The Iola register., 1891-07-10
wona.rful change At sal,.n.

A Wonderful Change ut Sslten.
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., July 6.-The
lake in the Colorado desert at Salton
is reported to-day to be thirty miles
long by twelve wide, with an average
depth of twenty-one inches. The stream
that feeds it runs at the rate of four and
half miles per hour. Pacific engineers
have discovered that the water rushed
to the Salton underground passage be-
meath low range OF hills that separate
the sink Of the Colorado desert from
Salton. Tomorrow five engineers will
start out TO determine the possibility of
stopping the water The railroad peo-
| pie, however, have no fear of the track
overfowing, as evaporation is so rapid
on the desert that that alone would
keep down the water unless it came in
more rapidly than it does. There is
no danger of much damage to the salt
works of Salton. There are sew
eral thousand dollars invested in this
out-of-the-1 ray-spot; so out of the way.
so out OF touch with all that can be called
life, that even birds of the air avoid
this desolate marsh. Even coyotes
stink terrified away from the great,
mysterious, white fringe. which, like a
huge ice ack, glitters and glistens un-
der the rays of the sun, that almost
heats to redness iron tools exposed to
it. Imagine heat so fierce that If one
stood immovable, without clothing,
water would run from MIN as if he were
under douche; imagine heat so fierce
that it is necessary to keep water bot
ties continually to ones mouth, and that
if the water were not Immediately
fnnt tnr al
to your mouth. your lips would be
swollen, veins in your face and neck
stand out as If varicosed. All that one
Graves for is water for the throat to
cool the warmth of the body, which is
famed to intolerable heat by wind as
warm as the famous winds of northwest
India, and as violent as that which
blows along the northwestern Coasts OF
Africa.
Such then is Salten. Water is needed,
and plenty of it-for evaporation is
rapid-and the more water falls on the
marsh the greater is the yield OF salt.
The ground around the salt works has
always been so shaky that it would not
bear the weight of locomotive on the
switch from the main track, and the
company have had to use light dunn
my. A heavy piece Of iron, dropped on the
ground will often cut through it as il it
were butter and disappear. Freaks of
nature are plentiful in this mysterious
region. 1t will be remembered
that last winter the Whitewater
river suddenly disappeared and was not
seen for months. when it resumed run
ming. Those who have examined the
geological features of the Colorado
valley are of the opinion it was once
covered by the waters of the gulf, but
that the. shifting of the sands at
the mouth of the Colorado river, which
gradually shifted sOutbward, formed a
bar and cut off the main body of the
gulf and the waters of the inland sea
tlrus created were speedily evaporated
by intense heat. This theory is fur
ther strengthened by what is known as
New river, which was first seen by
Captain Ansa in 1874. and by all others
who have crossed the desert after his
time. The New river i. caused by the
overflow of the Colorado river at
point good many miles below Yuma
and runs back on the desert eighty
miles, bending around like great fish
hook.
1t is seldom that the flood waters get
so far as they have gone at present.
The "bore" or tidal wave at the mouth
OF the Colorado river is about thirty
feet in height: and the waters of this
"bore" to the annual overflow Of the
Colorado riyer, if they should happen
at the same time, and there is a possi-
bility that the great bar would be
washed out, so that the gulf waters
would be permitted to get back into the
valley again, anc fill at least that por-
tion of it now below the
sea level. Scientists are dis
cussing the effect upon the
climate OF southern California should
the flood be permanent. The result
would certainly be beneficial, making
it more like that OF Lower California,
which lies between the gulf and ocean.
There would be no more hot santanas
from the desert, thus making the cli-
mate still more even than it now is.
The peninsula would be extended north
ward to the latitude of Orange county. |
1t is possible that one of the greatest
geological changes of the age is now
going on.