Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1878-08-31

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orasnary gales Moss Of the hAra-ors
q. Pa~~t SDun1 aacA ezr~~a this
Eus;- TIE tran~fort-tson q sd
Dent fron the footballs and nAoaan-
tasns, b. the nuzzsrO9s streams On
either sa3e and Iis derc~stloH IN the
MANY Inless. has made shss little
good asehoraee We nov posses In
lbue Il the hays. tins deposit. OWING
% currents, terminates IN m abrupt
wall or hank. Instances Of tins kind
are found in Elliot and Commence
men, Bays. where strong circular cur
rents, caused by tides, and the conhg-
uration Of the shores. sweeps across
the mouths of the 1vers, and prevents
the distribution of the sediment on
. widespread, sloping bottom, so
much TO be desired.
This desideratum is what consti-
tutes the superiority OF Olympia
Harbor. We have, for four or five
miles below the present town-site. a
water depth of from five to ten faith
oms. And other considerations
count much in our favor. While
the sediment of other bays is light
and yielding. owing to the enormous
amount of debris annually brought
down, ours, from its gradual deposit
ton, is compact and firm, making
safe and secure anchorage at oil
times. The waters of the Deschutes,
] flowing through a gravelly district,
bring very little sediment compared
Ito other rivers flowing into the Sound.
Dbl it ever occur to residents OF
Olympia, as they have looked out
upon their beautiful bay, that if the
deposits of the Deschutes had been
half as large as those of the rivers
below, that long ere this Budd's In
let would have been blotted out, and
in place of the bay, with our incom'
parable anchorage, we would have a
river bottom, expanding to Doffle-
myers Point, with the meandering
river, navigable like the Nisqually,
only at high water. Yet such is the
case. Budd's Inlet, geologically, is
Just as old as all the other inlets Of
Puget Sound, and while the delta Of
the rivers Oh the east side, have filled
mp their inlets and harbors from ter
to sixty. miles in length, and perhaps
more, as in the case of the Skagit
ours, at low tide, only extends some
three miles. Indeed, at high water
. stranger would say that the De
schutes had formed no delta at all.
At first view, all this may seem o
little importance, but to the com
mercial city of the future, it is of vi
tai consideration. Large addition
have been made to the tide-fats, a
the mouth of the Duwamish, as i
confirmed by the early settlers o
that district. At a corresponding
rate, grass will grow in less thai
fifty years in front of Seattle. Al
ready at low tide, the fats are visibl
in front of the railroad wharf. !
breakwater might possibly be built
to turn the sediment away from th
city front, but such works are cost
and would involve an expense al
most certain to undermine its pros
perity. The foot hills will continu
to yield their annual tribute, an
800 years hence, but little will b
left Of the present harbor of Elliot
Bay. What is left, like Tacoma han
tor. will be too deep TO he of an
ne for commerce.
These observatives are not mad
in an invidiOus spirit We relosc
IN the prosperity Of all sections: 10
Nature has made al our Ibors, al
II she has already aIiea up usoss q
ssesn. surely II Is lot inAPFrof~iai
q csngrstuiAse Osr-elves that q
@sensl4l .ls<n&fs0n CA occur II o.
eesnsffEl hAxtos durrnsg tins Ga NJ
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