proves that the deep waters beneath the wheat lands are under 

pressure, and that they are, therefore, in the broad sense of the term, 

artesian. Despite these encouraging manifestations, however, no 

instance is known in which an attempt has been made to measure the 

effective head of the artesian streams, nor has any well in the region 

been cased to prevent leakage through porous beds above the confining stratum of compact basalt. There is good reason to believe that

0 Newell, F. H., Irrigation in the United States, New York, 1902.
90 GEOLOGY, ETC., OF EAST-CENTRAL WASHINGTON. I NO. 118.

there are wells in the wheat lands in which the water fails to reach 

the top solely on account of leakage through loose surface material.

It is strongly urged, therefore, that the more favorably situated 

wells be tested thoroughly in order that definite information may be 

obtained regarding artesian pressures. Directions for making such 

tests have been given in the appropriate place. All wells which 

then prove capable of giving a surface flow should be efficiently cased.

It is thought advisable not only to case any wells that will give a 

surface flow, but to pack the bottom of the pipe in many other wells 

in which the water surface could, by that means, be raised materially. 

Such a procedure would be economical where, on the one hand, a gasoline or steam pumping engine is used and the running expenses for 

fuel, etc., are considerable; or where, on the other hand, a windmill is 

used and the running expenses are insignificant but it is desired to 

augment the supply by this means if use can be found for all the 

water that can be obtained. It is suggested that irrigation of gardens and orchards from deep wells would afford a profitable means of 

utilizing most of the water that can be developed in excess of the 

requirements of stock and the household.

There seems to be a fairly good chance of obtaining artesian fountains in the vicinity of Lind and of Parnell and in the coulees west 

of the Lind-Ritzville district, but the artesian pressures are probably 

insufficient to raise water to the general plateau levels of the wheat 

lands.

In the arid range land just east of the Columbia water could be 

found at comparatively moderate depths, but conditions do not favor 

the hope of obtaining artesian flows. A number of stock wrells could 

probably be sunk in this region to advantage, and if located at points 

far from any of the natural drinking places might render available 

some areas now largely neglected by the stock because of their distance from water. The excessively grazed stretches near the streams 

and springs might then have an opportunity to recuperate if the number of animals on the range could be kept within a reasonable limit. 

The ruin of this range seems imminent, however, unless those who 

have grazing interests there adopt a conservative policy. The wastefulness and shortsightedness of overstocking has too often been 

demonstrated by experience and only realized when the evil was 

past remedy.

That there would be better chances of obtaining ~ artesian flows on

the Columbia Plains by very deep borings than from some of the 

moderately deep wells now existing is doubtful. Deep experimental 

borings in the basalt are to be regarded in the present condition of 

our knowledge as involving considerable financial risk. The searcher 

for artesian water should make careful and exhaustive tests of the 

upper water horizons before he sinks capital in a deep boring.
CALKINS.] SUGGESTIONS IN REGARD TO DKEP WELLS. 91

The writer believes that wells sunk in the lower portions of Kittitas 

Valley to the base of the Ellensburg series and properly cased would 

yield artesian flows. If, however, a properly conducted experiment 

resulted in failure to obtain a flow from the Ellensburg series, the 

advisability of continuing the boring into the basalt underneath 

would be doubtful. Granting, however, that the chances of obtaining 

surface flows are good, the wisdom of prospecting for artesian water 

in Kittitas Valley must depend upon the answer to the question 

whether, if an artesian supply were obtained, it could be used 

economically.
INDEX.

A.

Page.

Agriculture in the region, conditions and

development of................. 25-29

Antecedent and consequent streams. Nfe

Streams. 

Artesian divisions of the region............ 67

Artesian pressure, tests of, method for..... 82-87

Artesian water, folds favorable to.......... 40

requisite condition for, sections showing 87 

theory of............................... 61-67

Artesian wells, borings for, depth of.... 87-88, 89

conditions requisite for ................ 61-67

sections illustrating..............62,63,64

flow of, control of...................... 83

detection of........................ 83-84

tests for............................. 84-86

B.

