Daily independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 188?-1915, 1891-07-06
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.)
Continued from Friddy.)

are not what We must rely upon for
the future prosperity Of the county;
for every ounce Of gold or silver taken
out Of the ground leaves it just that
much poorer, and after the mineral
wealth is exhausted nothing is left.
No country has ever amounted to any
thing that depended upon its mines
alone. California even, with all it's
wealth of gold, never commenced to
amount to anything till it became
known that it's agricultural resources
exceeded its minerals; and to-day the
mines that once attracted the whole
world, do not command q single col
umn of newspaper notice where the
agricultural resources ill the whole
sheet. A few years ago Utah was be-
hind Nevada in all respects; Colorado
was looked upon as the greatest des-
ert in the United States, and Arizona
was next TO il. To-day they are all
ahead of our State and county be-
cause they have developed their ag-
riculGural resources. And these re-
sources were developed first, and now
their mineral wealth is being develop
cd to rank with others. This county
has both the land and the water to
make it as rich and prosperous as any
county Of it's size in the irrigation re-
gion of the United States. With one
half of our county covered by high
mountains that form the main water
shed in the western part of this coun-
ty, our annual rainfall and precipi-
tation of moisture is over twice as
much as the other counties in the
State. In the year 1889 the annual
precipitation of this county was 26.10
inches AS against 1857 in Washoe;
5.97 in Humboldt; 600 in Eureka;
1925 in White Pine; 600 in Storey;
229 in Churchill; 1911 in Ormsby;
1888 in Douglas; Z 45 10 Esmeralda;
ego in Nye, and 1890 inches in Lin
coin county. Only Washoe and
Douglas counties recorded over one
half as much as this county, which
shows that our watersheds are sup
piled with more moisture than any
other part Of the State. or our q
538, 500 acres of irrigoble lands, about
one half, or, to be accurate, 1920, 300
acres is in places where water cannot
be got upon it, or there is not enough
water to irrigate with; 1,085, 400 acres
lie in positions where they can be
irrigated, either by water now flowing
past, or by waters stored in reser.
voirs, and the remaining 132, 706 acres
are now under irrigation. And OF
the lands now irrigated fully nine
tenths is meadow and pasture land
bringing in a small income, but moth
ing to what might be raised from
lands properly cultivated.
RESERVOIR SITES.
The large reservoir sites in tbit
county are twenty-five in number
Seven OF these are in the Columbit
river division; two in the Salt Lake
division, and the rest in the Humboldt
division, They all have a sufficien
water supply to fill them, and tb'
agricultural lands, mentioned a
capable of being irrigated, lie below
the reservoir sites in this county. Al
forty acres is looked upon AZ gener
GUS amount OF land in an irrigatini
= country for family OF four person
our 1,21S,10 acres OF irrigable lau'
should support population Of 12l,
ISl0 persons-nearly twice as many n
the whole State had at its best timef