Arizona republican., 1899-03-31

etAAo 1 ACLSoIA LtO4ll 1lOl LII u SOolA U
 400 miles, with snow-capped noun tains of great elevation at the nort1
 and east, dropping to sandy desert:
 which extend down to sea level, anC
 form the shores of vast tropical see
 with an area of 53 900 square miles a 1 it's southwest corner, one will f1nC
 within it's confines any desired climate
 With this great diversity of physical
 and climatic conditions it is no wcn-
 der that the climate of Arizona is as | little understood as are it's unlimited
 mineral deposits, it's inexhaustible soil | and it's capacity to produce and ma ! ture almost every known plant of the 1 temperate and seni-tropic zones along
 side of fruits heretofore grown only in | the tropics Within the borders of l this territory is reproduced in minia-
 ture almost every climatic and physi-
 cal feature of the North American con- 'tinent, and it's diversified products are
 here brought to as high a state of per l lection as in their native haunts. That the diverse climatic and physi- cal conditions of this unique corner of the earth may be. better understood, Mr William G. Burns, section director
 Of the Phoenix weather bureau, has set
 off the territory into three divisions
 cutting off the western eighty miles by
 the 18th degree of longitude, throwing
 the counties of Mohave and Yuma to
 the west of that line. He then sep
 arates the remaining portions into the nOrtheasterly and the sCutheasterfy di-
 visions upon the line of the 34th de-
 gree of north latitude. For the year
 1898 four stations, two in each county
 of the western division gave mean
 temperature of 6890 degrees, six sta- tions in the northeastern division gave
 a mean temperature of 52.03 degrees, while tWenty-two stations in the south eastern division gave a mean ten1pera- ture for the year of 64.01 degrees.
 Much of the land in the western di- vision does not exceed 800 feet above sea level is practically continua tion of the Monave desert i'll California, and essentially tropical. This region is free from frost, is quite dry and when irrigated from the Colorado river, which forms it's western boundary, or it's tributaries, will be found almost unlimited in fertility, and in the pro- duction of tropical plants The till able lands will be found mostly in the valleys. Much Of the surface of these two counties is covered by broken mountain ranges reaching, of course, much greater altitude, and abounding in many localities with mineral wealth AS the altitude increases naturally the weather, both winter and summer, be- comes cooler.
 The northeastern portion, with Pres colt as it's principal city, and Jerome. Kingnan, Williams and Hol- brook important shipping points, con sists of high mountain ranges and table lands ranging in altitude from 3 GOO to 14000 feet. In summer the eli mate of these higher valleys and pla- teaus is mild and invigcrating with 1 scarcely a day too warm for heavy | and never a night when blan- | kets are not a necessity. The valleys | and lower mountains are usually cOv- cred with green vegetation. Here the | apple grows to perfection. also all other fruits and plants indigenous to 1 New England or the northwest. tIn | this region are located immense pine | forests, and at no great distance, as the ! eye wanders to the highest mountain | peaks in plain view, are seen regions | of almost perpetual snow
 The southeast corner of Arizona, en- oracing the counties of Gila, Graham md Cochise, is in surface and climate quite similar in general characteri5- .ics to the region just described, but | warmer in summer, and with less snow in winter. During four months of the year, except in the deep er valleys. much of this region is un- fer. a blanket of snow varying from l few inches to several feet in depth This whole elevated country of about 5000 square miles with it's vast snow ields and an annual precipitation of rom twenty to fifty inches is one Of he features which contribute to pro 5F.s IL, portion Of the territory.
 The altitude of south central Ari- .ona, composed of the counties of Mar copa, Pinal and Pima. has an altitude 'anging from 800 to 2,500 feet above sea level, and a semi-tropic climate hat is fast becoming famous the world 1ver. I have heretofore attempted to describe it in the following language:
 This part of Arizona is divided into ,igh mountain ranges varying from Two to six thousand feet in elevation, gradually degenerating into foothills. TalIeys and table lands. usually called nesas. The valleys and mesa5 vary in elevation above sea level from 109 feet It Yuma to HOO feet at Phoenix and 400 feet at Tucson.
 ''In the valleys, lower mesas and cothills we find the mild salubrious 'limate that Is fast making the Salt River valley famous as the worlds greatest sanitarium. This is more or ess true of all the southwestern quar- CT of Arizona. Tucson, situated on he eastern edge. because of it's close to the high mountain ranges often covered with snow) which mark he eastern border of this semi-tropic egion, partal1es somewhat less of hese peculiar and desirable character stics Yuma because of it's close to the Gulf of California nd the great Colorado river, on whose