The Arizona sentinel., 1900-10-24

| Struct reservoirs or lakes in which to receive
 and store the overflow. There are natural
 basins or dry lakes into which by simple
 means the water could be conveyed.
 The lands situated in and about the Gila val
 ley may conveniently be classified as follows:
 First the bottom or overflow lands; 2 slightly
 higher valleys, lands subject to no overflow; 3,
 mesas or sloping uplands; 4, high but compar-
 atively level plains; 5, mountains.
 The bottom lands as well as those slightly higher, stretch along either side of the Gila and Colorado rivers for varying distances north and south, until they meet the more elevated mesas
 which rise from the valley. The bottoms lie
 directly along the river and are subject to inun- dation annually. Immediately following the
 subsistence of the waters the local Indians were ill former times accumtomed to plant corn, pumpkins, melons and other vegetables. These spring into maturity with startling rapidity,
 rarely failing to yield bountIfully without addi- tional irrigation. The custom is occasionally followed by resident farmers to this day, with excellent results although but single crop can be harvested These bottoms form 9 per cent of the valley lands, and may without difficulty be secured from further invasion by system of
 dikes and Ievees, if deemed necessary and desir- able The soil throughout the valley is rich
 brownish yellow sandy loam, generous, mellow porous, with depth ranging from to 20 feet
 the whole resting upon underlying strata of gravel and sand that readily carry from the
 surface such excess of water as might otherwise
 prove injurious to seeds and growing plants
 Concerning the geological formation of these lands, the following from the report of the
 citizens executive committee is sufficiently comprehensive:
 There is unuistalzable geologic evidence that all this land during some prehistoric period was covered wiyh water constituting In fact ac
 suorraCus lake, the surfaces rising in places to upper portion oi the outsizirtilg nesas. IAe soil
 lyilg at the bottom yya5 ma0e by the washing
 and erosion Of the surrounding mountains. The soda from the GecoIposed vegetation, the mag resia and lime from the magnesium-lime forma tions, and the potash from the deoomposing
 granite rocks were carried with unceasing re-
 guiarity year by year, until deposited in the
 bottom. Eventually upon the disappearance of the lake, the rich fertile alluYium, than which
 there is none better, was left to reward the
 efforts of the modern huSbandmen. But nature
 not yet satisfied with her handiwork, directed
 the accumulation of the detrituS washed from the distant mountainous region. AS a result
 the soil is extremely rich in the elements best
 adapted thorough fertilization, for iC contains
 a certain amount Of organic matter which, on decomposing, further enhances its agricultural value. By constant overflow and change of channel the deposits are evenly distributed over considerable areas, the process continuing through centuries. These soils are further en- riched by decomposed organic contributions including the SandStoneS, marls, limeStoneS, ShaleS, etc. Besides the ingredients mentioned,
 a chemical analysis shows that iron, ammonia, and phosphoric acid enter into it's composition in the proportions best adapted to add to its productive qualities. The extremes of tempera-
 ture are somewhat greater than on the high lands but there is also more moisture.
 "The bottom lands are so easily cultivated that it is not uncommon, after clearing the sur face from the brush and stubble, to pass over the ground with an ordinary cultivator single time, afterwards sowing to grain and grass. In three or four months large crops are harvested, the soil meanwhile being entirely innocent of the blow. All plants seem to grow rapidly,
 maturing remarkably early. Indications of an cient ditches are apparent throughout the val ley, showing plainly the existence of irrigation
 works by the ancient AZtecS. Curiously enough, in certain instances the identical routes of these long extinct people have been followed for codsideratable distances by their modern sue ceSsors."
 THE VALLEYS CF THE COLORADO.
 Several miles above Yuma, in the neighbor-
 hood of Explorers Pass, near the Purple Hills,
 the great Colorado River Valley proper com
 menceS. From this point northerly the river is
 shut in by cliffs which, with intervening noun
 tain systems, absolutely preclude the possibility of canal construction. Passing southwaTd, the
 cliffs arc seen to gradually disappear until they become merged in the low bottom lands. The bottom meanwhile wideDs. with every mile until
 the Gulf of California is reached There are large quantities of land which could be made productive were irrigation practicable. These are general fertile bottoms inclining toward the
 river and covered in spots with dense under growth end cottonwood and mesquite trees. Considerable of the valley is raised above the