, 1905-11-02
80 acclaim A VALLEY
Details of Irrigation Project at
Klamath Falls, Ore.
VAST GOVERNMENT UNDERTAKING

Lakc to he Drained, Canals Dug
and 81 Railway BuiIt-NaturnI Re
sources Science VIII Make Avail
able.
klamath Falls Is one of the oldest
places in the state of Oregon. There
has bccu Il town there for half u cen
tnry. and II great deal of money has
been made raising sheep and cattle.
but owing to its lack of transportation
facilities IL inaccessibility the tow
has not made much headway. Its iso-
iation has beeC broken in upon. how.
ever, and klamath Falls is bound to
hccor-c a place of great importance
Soon Lccause OF an extensive irriga-
ton project which the federal govern
mcnt has undertaken there under the
reclamation act. 1t is proposed 10 re-
deem 10000 acres of n II at a cost of
about S~4,OOO.OOO. This will require n
large force of laborcrs and mn immense
amount Of material. which will give
temporary population and activity to
the town, while not less than 10000
people will ultimately take UP farms
u'on The reclaimed land, n Y William
T.. Curtis. the Chicago Record Herald
~-.:"'ondent. writing from klamath
I..iis.
~. both sides of the boundary line
D.t"cen California and Oregon about
midway between n Francisco and
Portland and about $50 miles east of
flA Innidp rOoct hotv-aap thn Cascade
and the main range of the Rocky
mountains. lies the klamath basin. M
extensive tract, embracing some half
Il million acres of land. all of which Is
now practically worthless except for
cattle ranges. But by drainage and
irrigation 1t can be made worth from
SO to $3.50 an acre. About two-thirds
of this and is III Oregon and one-third
in California. The valley has n mean
elevation of i,1o0 feet. From north
10 &1,.h ii Is about thirty miles IL
length md varies In width from one to
twenty-five miles. About 10000 acres
T.. r~'y under cultivation. The re-
E-.iinIcr is used for pasturage.
About one-hnlf of the klamath basin
is occupied by Il string of lakes. the
idtEtNl VI "hiNh u io"h 10 Splch
klamath, Lower klamath, Tule. Clear
INT Goose lakes. with several other
bodies of water of lesser Importance.
1t In proposed to drain Lower klamath
lake. which has an area of 10000 acres.
an average depth OF eight feet and an
elevation of 4,142 feet. and Tule lake.
which has al urea of 10000 acres. va
ries from five to twenty-five feet Il
has an elevation of 4.6S4 feet. Several
smaller lakes and wnInps which sur
round them will also be drained and
reclaimed. The bottoms of these lakes
ure known to be OF fertile soil. At one
time. according to he traditions of the
Indians. both OF them We're dry. or at
least We're very much smaller than
they are now. The main trail used by
he Indians going north and south In
she klamath country used to cross
what Is now Lower Klamath lake.
Upper Klamath lake and Clear lake
are to he made permanent reservoirs to
receive and store the drainage of the
surrounding mountains for irrigation
purposes. IL Il system of canals will
nc dug to carry away the surplus wa
ter into the Klamath river. which flows
lllohSi NJ Nuli'N NluSSlNlliN mum
north 10 south for IL distance of twelve
miles, then turns abruptly to the west
and dlShcS through Il picturesque can
yon To the Pacific. TO drain the two
lakes mentioned II canal fifteen miles
long. with n grade of 200 to 300 feet.
will be dug from them to the river.
which Sill carr. of all the water.
When the lakes are drained and their
bottoms become dry irrigation will be
necessary for their cultivation as well
as upon the uplands, but in Upper kla-
math lake nature has not only provid-
cd NJ ample reservoir and all the wa,
Ter that can possibly be needed, but has
formed the topography so as to make
its use simple and convenient. The
main canal. which will distribute the
water throughout the west part OF the
Klamath basin. will he forty miles
long, with fifty miles of latCralS and
waste canals. 1t will have Il sluIr Of
one foot To the mile. In order to reach
parallel valleys tunnels are being bored
Shrougl intervening ridges. The east
side of klamath valley will he sup
FILED with water from Clear lake.
which will be made Il reservoir large
'li'N~ll " i'''lN' Ai'i NNNl' NV l'Al
age of II large area. \ third reservoir
will lie built i'll what is known as
lIorsrtly valley to supply land that is
kllGhtly higher than clear lake.
Mr.. I.ippincott and Mr.. Humphreys,
I'll" engineers in charge. tell me that
they lave found no difficult engineer
Ing Problems. Nature has done Utmost
everything for them. The water sup.
lly is abundant, the reservoirs are III,
ready created, and it is only necessary
TO build dams to enlarge them and ca.
mails to distribute the water MS needed.