Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1906-02-24
THE QUEER COLORADO.
River Busy at Lake-Making in Cali
fornia.

There is something almost human in
the way the Colorado river has been be
having" remarked +. II. Newell. the
chief photographer of the geological sur
vey, this morning. on his return from an
extensive trip through the west This
stream, rising in Wyoming, has a drain
age area of nearly One-tenth of the Unit
ed 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, it has
taken material down to the Gulf of Cali
fornia. and by slight but regular annual
oyeri1Ows gradually built banks on each
side ont into that gulf These. in time,
cut off the head of the gulf. leaving dry
depression in southern California, con-
siderably below the sea level. known as
the Salton Sink For miles of its Jour
ney the Southern Pacific runs below sea
level. Ten thousand people, approx
nIately, in what is known as the Inl-
perial valley, live below the sea level A
privately owned irrigation enterprise, on
the Mexican side of the line, cut Il cash
into this bank of the Colorado which ma
ture had been forming. The high waters
came and man lost control of his arti-
fetal channel. with the result that the
river thought best To pour its waters
back into the depression which had once
been a part of the Gulf of California To
get the river to resume its own course is
no small task, and with it the Southern
Pacific railroad evidently purposes to
grapple heroicaIly.
The river is now pouring down a
steep decIlvity into this basin, which is
@O0 feet or more below the sea level If
this were allowed to continue it would
make great salt lake in southern Cali
iornia. This water has already risen to
the point where it has submerged big
salt works and fifteen miles of the South
crn Pacihc'S overland track, forcing that
company to build around the rising sea,
and, unless its engineers succeed III rout-
ing the Colorado for its old destinations
1t Will he necessary To rebuild Il much
longer piece of that road. Some people
have argued that such a sea would affect
iaVorably the climate of southern Cali
forna, but they forget that the great
Gulf of California, juttmg into the most
barren regions of the United States and
Mexico, seemingly has had no good eff
feet ON the climate of either The Salton
sea would add only > per cent. of water
surface to that part of the country. and
So hardly would do what the Gulf of
California has not accomplished. I'm
less the break is restored the river will
pour into this basin, forming a very
shallow lake, which would bc almost Il
Trying pan under that Semi-tr0pical sun.
l his would continue to rise until evapora-
ton balanced the river iow and then
would tluctuate with the seasons of the
year shrinking in area during the mont las
OF the heaviest evaporation and slightest
inflow.
The cash in the river bank was cut
by Mexican corporation on that side
of the International line. but the water
! is delivered to number of American
corporations. so that today several are
concerned in the affair.". 1t is understood
that the Southern Pacific. when the
river reaches its lowest stage. will put
i'll great force of men in an endeav or
to get the river back To its former course.
One great difficulty comes in the sugar
! like material which has been cruded. in
/ which it is extremely hard to insert amy
| permanent structure. \ pile 100 feet
! deep will he driven into il. and almost
rs soon the water, working in under il,
will lift it out. Boston Transcript.