Babcock ranch, irrigation at............... 50-51

"Badger Pocket," location of.............. 79

Basalt, analyses of................ ......... 47-48

character of............................ 32

columnar parting in, plate showing. ... 20

contraction partings of ................ 33-34

extent of deposits of................. 29,30-31

origin of................................ 31-32 j

surface features of...................... 32-33 i

Black Rock Spring, character of........... 55 I

Borings for artesian waters, depth of.... S7-88,89

Bull canal, data concerning................ 52

Cascade Canal Company, data concerning 

canal of.........................

Cascade Mountains, features of.............

region east of, topography of ...........

Chamberlin, T. C., figures cited from.......

on conditions for artesian waters.......

on tests and control of flow of artesian 

wells...........................

("isterns, use of..............................

01 erf Spring, features of ....................

nature of................................

stream draining, character of...........

well sunk near..........................

Climate of the region, features of...........

Columbia Plains, agriculture in............

desert of, features of....................

grazing areas in ........................

geologic sketch map of part of.........

sand dunes of...........................

soils of wheat lands of..................

stratigraphic conditions in.............

Page. 

Columbia Plains, streams of, use of, as

sources of water supply ........ 50-51

topography of .......................... 11-15

vegetation on........................... 21,22

water beneath, depth to................ 90

wells (deep) on......................... 60-91

wells (shallow) on...................... 59-60

wind deposits on ....................... 44-49

winds on, prevailing direction of ...... 49

Columbia River, agriculture along......... 26

antecedent character of................ 41

arid range land east of, underground

water conditions in ............ 90

bend of, at Priest Rapids, origin of..... 42

borings near............................ 78

features of.............................. 16-17

Glacial course of, around Okanogan

Glacier ......................... 44

Glacial history of....................... 44

Glacial ice dam on ..................... 43,44

gravel deposits along................... 42-43

grazing along .......................... 23

irrigation from ......................... 50-51

irrigation from, plans for increase of... 51 

use of, as source of water supply ....... 50-51

Columbia River lava, definition of......... 30

Columnar structure in basalt, features of .. 33-31 

Connell, gravel deposits near .............. 42,43

precipitation at......................... 20

well at, data concerning ............... 72

Connell-Ritzville district, structure in ..... 69-70

topography of .......................... 70

water supply of ........................ 70-71

well records in ......................... 71-75

Consequent and antecedent streams. Sec

Streams. 

Coulee, typical, view of .................... 20

Coulee City, gravel deposits near .......... 42

morainal bowlders near................ 44

springs near............................ 55

wells near.............................. 59

Coulees, origin of........................... 42

Crab Creek, agriculture along.............. 26,27

antecedent character of................ 42

course and general features of ......... 17

desert lands near lower stretches of.... 77-78

features of.............................. 50

Glacial history of....................... 44

gravel deposits near.................... 42

grazing near............................ 23

region near, structure of ............... 37-38

region south of, structure in ........... 69-70

topography of ...................... 70

93
94 INDEX.

Page.

Crab Crook, region south of, water supply in. 70-71 

well records in ..................... 71-75

sj'rings near .........I.................. 55

tributaries of ........................... 17-18

volcanic ash bed on, valley of ......... 34

water supply from...................... 50

Oraig's ierry, volcanic ash beds at ......... 34

Craig's ranch, boring near ................. 78

D.

Dairying, practice of ....................... 29

Desert of Columbia Plains, features of..... 15-16

grazing areas in........................ 23

Drainage of the regii in, features of......... lfi-20

Dry Coulee, fragmental volcanic rocks in.. 34 

Dunes of sand, features of.................. 44-45

E.

Ellensburg, temperatures at................ 21

Ellensburg ditch, data concerning......... 52

Ellensburg formation, character of ..... 35-37,79

distribution of.......................... 35

extent of ............................... 29

forests of ............................... 36

section of............................... 35-36

thickness of, in Kittitas Valley........

water-bearing beds in.................

water-bearing conditions of...........

