Imperial Valley press and the Imperial press., 1906-06-30


 main street.-the rapid stream was eleven miles miles wide and four feet above street level. So heavily saturated with Colorado and Utah silt that the mass could scarcely be carried, the tur- bid floods rolled along and poured into the prehistoric Salton Sink with rush and roar. It is great to see a mighty river in it's majesty, free from all re- straint. 1 ascended tower and watch ed the inspiring scene of turbulence and unrest with absorbing interest. It was intensely fascinating, but suddenly 1 discovered something of inconceivably greater interest. I looked down upon one of the chief wonder spots of the habitable earth. Startling indeed was the discovery marvellous object is an area of 3200 square miles of exceed ingly fine silt. This enormous mass was what1I wondered about in Colorado; and it is nothing more or less than the debris excavated from the mighty can yon From all the surroundings, 1 make the guess that it is at least one mile deep. The bulk oft is ground as fine as flour. It has been through the geologi- cal mills. Placed in bucket of water the Tcoarse particles settle; the fine material IS poured off and makes excel lent polish for silverware. This area, with the town of Imperial as center, is called the Imperial valley. But 10,- 900 more square miles of the silicious silt will fill that vast basin extending to the Gulf of California. Every cubic inch and cubic mile, all these billions of tons of abraded materials were brought from the bare and denuded rocky areas in Colorodo and Utah, and from the vast depths and caverns in the greatest can yon in the world. Rigid proof before ones very eyes was had of the incon- ceivabe antiquity of the earth. And l submit, was it not most impressive to find this geological treasure, this debris, this vast mass-chips from the work shop of the primeval world? Let the Ganges, the Amazon and the Mississippi become articulate, and speak of their mighty works in remote epochs of the past The work of the Ganges and Brahmapootra has been to build 10000 square miles of rich land the Nile, all of Egypt that is arable; the Mississippi, 30,000 square miles, and the Colorado at least 14,000. have never visited the tropics, but if vegetation is more luxur- iant there than the living green in Inn perial valley, it must be wonderful. The 32O0 square miles of silt, the very soil of the northern upland, the work of untold ages of vegetation, is fertile beyond be- lief. The very ground is calling for thousands to come and plant Every thing used for food of man of vegetable origin, grow in in this soil with amazing rapidity. The region is the veritible hot house of the United States and is able to supply fresh vegetables to the entire nation. And of exceeding fine quality, always weeks in advance of and other garden spot. The present flood was caused by loss of control of canal tap ping the river just below Yuma. High water came on before the ditch was fin ished. And the diverted river now pours seven-eights of it's water into the old Salton Sink instead of the Gulf of Cal ifOrnia. The Southern Pacific railroad has vast interests in the wondrous val ley, and the company has decided to help the water company close the break in the rivers bank and restore the flow back into the original channel leading to the southern gulf. But how tell of the visions of uncounted wealth now buried in the vegetable mold and in the silt de- posited age after age by flood waters of the Colorado, bringing down it's rich de- bris from peaks, plateaus and from can yon depths in faraway northern regions when the earth was young?
 Lowe Observatory; Echo Mt, Cal.
 Notice of Equalization
 T,