The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1891-09-23
APHENOMENON EXPLAINED
MAJOR POWELL TELLS THE STORY
OF THE COLORADO DESERT.
The Colorado River Is Refilling tho
Deep and Immense Basin That IL
Emptied Years Ago.

Colorado, and you ask me to give some
account of this strange phenomenon, to
which request am pleased to reply,
says Major J. w. Powell, of the Coast
Survey, in the New York World.
This desolate basin forms a portion of
what is known as the Colorado Desert.
The Gulf of California is narrow body
of water about six hundred miles in
length, lying parallel with the Pacific
coast, from which it is separated by the
narrow but mountainous peninsula of
California. This gulf, not long ago as
geologists speak, but many centuries ago
as historians speak, extended about two
hundred miles further to the northwest,
still parallel to the coast. But the gulf
itself has been shortened to its present
limitations in comparatively modern
times. The Colorado River heads in
Fremont Park, far to the north, aud is
one of the great streams of the continent.
1t drains a vast district of country,
much of which is comparatively arid, aud
from this dry region it gathers an enor-
nous body of sand. The mouth of the
Colorado is now at the head of the pres
ent Gulf of California, but when the
Gulf extended further northward this
mouth was nearly two hundred miles be-
low its head. The river charged with
sand poured an immense load into the
Gulf of California, and built delta out
from its mouth, which, extending from
year to year and century to century,
finally constructed q barrier across the
narrow gulf, and thus an iluvial dam
formed by which the waters were
divided into two parts. Then the
Colorado found its way into the lower
gulf, while the upper portion was cut off
from the salt water and from constant
supply by the Colorado River. Lying
in a region of country of great aridity,
where there was but two or three inches
of rainfall annually, no small streams
formed about its margin, so it was
small sea cut off from the gulf without
tributaries and with no water other
than that falling from infrequent clouds.
THIS isolated salt sea extended over an
area of about sixteen hundred square
miles stretched in narrow zopc from
the foot of San Bernardino Mountain to
the dam at the head OF the Gulf of CAL
ifornia; so its southern extremity was in
the territory of the Republic of Mexico.
1t was shallow body of water, its great
est depth being less than three hundred
feet, and as a salt sea it could not remain
long. The fierce furnace of "A torrid
zCne poured over its surface blasts of
dry air that licked up the waters with
great avidity, the evaporation in this re.
gion being about one hundred inches au-
nually. Thus the dry air would lower
the lake more than eight feet year.
Under these conditions it could not per-
sist as an isolated sea, for with no sup
ply of water from perennial streams it
was soon discharged into the heavens
and the bed of the sea became dry land.
This dry land was thus below the level
of the sea in its deepest portion from
two to three hundred feet, for that was
the depth of the old gulf. There is no.
where in the world n more desolate des-
ert than this old gulf bottom. The
winds sweep the arid and desolate land,
piling the sand in dunes that travel in
sandstorms when the winds blow strong.
Much of the bottom Of the old lake is
destitute of sand, but floor of polished
gravel is found, over which the fine dust
blows in the fierce winds which here
rage, polishing the gravels to such an eX-
tent that the CULTS bottom seems to be
hoored with mosaic Of gems.
The region is utterly treeless, and only
a few desert plants are found. These
desert plants are in the main without
foliage. Where moisture is 50 scarce
they cannot afford this element OF life in
such prodigality as TO pour it out from
the surface of leaves, so the stems of the
plants must perform the breathing func-
tion. In more humid lands gray and brown
stems support a luXuriance of green
leaves, where the vital functions of the
plant are carried on, but here the stems
of the plants must perform the assimila-
tion for themselves; so the few plants of
the desert present leafless yerdure, the
stems themselves being green. There is
also but little animal life to be seen. Nov
and then a wolf strays out into the des-
ert, but horned toads are common, aud
species Of lizard known rs the celia
monster is sometimes encountered. A
little rattlesnnke, which is rarely more
than twelve or fifteen inches in length
and has curious hood on its head, is
sometimes observed crawling on the
sand.
A geological survey has been made Of
the region drained by the Colorado. The
vast net work of canyons aud gorges has
been surveyed, and by methods well
known to ogeologists it has been computed
that on an average the country has been
washed down and carried away by the
Colorado to depth Of one mile from its
entire surface. In some places this waste
by erosion has been much less, in Others
much greater, but the estimated general
average is as stated. A long time, ecu
turies of centuries, have passed while
this vast process of degradation has been
going on. But during this long geologic
period a rock "a mile in thickness aud
250, 900 square miles IN extent has been
beaten into sands by the storms Of the
region, and the Colorado River has borne
them TO the sea. The little delta dam ut
the mouth of the Colorado retains but
very small part Of the material which
that river has transported. But II began
the work before there was a Gull OF Cali
fornia and before the peninsula of Cali.
fornia was upheayei so rs to form gulf
distinct from the Pacific Ocean. This
little delta, thirty or forty miles wide and
evtendiug across the old Gulf is hut "A