Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1891-07-24
81 TELEGfulPH.


NV Yosx, JAY a3.-Msj0e John ".
Povell, direcsor Of the usifed States
0eeaosical Survey, - IN Nss York.
| Tpas6ay, and nave Times fepostef some
| insefestins facSs ahosa The new lake which
- reeen1ly been gfevisg in the CciHado
yalisy jusi aboss ths Gull Of California
Ths cause Of the inuodstion. namely.
~ oyeyAovine Of the Coiurad, rivtf
throush : newly ma8e mouth. had been
{ ,YfscsIy stated in the Times. be said. some
| due seo. and While this bad cleared away
IN he sensational ssoFiss Of ssbseffanesn
channel and stripped the phenomei on Of
All its mystefious elements. still there we're
many facts which we're Of interest in coz.
uection with the occurrence. becau'e vhA.
| hsd happened in this case might happen al
| the mouth OF any liver which bad delta.
| s.rhe traditions Of the indiana are BY no
leans the only evidence that ihis basin has
been filled, wholly CT partially. before, !.
said. .sSince The delta vas formed and
that portion Of the Cali Of California Va,
cut 81 and left TO evaporase uadsf the ter
rife hest Of the sun, the Colorado has been
PLAYING pfAnks OF this sort on % vefsl !oecs-
Mons Alone the hills which form thu
sides,of this basin there are shore marks
| which indicate that ct different times the
basin has been Il ,oded to different heights.
and then, when the river cut back through
its old channel, evaporation hiss ssain
! CHI spged the lake to = rsrched desert.
Along these shore iines shells have been
found which confirm this theory. Tn,
action Of the Colorado in cutting new
moutbs for itself apd then stopei.e them
up IL comparatively rapid, because Of th'
usntity OF ealt which the stream carries
| il il not unlikely thst the supposed rAd,-
tons Of the Indiana Sre facts within ths
memory Of scme Of the older ones Of the
scsttering bands that live on the. hiDsides
along the BASIN. for indications are that the
valley has been i, uodated within 80 !ears
and certainly it has at least once or tsice
since this continent WAS discovered
9Th fe 10 10 immediate dagger OF the
basin being filed, because it requires
large volume Of water to ell II to the river
level, and the evaporation 10 somethin.
wonderful. At the present time. according
to reports. only.a fraction Of the water Ia
The Colorado 10 fl ,wii 8 from this new out,
let. 1t is possible that the channel may bt
enlarged ~ the stream flows through it 80
that sll the water in the river will pour inta
the batiu. Even II that we're TO happen
the evaporation 10 great enough to take ny
fully one hsf Of the Colorado IS IL spreads
over the ba.in, and it would probably re
Quire from two to three yeaSs for the bal
snce to Oil the hole up to level. At times.
when ei sn,islly the same thing has hap
psnsd. . nod 10 the main body of the
river has washed away the deposits At the
mouth and the river has emptisd itself
from it's BAiussl mouth sg>io, leaving the
basin half filled. At such times ~ tbs
| river filed the basin to its level the flow to
the Gulf Of C4lifornis has been through q
channel ~hich giss at the lower end OF thu
basin and makes short cut directly south TO
the salt water. This Is called Hardy
Colorado and it is usually simply adry
channel or ditch. 1t may have been formed
under circumstances similar to those exist
ing at present. II il large enough to &C.
commodate the entire volume OF the Colo
rad after the evaporation which 10 sure TO
take place while the water 10 spresd over
,he basin. Some idea of the terrible heat
may be had from the evaporation which
takes place. II The basin were filed to
\ the river level, the lake would present .
surface Of about l 900 square miles. This
would be lowered 1T the rate Of six feet a
year by evaporation. The exlt which 10 nov
being mined at 6alton was deposited in the
valley by the previous evaporation. The
origin 81 salt deposit from the water which
was part Of the Gulf of California is not
responsible for all that lie found there. Toe
water. OF the Colorado are saline, for the
river flows through beds Of rock salt at
Jlsces many miles up from ito mouth and
| the successive deposits from the waters Of
this river as they have flooded the valley
and then dried up have added largely to
lthe original d. p sits.