Tonopah bonanza. [volume] (Butler City [i.e. Butler], Nev.) 1901-1909, 1902-07-26
FOUNDATION LAID
FOR ELECTRIC POWER
Mines Of TonOpah, Weepah and Silver
Peak Reaching Out for the Force
OF Owens River.

A few weeks ago the BONANZA
contained an article calling attention
to the unused water power of The
upper Owens river, in lnyo county
California, upon information gained
from gentleman familiar with that
region. On account of prompt action
upon the part of Tonopah parties al
necessary privileges and titles there.
to have been secured, and we are
now in a position to refer to the
subject with more detail.
The Importance of the matter lies
in the fact that all mining requisites
for power can be supplied by means
of electrical transmission along a line
extending from the'river through or
near Silver Peak and Weepah to
Tonopah. The future benefit to be
derived from the proposed enter
prise, as will be seen, is infinite and
beyond present calculation.
Our informant states that the
stream flows easterly and southerly
from its source in the Sierra Nevada
mountains, the highest waters being
within fifteen or twenty miles of the
origin of the San Joaquin river, the
great water course of California.
Owens river in its course of one hun
dred miles to Owens lake rushes
through narrow rift or gorge
fifteen miles in length, before de-
bouching upon the agricultural lands
where its waters are appropriated
for purposes of irrigation In that
distance the fall (as based upon baro-
metical observations is 1000 feet
The upper portion of this is prac-
tically inaccessible to all save hardy
mountain climbers, and at some
points to reach the water the inves-
tigator would have to be lowered by
means of a rope However, about
three miles below, the rapids can be
readily reached by grading out short
wagon roads. Descent of the water
here averages two hundred feet to
the mile, and the volume runs from
80, 900 to 100, 600 inches, tue differ
ence depending upon the natural
of high or low water from
OF the higher snow and ice
banks, but the normal flow is sufii-
cient to develop a potential of 80, 600
All this depends upon
plans to be adopted by engineers,
At one place the river channel
describes gigantic horse shoe with
its points drawn together. A tunnel
through solid granite for about $50
feet would afford vertical fall of
200 feet, approximately. At another
point a dam about 200 feet long
between the solid banks, and carried
to an elevation of forty feet, would
form a reservoir of eighty acres with
an average depth of ten feet.
The general conditions are most
favorable in every respect. The sites
for stone work of any extent
whatever are ineXhaustible beds of
granite, to all intent already quar-
ried and faced by nature ON two
or three sides. From a saw mill now
in operat ton timber and lumber of
any dimension can be obtained at
about Sl8 per thousand In the for
ests ON the White mountains, on the
line of transmission wires, the supply
of tamarack poles of requisite size
and strength is abundant for all
There is no practicable
way of getting the river out of its
channel, even if that were in anyway
desirable, so that the riparian and
rights on the stream
are unaffected. All titles to the
property have been legally acquired
by location, are of due record and
in form and effect, the
owners being W W Booth and J. E.
Parker, of Tonopah A strong cor
nara tinn ic il, nOtroa az ;r,,,noJ;n : N