Evening star., 1905-11-11
THE QUEER COLORADO.
River Busy at ke-Making in Cali
fornia.

FROM the Boston Transcript.
There is something almost human In the
way the Colorado river has been behaving"
! remarked F. H.. Newell. the chief hydro
grapher of the geological survey, this morn
ing, on his return from an extensive trip
through the west. This stream, rising IN
Wyoming, has a drainage area of nearly
one-tenth of the United States, and cuts IN
Its course the deepest canons on the face OF
the earth From the solid rocks where it
has made them. through hundreds of miles.
1t has taken material down to the Gulf of
California, and by slight but regular an
nual overfiows gradually built banks on
ca ch side out into that gulf. These, in time,
cut off the head of the gulf. leaving dry
depression in southern California, consider
ably below level. known as the SaIton
Sink. For miles of its journey the South
ern Pacific runs below sea level. Ten thou
sand people. approximately, In what IS
known as the Imperial valley, live below
the sea level A privately owned irrigation
enterprise. on the Mexican side of the line,
cut cash into this bank of the Colorado
which nature had been forming. The high
waters came and man lost control of his
artificial channel, with the result that the
river thought best to pour it's waters back
into the depression which had once been
part of the Gulf of California. To get the
river to resume It's own course s no small
task. and with 1t the Southern Pacific rail-
road evidently purposes to grapple heroic
ally
'The river is now pouring down steep
declivity into this basin which is 2OO feet
or more below. the sea level. If this were
allowed to continue it would make a great
salt lake in southern California. This water
has already risen to the point where 1t has
submerged big salt works and fifteen miles
of the Southern Pacific's overland track,
forcing that company to build around the
rising sea, and, unless it's engineers succeed
in routing the Colorado for its old dest1na-
ton. 1t will be necessary to rebuild q mucn
longer piece of that road. Some people
have argued that such sea would affect
favorably the climate of southern Cali
fornia, but they forget that the great Gun
of California, -iutting into the most barren
regions of the United States and Mexico,
seemingly has had no good effect on the
climate of either. The Salton sea would
add only 2 per cent of water surface to that
part of the country, and SO hardly would DO
what the Gulf of California has not accom-
plished Unless the break Is restored the
river will pour into this basin, forming
very shallow lake, which would be almost
a frying pan under that semi-troplcal sun.
This would continue to rise until eVapora-
ton balanced the river flow, and then would
ffuctuate with the seasons OF the year,
shrinking In area during the months or the
heaviest evaporation and slightest inflow.
1.-THE cash in the river bank was cut oy
Mexican corporation on that side or tne
international line, but the water Is delivered
to q number of American corporations, SO
that today several are concerned IN the III
fair. 1t is understood that the southern
Pa cifc when the river reaches Its lowest
stage, will put in a great force OF men IN an
endeayor to get the river back to Its former
course One great difficulty comes In the
sugarlike material which has been efodeu,
in which it is extremely hard to insert any
permanent structure. pile 1oO rect deep
will be driven into 1t. and almost as sooii
the water. working in under It, viii lift II
out.