The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1906-10-10
OVERFLOW Of RIVER
MAKING INLAND SEA

the waves and the new island is grid
ironed with crevasses and assures
through which so much steam pours
that vessels can not yet land eXplOr-
ing parties.
Valparaiso's misfortune has render
ell the most prosperous city on the
western coast of South America the
latest victim of this worldwide phys
ical unrest which base been so ruth
lessly destroying cities by quake and
flame. b,ilding new islands while sub
merging others, and even laying out
the great inland sea of the Salton Sink
in that part of San Diego county. Cali
fornia. known as Imperial Valley, to
the utter surprise and distraction of
photographic experts and engineers.
Its formation is the only one of ma
lures recent map-changing schemes
that has not been attributed to seis-
mic causes. The Colorado river. one
Of the longest in the world, measur-
ing 1920 miles. jumped its banks a
few miles south of the international
boundary line between California and
Mexico at dam that had been built
by commercial enterprises in order to
harness the river for irrigation pur-
poses. Several million dollars were
spent on the canal by private indi-
viduals. 1t follows the line of the
Alamo river westerly across the silt
uplands of the Mexican province
known as Lower California and then
turned northward toward Imperial
valley. which occupies the wedge
shaped depression between the main
range of the Sierras and the Chocolate
mountain spur of the San Bernardino
range.
Oddly enough. the Salton Sink phe-
nomena demonstrates, too that nature
like history, frequently travels in cir
Giles OF repetition. Government geolo-
glsts tell US that Imperial valley
which is now threatened with eXtinc-
ton by SubmersiOn-was once before,
in the dim past, the bed of great
inland sea. That was centuries ago,
but the fact is indelibly recorded in
the qualification which reads like an
open book to the scientist That ORR
glnal sea extended from the little
town of 1ndio. some miles north of
what in recent years has been desig-
mated as the Salton Sink. all the way
to the present gulf of California. An
idea of the depth of the valley may be
had from the fact that half of it is
even today lower than the level of the
Pacific ocean.
The old beach line of the original
Salton sea can be plainly seen around
the edge OF the valley. Picking up this
beach line at Indio one may follow it
along the Southern Pacific railroad
in a southeasterly direction as it
skirts the towns of Walbers, Salton,
Thinks and Old Beach. Crossing the
railroad about half way between Flow
ing Well and Mammoth the old beach
line makes southerly sweep toward
the border town of CaleXico. where it
touches the international boundary
before leaping New river for the
northerly return to Irdio.
1t was the Colorado river that abol-
ished this prehistoric inland sea of
centuries ago. Perhaps the Colorado
is vested with prior right to re-
establish the sea-even at the risk of
devastating and depopulating Impe-
rial valley. The Colorado resembles
the Nile in the fact that it carries tons
of silt from the mountains to the ocean
and has built its own delta The
sources of the Colorado are the high
lands of Wyoming and western Colo
RADIO and before it passes through the
wonderful Grand canyon of the Colo
RADIO the river absorbs several other
large rivers of the intermountain re-
gion. The Colorado drains basin of
100000 square miles of territory.
Tons of Silt.
1t is a mineral country. mostly of
volcanic origin, and the character of
the watersheds loads the water of the
Colorado with vast quantities of silt.
1t is estimated by the United States
geological survey that during the
flood season of the year the Colorado
carries 100000 tons of this silt past
| given point at the international
boundary every twenty-four hours. In
| the dry season there is such marked
contrast in conditions that the river