The Arizona sentinel., 1904-04-13
THE GREAT COLORADO RIVER

The great Colorado river is the largest stream, both in drainage area and discharge. that lies wholly within the arid portion or the United States. It is formed by the june ton Of the Green and Grand rivers, rising in Colorado and Wyoming respectively, in re- gionS of great prcci pitation, mainly Tn the form of snow. Only a small percentage of the water yielded by the basin of the Colorado has as vet been utilized for Irrigation, and practically none for any other purposes. The obstacles gre many. Through most Of it's course this river and its tributaries flow at the bottom Of profound canyons, from which it Is impossible to divert them upon irrgable . lands. The river clnergeS from its canyon a short distance above the Necdles-thc cross ing of the Santa Fe Pacific railroad-and has a series Of valleys which between thIS point and the Mexican line aggregate about 6n,oU acres Tn this region tho waters are heavily laden with sediment, which is a serious ob- stace to their diversion The grade of the river is so fat that diversion canal taken out at the rivers bed must have so slight a fall and so low velocity that ii would quickly i'll with sediment from the river For the same reason canal must be very long in order to command any considerable area Of land in the river valley.
 TWO AND A QUARTER BILLION GALLONS A
 MINUTE.
 Measurements of the flow near Yuma show that the river sometimes discharges mini mum Of about 5000 cubic feet per second It's maximum discharge is unknown, but proba- bIy exceeds One-llalf million cubic feet per second. As the river is supplied mainly by melting snows, its season of high water cui- inmates in June, and the low water season IS in he winter. when its sources are frozen.
 The river is navigated more or less from its mouth to the Needles by fiat-bottom, stern wheel boats, which sometimes even ascend 10 the mouth of Virgin river Its navigation, however. is so difficult and precarious as 10 make it almost useless. At low water the channel is so broad, shallow and changeable that boats are continually running aground, sometimes being nearly a week in advancing ten or fifteen miles. In times Of high water the swift current greatly fmpairs 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 fluctuation in discharge; second, the papclly of land Chat can be reached by them; third, the large quantity of sediment making I'm practicable any diversion on small scale.
 A comprehensive project is here presented, which, if upon investigation, is found inn practicable will largely remove all or these difficulties, and will also greatly improve navigation at all seasons Of the year
 The development Of the mineral resources, fin 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.
 sUBrKoPICAL CLIMATE.
 All of the land that can be irrigated from the lower Colorado may be regarded as hav- ing a semi-tropical climate, where the grow ing season for most products continues the 
 ever, being greater in the summer season than in the winter. It is here assumed that the maximum use in July will be twice as great as the minimum requirements in January; and that stream with the maximum flow Of two cubic feet per second in July, furnishing about 1000 acre-feet per annum, VIII supply 200 acres of land
 If is probable that with proper regulation the Colorado river will be able to furnish a continuous stream Of water Tor lnduStrlal uses, varying from 10000 cubic feet per second in winter 10 10000 cubic feet per second in summer, in years of smallest discharge, al- lowing the great floods of wet years to sweep 10 the sea as at present. This will be Sufll- rIeut to irrigate 2000, 900 acres Of land, and is so 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 of sandy flood plains subject to occasional inundations, and rough, gravelly foothills with soil unsuitable for cul- tivation. There are also considerable areas of sand dunes, and some tracts rendered bar ren by alkali. All these 1t IS proposed to re. re, which annually passes down the Colorado river.
 SERIES OF DAMS.
 The general plan here proposed is the pro- vision of a series Of reservoirs on the Colo rado river by the construction Of high dams at numerous points where the topography IS favorable and where the ppSsible storage is large. All of these dams will be provided
  order that the stored waters may be entirely drawn of, together with their load Of silt, whenever it is found desirable to do so. The reservoirs will serve as settling basins for Sed- inlent The dams will also be utilized to raise the waters into canals, for inc double purpose of enclosing more lrrigable iulds by such canals and of giving them a velocity sufficient to carry a large amount of sediment in suspension until it can be deposited upon the fields. The declivity given to the canals will depend largely upon the character ofthe 
 out involving destructive erosion. The fall Of the Colorado river is so slight that reSer- voirs of enormous capacity may be construct ed without involving dams of impracucabie height. At any time, by opening the Sluicc- ways of he reservoir, the current Of the river will quickly cut channel through the de- posited sediment from the upper end of the reservoir to the sluice gates; this being the longest dimension and deepest part or the reservoir will in all eases form an important part of this storage capacity, and to this ex- tent eyerJ reservoir can be permanently kept clear of sediment without expense. With this exception, each reservoir is expected to gradually fll; when this occurs if is proposed to draw down the surface of the reservoir permanently 20 to 10 feet, and to convert all of the reservoir site except the river channel into irrigated farming land, and, 1T 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 sluices 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 artihcially fin some parts of Europe and Africa. With the deep, alluvial soil, semi-tropical climate arid atmosphere, abundant water supply, and the possibility Of fertiiizing the fields every year without expense. it is believed hat such regions can be farmed the year round and several crops taken off annually, an acreage production being thus attained entirely without precedent in history.