The Goldfield news. [volume] (Goldfield, Nev.) 1904-1911, 1905-09-15
NEvADA's PAST AND FUTURE.
Desert Region to Be Superseded by
Fertile Farms.

Has Nevada always been an arid
and desert regionf Its geological rec
ords, as indelibly carved in sandstone
and granite, showing the shore lines
of ancient lakes, proclaim that it has
not, but that at one time a vast body
of water, as great in area as Lake
Erie, covered a portion of the state,
says the Carson News. Today, how
ever, the aridity of the country is un-
questioned, and the $4,000 acres, to
part of which Uncle Sam is about to
apply water, will practically double
its well irrigated area and its agricul-
tural population.
Nevada's ancient inland sea is
known as Lake LaHontan; it was one
of the several great prehistoric lakes
distributed over the great basin of
the arid region, among them Lake
Bonneville, of which the Great Salt
Lake was the deepest portion. Its
area was nine times greater than the
Great Salt, or almost as large as Lake
Michigan and much deeper.
The contracted remains of Lake La
Hontan in Nevada are found in Pyra-
mid Lake and a number of other
small enclosed lakes which were the
deepest portions of the ancient lake.
Since these large prehistoric lakes
were land-locked and did not over
flow, it follows that the rainfall which
fed them was much heavier than it
is today.
Should conditions revert, many of
the important points situated in the
Grand Basins would be hopelessly
flooded; such, for instance, as the Nor
mon Temple; which would stand in $50
feet of water, while 700 miles of rail-
road would be submerged.
These prehistoric lakes are said to
be of very recent origin-that is, re-
cent by the geologists' count-per-
haps 10000 or 10000 years old. Fos-
sils have been found showing the pres
encc of primitive man along their an
cient shores and entertainments, which
in many instances are as perfect in
contour and as distinct as if the wa
tiers had receded only a few years
since. These lakes included such arid
and fear-inspiring localities of today,
as the Black Rock desert, Skull VAL
ley, Death Valley, and a score of 9th
er places where the bleached bones Of
man and animal attest to an awful
lack of water.
This first irrigation work of the Ma
tional Government, which is to be
celebrated by the turning of the water
INTO the gigantic bitches this month,
is the largest project which has been
definitely outlined and approved un-
der the irrigation act-known as the
Truckee-Carson project. When COM
pleted it will involve the expenditure
of approximately nine million dollars
and will reclaim 100000 acres of des-
ert land. That portion of the system
now completed consists of a canal
thirty-one miles long to take water
from the Truckee river and convey
it to the Carson river, where a large
storage reservoir is projected. Just
below this reservoir site, the waters
of the two streams will be led out up
on the plains by two canals, with a
combined capacity of 1900 cubic feet
Per second. Some $4,000 acres are to
be irrigated this spring, for which 200
miles of small distributing bitches
have been dug.
The Secretary of the Interior has
set aside $2,74O,O0O of the PROCLAMATION
fund" for the initial work of this Ne
vada project, and by the time this has
been expended about 100000 acres will
be under canals, and the settlers will
be returning in annual payments the
original investment. The money thus
received will be used as a revolving
fund for the completion of this pro-
iect. The land has been divided into
farm units Of eighty acres, and the
cost of reclamation will be 500 per
acre. Work is being commenced this
spring on regulating gates at the out
let of Lake Tahoe, located in Califor-
MIA, but whose waters will be used to
reclaim the fertile Nevada soil. Flu
ture plans involve the draining of Car
SON Sink, $4,000 acres in extent, which
overflows in years of heavy rainfall,
and the reclamation of lands in the
upper Truckee and Carson Valleys.
AS these large areas are gradually
brought under irrigation a greater
water supply will be required and
nine additional reservoirs will be con-
structed, with a combined storage