Daily independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 188?-1915, 1891-08-10
ELKO COUNTY.
Its Location and Size.
TOPOGRAPHY AND HEIGHT ABOVE
THE SEA LEVEL,
Its Mining and Agricultural Re-
sources.
A Full description OF the County.
(COMMUNICATED.)

NON"es"eC" JiOHL Ou6ttIuuy.J
There are $1,000 acres Of good land in
the valley-(not including that in
in Sun creek basin and Jack Creek
Valley)-making $1,000 acres alto
gether. or this 500 acres are irrigated
by Sun Creek 1000 by Jack Creek and
1000 acres from the main river. In
addition to the irrigated land, that
lays entirely on the bottoms aud are
natural meadows, there are fully So,
600 OF the $1,000 acres that can DO
cultivated, and perhaps more, as the
supply OF water is large in the Spring
months, and only needs storing. At
the lower end of the main valley the
river enters a narrow gorge that is
four miles long in this State and ex-
tends in Idaho to where the river
enters Snake River Valley. Where
the river enters this gorge it is Joined
by Shoshons creek TINT heads in the
same mountains Big Goose does,
lows west ten miles then south till
it enters this State then south
westerly to its junction with Salmon
river. The upper five miles Of it's
course in the county is through the
same kind of gorge in the basaltic
mountainous table land that the Sal
mon flows through between Sun Creek
Basin and the main valley, and from
that valley to Snake river; but the
lower five miles is across a valley
about three miles wide. In this Sal
mon River Valley the lands in Sun
Creek Basin are unsurveyed and can
only be entered under the u. S.
Homestead or Desert Land Acts.
The rest of the valley is surveyed and
the bottom lands, covering 12,7OO
acres) are taken up and partly irri-
gated. The remainder of the agri-
cultural land is vacant. Nearly all the
land in the valley, and that in Goose
Creek Valley as we'll, belongs to the
first group.
BRUNEAU BASIN
Lays west of the head of Salmon
River-or Sun Creek Basin-und the
head Of the Bruneau, lays between
the heads Of Mary's River and North
FORK. The main stream flows nearly
due north through the valley, and
from the head 10 where it leaves the
State is about IS miles, The upper
part OF the valley is u rolling bench
land about five miles wide, watered
by streams that flow from the mount
aims on the west where they are the
highest. Twelve miles below the
head the. bench lands merge into
rolling hills, and that part of the val
ley where the settlers have mainly
located commences and extends
north about fifteen miles; then the
stream enters the same kind Of mar
row, deep gorge that Salmon river
does for the remainder of the distance
in the county. There are about $4,000
acres Of good land in this valley and
over two-thirds Of it there is water
for The country is still unsurveyed
and may not be surveyed for some
time unless settlers desire it.
Bruneau mining district, or Mardis,
is located in the mountains near the
basin. This Is mining camp having
good, large lodges carrying rich ore
but the lack Of transportation facilities
have rendered it an impossibility TO
successfully work the mines. The
settlers have no market for their
agricultural products, and depend
almost entirely on stock raising for q
, living. East Of the basin the mount.
, aims are covered with timber, and
there is the only place in the
county where pine and other trees
, grow large enough for lumber;