Kltopia, well at, data concerning.........

Eolian deposits, extent and character of.. 

Ephrata, glacial deposits near.............

morainal bowlders near...............

wells at................................

F.

79 

36 

91 

71

44-49 

41 

44 

59

Faults of the region, problems concerning. 37-38 

Fires, forest, notes on ...................... 54

Folds of the region, character of ........... 39-40

influence of, on artesian-water conditions...... ...................... 40

Forage growing, areas devoted to....... 27,28-29

Forest fires, notes on ....................... 54

Forests, protection of,.necessity for ........ 54

Fruit growing, areas devoted to......... 27-28,29

Geology of the region ...................... 29-49

Glacial history of the region, summary of.. 43-44 

Grain culture, practice of................ 26-27,29

Grand Coulee, agriculture in............... 26

features of.............................. 18-19

morainal bowlders in .................. 44

origin of................................ 42,44

problematic fault along................ 38

view of..........-..---.--.......--..... 44

Gravel deposits, origin of................... 42-43

Grazing in the region, notes on ....... .... 22-24

Great Plains of the Columbia. See Columbia Plains.

H.

Hanson Creek, soil on, analysis of.......... 47

Harrison Springs, agriculture near......... 26

features of.............................. 57-59

nature of flow of........................ 78

sections at.............................. 58

Page. 

Hartline district, structure in .............. 75

topography of .......................... 75

water supply of......................... 75

well records in ......................... 75-76

Hat ton, well at, data concerning .......... 72

Hillobrand, W. F., analyses of basalt by.... 47

Horticulture, areas devoted to .......... 27-28,29

Hydrology of the region.................... 49-91

I. 

Irrigation, methods of...................... 50-54

John Day system, discrimination of.... 35 (note) 

K.

Kachess Lake, dam across outlet of........ 53

Kittitas Creek, volcanic ash bed on ........ 34

Kittitas Valley, agriculture in ............. 28-29

artesian conditions in.................. 86,91

Ellensburg beds in ..................... 79

fragmental volcanic rocks in........... 34

geologic sketch map of................. 7

gravel deposits in ... ...\ ............... 48

irrigation in............................ 51-54

stratigraphy of ......................... 79

structure of............................. 40,79

topography of ....................... 15, 79-80

water supply of......................... so

wells in................................. 59,61

well records in ......................... 80-82

Koppen's ranch, section near.............. 35-36

Krupp, soil from, analysis of............... 47

springs near............................ 55

L.

Lake, well at, data concerning............. 71,73

Lakes of the region, general features of.... 19-20

Lava flows, surface features of ............. 32-33

Lind, artesian prospects near ............. 90

precipitation at......................... 20

temperature at......................... 21

wells at and near, data concerning .... 72, 71

Lind Coulee, location of.................... 18

well in.................................. (iO, 74

Lind-Ritzville district, artesian prospects

near............................ 90

M.

McDonald, D. F., aid by.................... 12

Manastash ditch, data concerning......... 53

Marshes, reclamation of.................... ">o

Mascall formation, correlation of....... 35 (note)

Merriam, J. C., on John Day system .... 35 (note)

Merrill, G. P., analyses of basalt and soil by. 46,47 

Moraine of Okanogan Glacier, extent and

character of .................... 44

Moses Coulee, antecedent character of..... 41

Moses Lake, alkalinity of .................. 19

glacial deposits at...................... 44

gravel deposits near .................... 42

grazing near............................ 23

references to............................ 17,19

sand dunes at .......................... 44-45

Moxee artesian basin, source of water in... 36
INDEX. 95

N.

Xaohes Valley, Ellensburg formation in.... 36

Newell, F. H., acknowledgments to........ 13

letter of transmittal by................. 9

on irrigation............................ 89

O.

Odessa, well at, data concerning............ 74

(ikanogan Valley, Glacial history of ....... 43,44

Orchards, areas devoted to ................. 27-28

P.

