Griggs courier. (Cooperstown, Griggs Co., Dak. [N.D.]) 1885-1902, 1900-07-05
WERE WATER is KING.
Irrigation bitches in Southern Calls
fOrnia Are Mide~pread-Me aIlh
Follows Storage.

Follows Storage.
The w;ter question in California is
an interesting one. especially to farm
ers. Rainfall records are not available
here ear Ter than 1872 but from le-
gends ard memory it is evident that
southern California is not unlike other
countries 1t has cycles of droughts
and then will come heavy rains: but
that Their was evera drou ght sufficient
to impair the country for a term of
years is IT probable. as The groves Of
oaks and other trees arc not over
hundred years old and are still grow
| ing. says tie New York Times
The elm te of California is. as rule,
not unders God Well. There are two
seasons. liny season from November
to April or May. during which an av-
erage l6 inches falls. and dry sea-
son. from May until November. when
almost no ra falls. This is due TO the
variation of the great air currents
which sweep across the United States.
There are tWo of these: one passes over
the country i the borderland of Cana-
da. while tn other passes from the
West Indies n northwesterlv tirec-
ton. making current at the thirtieth
I parallel to tn. northwest. and. after
| passing the Atlantic coast states.
| joins the frs mentioned current and
moves over tie ocean. The regions on
this continent nearest these currents
are. in the ma II. the wettest. and vice
versa. At certain timeS-from Novem-
Der to May-lhis current. or cyclonic
! belt, comes further to the south bring
ing rain and storms: during the rest
OF the year it 5 further north and the
dry seasons hive been caused bv the
fact that for some unknown reason the
cyclonic belt has not been DETECTED TO
the south sufficiently to produce the
normal amount If rain in the so-called
winter months.
Another factor to be dealt with in
southern California is the Japanese
current. which sweeps down the coast,
modifying the en- ire region. The VIM
ter rains fall as SLOW upon the Sierra
Madres, producing picture of great
beauty. Standing in an orange grove
or surrounded by ,oses in full boom
and wealth of flo vers one faces the
great mountain wal white with snow,
which almost encroaches upon the
| poppy fields at the DOT of the range.
This is the result. Ierhaps. of one or
two days storm: but by midday the
snow is confined to tn, highest peaks.
The rainfall of California is SLOWLY dis
tributed. and seeps into the ground.
Much of it is held in the thick UNDER
brush until summer: the rest by thou
sands of channels finds its way down
the steep mountainside and converoes
into one of the many great arteries of
the range. There canyons are veritable
rivers of verdure and wei!-wooded
gulches cut down by tie rains of
thousands of years into the very heart
of the mountains. These CANYONS. or
gateways. in the future in many in
stances will be damned. and the water
which now to a great extent flows on to
the sea will be stored to be used as a
reserve supply This water in its eS-
cape flows for some distance on the
surface, and then for miles the river or
stream will be represented by a oleam-
ing waste of rock and sand. giving rise
to the saying that the rivers al CALI
fornia run bottomside up but he fact
is that the water is sweeping rapidly
along to enter the fowlanlls near the
sea- where it enriches the peat lands,
converts dry soil into alfalfa land. or
rises to the surface in the form of ar
tesian wells. irrigatiny large area of
country.
TO save as much as possible of this
water is the aim of the water conpa-
MES. Sometimes they tap he canyon
high at its source. tunnel The sides at
advantageous points. leading he water
off into pipes. or taking it from springs
wherever it appears. so that there is
not spring or water sign in all sout n
ern California that has not the respon-
sibility of a town. settlement or ranch
house depending on it.
First in Importance is the water for
irrigation. the first experiments of
which were made by the mission
fathers in ITO. while the original i'm
habitants of Arizona had elaborate IT.
rigating bitches which are in use to-
day. 1t was perhaps the example of
Lomba-dy which encourages Califor-
mans. as half the rainfall is used
for irrigating purposes. distributed
through $500 M Res of bitches, reaching
400. 900 acres.
Nearly all the beautiful towns OF
southern California-Pasaden Red
lands. Pomona. Ontario and Riverside
with their wealth of citrus fruit. are
the direct result of irrigation. and wa
ter storage is we'll represented by the
Bear Valley reservoir which is on the
head waters of Santa Ana river. 5000
feet above the sea. A dam was built at
the lower end of the valley where the
walls come together. The radius of
this fine arch is 1893 feet. and the thick
ness at the base 90 tapering to three
feet al the top. The Lake formed by
this enormous dam covers an area of
2.s12 acres. In San Diego county is the
famous Sweetwater dam. which is in
tended to store up water for the ranch
es of that region. and is one of the most