Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1896-02-13
THE BEAR RIVER CANAL SCHEME.


1.-THE Bear River Irrigation System,
Utah." furnishes material for an
elaborate article In the Engineering
News and Railway Journal, the fret
installment OF which Ia published In
the issue ior Feb. o. The paper IL by
w. L. Hatdrsiy, q. f., and 4, oopious.
ly illustrated with viowB Of the dam In
Bear river a, the head Of the canyon,
also Of tho tunnel entrance on the
main canal, headgate,, etc., etc, cross
and longitudinal sections and part elt-
walton OF tho dam and gates, aud
general map Of the country. The de.
sctlplive matter Ia very explicit anu
somewhat technical In its terms, but
probably no more NO than tue readers
u Engineering News would desire.
II contains many suggestions OF value
anu importance TO those contemplating
future Irrigation works under similar
conditions, and suppllSs experiences
from which even much smaller
systems may derive profit. On the
matter " side.hill bitches, we quo,s q
paragraph!
During tho frst season much caro- had
TO DO used on the canal ON tho steep hill
sides below tho canyon. Several slides
occurred, and on tho night Of July 3
over 10000 cubic yards OF earth slipped
down into Bear river. Portions Of this
slide moved over 800 ioot horizontally by
100 feet vertically, The most effective
method tried by Chief Engineer Forliar
Ia preventing slides was To procure cattle
and horses (sheep could not bo had At
that timol. and after the bottom 81 Tho
canal was moi-,enod the animals we're
driven back and forth over tho same for
hundreds OF times. A mixture of puddod
clay and gravel was then placed by hand
near tho bottom Of tho slopes aud tho
waer turned In. No more trouble was
had with portions 80 trea cd.
Further quotations from Prof Har.
desty's article may properly include u
briei history anu the purposes OF tho
m mmo,h entcrpfiso he describssi
Tho Bear River canal syatom is dc.
sipued to irfignte tho delta valley or plain
of Hear river, located In northern utAh,
ON tho northeastern side OF Great Salt
Lake. Tho river cuts through tho range
Of mountains on tho limo between Box
Elder aud Cache oounios, by narrow
canyon aud flows south through box
Elder county, disoharginR into Great
Salt Lake Tho valley IL trayorsod by
two railways, tho Utah & Northern,
which runs along the east side, aud
tho Central Pacific, which trayorsos
the southeast and south parts.
Tho source Of tho boar river IL In tho
Uintah mountains, about % miles east Of
salt Lake city, but Il has a long and tor
tuous course, nrst north into Wyoming,
then back lnio Utah again, then back IN
to Wyoming aud on through southeast
orn Idaho. forming hero half circle aud
returning nearly directly south through
Utah to the Lake. IL Ia an exceptionally
we'll fed stream, having a drainage area
Of 5000 square miles. 10 flows through
tho great Hear Lake, lying In Utah aud
Idaho, and this tends to equalzo tho flow,
acting Ms reserve for maintaining tho
volume during the low water period. A
u. x. geological survey gauging station
has been established ut the mouth OF tho
canyon since June, 1889. Following Ia
tho average monthly How nj the same
from June, 1850, TO the end OF lsp2i