Paha, springs at............................ 55

Parnell, artesian prospects near............ 90

Pasco, boring at............................ 78

Physiography of the region ................ 40-49

Pilot Rock, a glacial bowlder, location of .. 44 

Plains of the Columbia. See Columbia

Plains.

Preece, Joseph, well records furnished by.. 80-81 

Preece ranch, well on ...................... 81

Priest Rapids, bend of Columbia River at,

origin of.1...................... 42

gravel deposits near.................... 43

power at, proposed utilization of....... 51

Providence Coulee, location of ............ 18

Pumps, forms of, used in raising water from

wells ........................... 88-89

use of, for lifting water from Columbia

River for irrigation............. 51

Q.

Quincy district, structure in. ............... 76-77

topography of ................ ......... 77

water supply of . 

well records in .

R.

Rainfall in the region, amount of.......... 20

Range lands, location of ................... 22-24

Ritzville, well drilling near, cost of........ 60

wells at and near, data concerning.. 72, 74-75 

Ritzville - Connell district. See ConnellRitzville district. 

Rivers and streams of the region, features

of............................... 16-19

See also Streams. 

Russell, I. C., Columbia River lava named

by........................... 30 (note)

explorations made by, mention of ..... 12-13

figure cited from ....................... 64

on basalt, secondary parting in ........ 33-34

on dikes in sandstone beneath Yakima

basalt........................... 31

on geologic structure of central Washington ....................... 37, 38,39

on nonartesian conditions in Kittitas

Valley.......................... 81

on Saddle Ridge, structure of .......... 42

on soils of Washington, residuary origin

of............................... 45

on soils of wheat lands of Columbia

Plains .......................... 46

on springs, method of increasing flow

of............................... 55-56

IRR 118 05 7

Page 

Saddle Mountain, bench south of, waterless

region on....................... 78-79

drainage of............................. 41

features of.............................. 16

fold of.................................. 39

gravel deposits near .................... 43

sand dunes near........................ 44-45

spring near............................. 55

structure of............................. 37,40

supposed subterranean stream on slope

of............................... 56

topography of .......................... 16

volcanic ash bed at..................... 34

St. Andrew, morainal bowlders near....... 44

Salisbury, R. D., on Okanogan Glacier ..... 43

Sand dunes, features of .................... 44-45

Sanders well, data concerning ............. 81

Seed bag, use of, in artesian wells.......... 83

Sentinel Bluffs, surveys made near, for irrigation ditch from Columbia 

River........................... 51

volcanic ash bed at..................... 34-35

Shushuskin Canyon, fragmental volcanic

rocks in ........................ 34

Skooten Spring, location and use of........ 55

Smith G. 0., acknowledgments to.......... 13

on artesian conditions in Moxee artesian

basin ........................... 80

on Clerf Spring ......................... 56

on dikes in sandstone beneath Yakima

basalt........................... 31

on Ellensburg beds.................. 35,36, 79

on stream leakage into artesian reservoir. ............................ 66

Yakima basalt named by........... 30 (note)

Soap Lake, alkalinity of.................... 19

Soils of wheat lands, analyses of ........... 46-48

character and origin of................. 45-49

color of................................. 45

source of................................ 49

thickness of ............................ 45

wind-deposited dements of ............ 45-49

Springs, classes of .......................... 54

canyon, features of..................... 55

localities of......................... 55-56

fissure, data concerning................ 56-59

surface, featn res of ..................... 54-55

location of.......................... 55

Squaw Creek, volcanic ash bed on ......... 34

Steiger, George, analyses of soils by........ 47

Stoney ranch, well on ...................... M

Stratigraphy of the region.................. 30-37

Streams of the region, antecedent, features

Of .............................. 41-42

consequent, features of................. 41

courses of, relation of, to structure..... 41-42

erosion work of......................... 41-43

terraces of, character and history of.... 42-43

use of, as sources of water supply ...... 50-54

Structure, geologic, of the region .......... 37-40

Sulphur Lake, alkalinity of ................ 20

Symons, T. W., exploration by, mention of. 12

T.

