The Arizona sentinel., 1904-08-17
THE GREAT COLORADO RIVER

SSsSttnHS
 The great Colorado river is the largest stream, both in drainage area and discharge that lies wholly within the arid portion oi fbe United States. It is formed by the june lion of the Greer and Grand rivers, rising in Colorado and Wyoming respectively, in re- gionS of great precipitation, mainly In the form of snow. Only small percentage of the water yielded by the basin of the Colorado has as yet been utilized for irrigation, and practically none for any other purposes The obstacles are many. Through moSt G it's course this river and it's tributaries flow &t js Is impossible to divert them upon irrigable k,nds. The river emerges from its canyon a short distance above the NeedleS-the cross ing of the Santa Fc Pacific railroad-and has aserieS Of valleys which between thlS point and the Mexican line ssggregate about 500,WU acres. In this region the waters are heavily laden with sediment which is a scrisus ob- stacle 10 their diversion The grade of the river is so. fiat that diversion canal taken out at the rivers bed must have so Sfight a z fall and so low a velsrny that it would quickly fal with sediment from the river. For the same reason a canal mast be very long in order to comHsaBd any considerable area of land in the river valley
 TWO AND A aCAKTER EIkLSes S2EZeNs 4
 MINUTE
 Measurcmcnts-ef the flow nsar Yuma show that the river sometimes d3sehaTge Exini- mum of about Sa90 eabie feet per second It's maximum dfsehsrsss Is a,1Enown, but proba- ply exceeds one-haT million cubic feet per second As the river is su pplied Hsainly by melting SHOWS, it's season ef kigh water cul- niuates in June, and the low water seasesn is fn the winter. when itS sources are frozen.
 The river is nssNigated mozp eD less from its mouth to ths Needles hg hat-bettom, stern wheel bostsy vk5nh sometimes even ascend to the mouth of Virgin river. Its navigation, However, is so difficult and precautions as to make it almost useless At low water the channel is SO broad, shallow and changeable that boats are continually running aground. sometimes being nearly 8 week in advancing zen or fifteen miles. In times of high wateF the swift current greatly iDPairs navigation- Wherever wagon transportation IS possible, this is preferred to the river.
 The chief obstacle to the utilization of the waters of this basin are: First, the great 6uctuation in discharge second, the paucity of land that can be reached by them; third, the large dCantity of sediment, making inn practicable any diversion ca a small scale.
 A comprehensive project is here presented, which, if-Iapon investigation, is found im- practicable, will largely remove alf Of these difficulties, and will also greatly improve navigation at all seasons of the year.
 The development of the mineral resources in which this country is rich, is greatly ham, pered by the great cost Of power and the lack of transportation, both important requisites for the mining industry. The proposed plan will completely solve both problems.
 sUBrRoTseAL CLIMATE.
 Alf of the land that csslS be irrigated from the lower Colorado may be regarded as hav ;ag a semi-tFopical climate, where the grow Eng SeaSOIf for most products continues the year round-the requirements for water, how ever, being greater in the summer season than in the winter. 1t is here assumed that the maximum use in July will be twice as great KS the minimum requirements in January; and that a stream with the maximum flow of two cubic feet per second in July, furnishing about 1000 acre-feet per annum, will supply aD acres Of land.
 It is probable that with proper regulation the Colorado river will be able to furnish a continuous stream of water for industrial uses, varying from 10000 cubic feet per second Tn winter 10 10000 cubic feet per second in summer in years Of smallest discharge, al- Rowing the great floods of wet years to sweep to the sea as at present. This will be Suffi- eient to irrigate 100000 acres of land, and is 90 far in excess Of the requirements below the Grand Canyon that no restriction need to be put upon storage and diversion Of waters from the tributaries of the Colorado.
 A considerable portion of the valleys of the lower Colorado consists or sandy flood plains subject to occasional inUn dations, and rough, gravelly foothills with soil unsuitable for cul- Mvation. There are also considerable areas of sand dunes, and some tracts rendered bar ren by alkali. All these it is proposed to re ciaim by impounding upon them the silt which annually passes down the Colorado river.
 SERIES OF DAMS.
 The general plan here proposed is the pro- vision of l series of reservoirs on the Colo -ado river by the construction of high dams ad numerous points where tlBe topography is Favorable and where the possible storage is large. All Of these dams will be provided with large sl6iceways through the base, in sFder that the stored waters may be entirely drawn of, together with their load Of silt, -heDeveTit it is found desirable to do so- The ,RServoiss v Ell serve as settling basins for Se6s- ;hleTpt- The dams will also be utilized te raise the waters into cSsIIafs, for the doubEe sxaFpOse Of enclosing nsEsTe frris;sbie lands by such eSzHalS and Of giving them a Vef9efty sufficient tgcaITy large aiISount of sediment .n suspension until it can Ike deposited lpon rhe fields The decfivfty given to the canals will deDepd largely upon the echaracteT of the seik and VIII be the highest permissible with out involving destructive erosion. The fall of the Colorado river is so slight that reSer- yoirs Of enormous capacity may be construct ed without involving dams of mpracticable height. At any time by opening the sluice- ways of The reservoir, the current of the river will quickly eHt a channel through the de- soSited sediment from the upper end of the reservoir to the sluice gates; this being the DngeSt dimension and deepest part of the reservoir will in all cases form an important part of this storage capacity, and to this eX- tent every reservoir can be permanently kept clear Of sediment without expense. With | this exception, each reservoir is expected to gradually fill; when this occurs it is proposed % draw down the surface of the reservoir permanently 20 to 10 feet and to convert all of the reservoir site except the river channel 1 into irrigated farming land, and, if necessary, construct another reservoir for storage pur- poses higher up on the stream. This policy will greatly increase the arable area. It will then be practicable, whenever desired, to close the sluces and inundate all of the agri- cultural land in each filled reservoir and thus fertilize it, as is naturally done by the river Nile for the valley. This is done artiflcially in some parts of Europe and Africa. With the deep, alluvial soil, semi-tropical climate, arid atmosphere, abundant water supply, | and the possibility of fertiiZing the fields every year without expense. it is believed hat such regions can be farmed the year round, and several crops taken off annually, | &u acreage production. being thus attained entirely without precedent in history.