The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1906-08-09
THE sALroN SEA.
A Great Inland Lake Resulting From
Great Irrigation Work.

the lower Colorado river, southern Cal
ifornia has. within the last two years,
added to its geographical features
lake that covers more than 400 square
miles, is surely destined to attain muck
greater ..Aehsions, but is already, witf-
out reckoning Lake Michigan, the larg-
est sheet OF water, next to the Great
Salt Lake Of Utah, wholly within the
boundaries of the United States of
America. The main line Of the Southern
Pacific railway traverses this southwest
corner Of the great Colorado desert, and
by series of submersions its roadbed
is being gradually driven of the plain
toward the foothills Of the adjacent
mountains. Agricultural areas, too, that
within recent years have 1cn reclaimed
from the wilderness by great irrigration
works, as well as by stalwart individual
effort, are seriously menaced.
This great saucerlike hollow, I37
miles across from Yuma to Palm Springs,
with some sixty-fye miles Of the dis
tance actually below the level of the
sea, Is bounded on the north u d brok
en-iip series Of ranges known collective-
ly as the San Bernardino mountains. On
the south, running eastward from the
San Gorgonio pass, is the sweeping
curve Of the massive San Jaeinto range,
but when Salton is reached there is
only a protruding spun Of tne range in
evidence, and soon " also disappears,
leaving toward the south the broad open
plain now known as the Imperial val
~ nt,a x,t4 al &c h.
Salton sink, for Calexico, on the Mex
lean border, just forty miles south Of
Salton, is at sea level
Now will be understood the precarious
position that has been occupied up to
recent times BY the lower Colorado river.
In point of fact, it has been flowing
south along the rim Of deep hollow
that lies to the west Of its course. Five
| years ago the California development
company set itself to supply irrigation
water to the Imperial valley, rich lands
formed Of Colorado silt deposited cen
turtles ago, and requiring, in q climate
Of perpetual sunshine, only moisture 10
make them highly productive.
The intake, Of course, was on United
States soil, as the diverted water wns
required primarily for the irrigation of
United States lands. The spot selected
was eight miles down the Colorado river
from Yuma that Is to say, almost at
the limit Of United States territory on
the California side of the stream. No
head gates were put into the canal;
the river water was simply allowed to
flow in, just as into an open ditch.
This was economy as regards construc-
ton expenses certainly, but very costly
economy in the long run, as the sequel
proved
In the summer Of 1904 it came to be
realized by those responsible that the
ditch was no longer carrying enough
water to supply the wants of the I'M
peria valley lands already under cult
walton. To dredge out the canal for
six or seven miles would have been an
operation requiring time, and already the
danger Of ruined crops had grown to be
an urgent one. So the company decided
upon acting a quick (and once again
cheap) method OF supplying its necessi
ties. -Four miles below the original in
take, in Mexican territory, it scooped
out cross ditch connecting the river
directly at this second point with the
canal Once again no head gates were
put in-no mechanical devices for con
trolling the flow of the water were pro-
vided
1t was this emergency work. originally
shallow and narrow trench, that even
tually proved to be the first tiny breach
| in Natures own system OF protecting
levees. For through this aperture, scour-
ed deep and wide by succession of
floods, the entire waters Of the Colorado
river, instead of passing gently south
to the gulf of California, are now rush
ed down impetuously and umcontrollably
i into the Salton sink NE Imperial cau-
/ al is now the Colorado river restored to
its ancient bed, the Alamo watercourse.
The winter of 1904 8, after long
series of years Of compartiye drougt. ;,
proved to be G season Of abnormal rain
/ fall all over the southern west. The
ste1dy rise of the waters in the S0lton
sea. disregardei until the railway began
to be driven from its roadbed, drew al
tention to the full seriousness Of what
was happening All through the fall
months Of 1905 desperate and coptinu-
Gus efforts were put forth to turn back
the Colorado into its old channel. At
tempts were made to dam tbe emergency
cross ditch by double rows OF piles,
with brushwood mats weighted by sand
bags dropped between them. But, after
] the relentless river had two or three
times preached this feeble barrier during
its construction, finally a mighty flood
on November 30, the second highest ever
recorded on the Colorado river, and once
more caused by ABNORMAL rains in .ari
zona, turned the whole plan into ridi-
\ Guile. The effect was not 80 much to
break down the dam as to cut away
everything around it; for there are no
rocks to serve as foundation and abut-
ments in this land Of silt, which, in
renewed contact with water, at one be-
comes qineksand, so that strong Cdr
rent speedily sweeps around both ends
\ Of any obstruction,
The Salton sea has been rising at
the rate of about six vertical inches i
week. At Salton the water is nearly
thirty fete deep as measured by the tel
cgraph poles marking the original lines
of the Southern Pacific railway, tho
tips Of which, far out to sea, now just
show above the surface. 1t has been
calculated that should the waters OF tho
river continue 60 flow into the basin in
their present volume, after making the
proper allowance for evaporation, it vii.
take from thirty to forty years TO fill
the entire sauccrlike depression up to
sea level Should this ever happen,
there viii be a lake nearly 1000 square
miles in area, the overflow waters of
which would eventually reach the gulf
Ov some new channel cut through tho
barriers of silt at their weakest point
I g Ia.