The Imperial press., 1905-08-26

that has been gong the rounds con corning the Imperial Valley, in which we are confounded with the Salton Sea and all manner of extravagant tales told of terrible floods and fearful con- ditfous are certainly exasperating, and assuredly calls for the exercise of very high order of Christian forhear- ance on the part of our people.
 While these annoying stories are most industriously circulated and are undoubtedly working against the pro- gross and development of our Valley by frightening timid people into going to far less favorable localities, thereby robbing us for the time being of the immigration that would naturally seek our Valley. These stories are all un- true and sooner or later the facts will be as well known as the lies are now.
 It is to be expected that the traveller om the Southern Pacific, perhaps mak- ing his first trip to the Golden State, should be bit credulOus. Therefore when he comes to place where the railroad track is covered with salt water and sees several hundred men engaged in a strenuous combat with the waves, which, he is informed, are rising stead fly and some one tells him he Is away below sea level, he at once accepts the theory that wonderful thing is taking place. The ocean, he believes, is break tng in through underground passages and as water seeks it's level it will there fore, he concludes, continue to rise till the sea level is reached.
 In his minds eye he sees our great and prosperous Valley inundated, the lclinate of Southern California changed and ali sorts of fearful and wonderful things going to happen. The desk writers of the sensational journals take up the story and with wild con njecture and weird surmise weaves a tale of terror that stampedes the timorous and and sets awag the tongue of malice. So that phenomena that is the easiest explained and the simplest is distorted into an applicable and umsolvable rid dle by the ignorance and veaality of few persons, too stupid to know where the Colorado river runs or that water will flow down hill.
 The presence of water in the bottom of the depression about Saiton is caused partly by the fact that for the past eight months the canal of the California Development Company has diverted more water from the Colorado river than has been used by the farmers in this Valley in irrigating their lands. The surplus from this source has been discharged down New river and Alamo, which empty in the depression above referred to, gathering, of course, in the lowest place and rising gradually as the body of water increased.
 By this means the greater part of the water in the so-called Salton Sea reach ed that point During perhaps two months while the Colorado river was at its flood tide there was d quite large volume of water came from Volcano Lake through New river and flowed into Salton Sea. Conditions on the lower delta of the Colorado are such that with the annual high stage of the river a large area Is flooded. In times of extremely high water the channels in this lower delta are inadequate to carry the flood and the body of water known as Volcano Lake rises to such height that part of its water is discharg- ed northward through New river into the depression about Salton.
 This Volcano Lake, which, by the way is not a volcano nor never was but is slight depression near the eastern foot of the Cocopah mountain, is almost on the divide between the head of the GuIf of California and the depression about Salton. Under ordinary condi- lions thls lake only covers a few hun dred acres and the water is mineralized and bad. But when the annual flood in the Colorado comes, large amount of water finds its way to this depression and Volcano Lake fills up till it is about fifteen miles long and several mi.er wide.