Table Mountain, drainage of, character of. 41 

folds of ................................. 39

forests on............................... 21,22
96 INDEX.

Page. 

Table Mountain, stock ranges near......... 23

structure of............................. 40

Taneum ditch, data concerning............ 53

Terraces, character and origin of........... 42-43

Topographic divisions of the region........ 13-15

Trinidad, irrigation neur................... 51

Umptanum Valley, basalt in, view showing. 20

Vegetation of the region, character of...... 21-22

Volcanic rocks, character of................ 32-35

extent of ............................... 29, 30

origin of................................ 31-32

Water wheels, use of, in lifting water from

Columbia River for irrigation .. 50 

Waters, deep, data concerning.............. 07-82

Wells, casing of, suggestions concerning... 8S-89 

classes of................................ 49

deep, cost of............................ 60

data concerning.................... 60-91

suggestions concerning............. 82-89

pumping from, suggestions concerning. 88 

sources of water of...................... 49

surface, data concerning............... 59-60

See also Artesian wells. 

West Side Irrigation Company, data concerning ditch of................ 52-53

Wheat growing, areas devoted to........ 26-27,29

Wheat lands, sharp transition from underlying basalt rock to ............ 40

soils of.................................. 45-49

character and origin of................. 45-49

Page. 

Wheat lands Continued.

soils of, color of ........................ 45

persistent character of, at all depths. 45-46 

physical properties of .............. 45

thickness of ........................ 45

topography Of .......................... 16

White Bluffs of the Columbia, Ellenburg

formation at.................... 29

section at............................... 35-36

water prospects near ................... 7S

Wilburn, J. A., well records furnished by.. 75-76 

Willow Springs, stream draining, character

of............................... 41

Wilson Creek, mar.sh land reclaimed near,

view showing .................. 44

Wind work in sand and soil deposition, evidences of....................... 44-49

Windmills, use of, for lifting water from

Columbia River for irrigation.. 51 

Winds, sands and soils deposited by ....... 44-49

transporting power of.................. 48-49

Y.

Yakima basalt, analyses of................. 47-48

contraction partings in................. 33-34

distribution and volume of.......... 29,30-31

lithologic character of.................. 32

origin of................................ 31-32

rocks underlying....................... 30

Yakima Ridge, fold of...................... 39

f ragmental volcanic rocks in........... 34

Yakima River, antecedent character of.... 41

course of................................ 15

gravel deposits along................... 43

irrigation from ......................... 51-53

tributaries of, canals from.............. 53

vegetation along....................... 21,22

o
LIBRARY CATALOGUE SUPS.

[Mount each slip upon a separate card, placing the subject at the top of the 

second slip. The name of the series should not be repeated on the series 

card, but the additional numbers should'be added, as received, to the first 

entry.]

Calkins, Frank C.

. . . Geology and water resources of a portion of eastcentral Washington, by Frank C. Calkins. Washington, Gov't print, off., 1905.

96 p., 1 1. illus., iv pi. (incl. maps) 23om. (1T . S. Geological survey. 

Water-supply and irrigation paper no. 118.)

Subject series: B, Descriptive geology, 56; 0, Underground waters, 33. 

1. Geology Washington. 2. Water-supply Washington.

Calkins, Frank C.

. . . Geology and water resources of a portion of eastcentral Washington, by Frank C. Calkins. Washington, Gov't print, off., 1905.

9ti p., 1 1. illus., iv pi. (incl. maps) 23cm. (U. S. Geological survey. 

Water-supply and irrigation paper no. 118.)

Subject series: B, Descriptive geology, 56; 0, Underground waters, 33. 

1. Geology Washington. 2. Water-supply Washington.

U. S. Geological survey.

Water-supply and irrigation papers.

no. 118. Calkins, F. C. Geology and water resources 

of a portion of east-central Washington. 1905.

U. S. Dept. of the Interior.

see also 

U. S. Geological survey.