The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-08-14

10 supply water TOT irrf8ating Wnht ID
 known as the Imperial Valley, under
 took by dams and canals to divert part
 of the river to the valley Their work
 was not considered unsafe for time.
 but there were unusual floods in 1904
 and 1905 and the result has been that
 the waters became uncontrollable and
 the entire Colorado has practically
 been flowing into salton Sink. In Pro-
 lessor Mitchells words, since last De-
 cembsr ''all the waters of'the Colorado
 have peen pouring into the saiton Sea,
 by the Alamo channel and by another
 old channel known as the New River.
 which was formerly merely a spill
 way at the time of the big summer
 How. During the past winter, once
 again there has been recurrence of
 abnormal rainstorm floods. which have
 served to SCOUT deeper the new beds
 of the river. while the sluggish back
 wash. depositing its silt, has still more
 effectually sealed the old bed. The
 salton Sea has been rising at the rate
 of about six vertical inches per week.
 and the area of the lake is thus steadi-
 lv and inexorably extending. At Sal
 ton, the water is nearly thirty feet deep. as measured by the telegraph
 poles marking the original line of the Southern Pacific. railway. the tips of
 which. far out to sea. now just show above the surface. Therefore. the lake level is still some 2s0 feet below sea
 level. and it has been calculated that, should the waters of the river continue to flow into the basin in the present volume. after making the proper aI- lowance for evaporation. it will take from thirty to forty years to fill the sauoer-iike depression up to sea-level. Should this ever happen, there would he a lake nearly 2,0Oo square miles in area. the overflow of which would eventually reach the Gulf by some new channel cut through the barriers of silt at their weakest point"
 Now there are some interesting points connected with this matter, and one of the most important is. or may be, an international complication with Mexico. The Colorado River has all its sources in the United States, and. the saiton Sea is also in the United states. but for number of miles the river puns through Mexican Territory until it reaches the Gulf of California. By treaty between the two countries the Colorado is recognized as navi- gable stream to be guarded as wa ter highway for the use of the two re- publies It Is plain. then. that if ell or the greater part of the water of the river is diverted to the Salton Sea 1t will destroy the usefulness of that por- tlou sf 1t which traverses territory of While 1t is true that the Mexicans make little use of the river 1t Is equally true that they are en- titled to It's use and to take 1t away from them may possibly cause trouble. If the United states or its citizens are able and willing to control the waters and turn them back to the old bed 1t will obviate any cause of complaint. otherwise there will be some diplo- macy required.
 
 of vast importance. As will be noted from the extract above printed the new sea or lake already covers some 400 square miles and if the inflow of wa ter Is not checked it may reach the large size of 2o0o square miles. If it reaches the latter dimensions 1t will be the largest lake that Is entirely within the United States with the single exception of Salt Lake in Utah. What will be- the effect of a continu- Ing lake of fresh water at the placer The bed of the salton Sink was a lit- ,raI desert, practically destitute of veg stable or animal life. where rains were rare. As Professor Mitchell de- scribes it on his first visit few years aeo 1t was "a desolate waste. so arid | hat only cactI and the meanest of scrub could struggle for existence on | It's dessicated and alkali-impregnated ,oil, so bare and barren that even the Aek rabbit and the horned toad count d it out of habitabie bounds"
 That was only four or five years ago. | When he visited the spot again in De- ,ember last the lake had already pe- come the resort of tens of thousands ,f the various kinds of waterfowl. That is one of the first results, and next win follow fishes and all other 'orms of aquatic life. Then will inevi- ably come vegetation of the various <inds to be found at or near all bodies ,r streams of fresh water. These are he results that will inevitably follow . permanent lake of such great size, ,ut will that be allt Judging by whst las taken place in the past We mtoy ook on it as almost certain that body of fresh water as 1 arse as the State Of Delaware will exert a decided and beneficent infln- ,nee on the climate and the animal and life of the surrounding reg on. In short, it Is more than possible hat if the great basin is suffered ta become full. and If enough water con- .inues to flow into it to keep it full it | nav result in the reclamation and habA l tableness of a considerable area of | what Is now a waste of desert sand.
 Looking at 1t from this point of view t will be a great pity if the water ,upply is cut of and the arid desert | .eturns to the Salton Sink. It will be we'll, looking at 1t in this way if the | water shall be allowed to run untl the | depression is full and then a sufh | ,ient stream be continued to keep the |