The Ordway new era., 1906-10-12
VAST SALONS SEA
COLORADO RIVER ovERFLoWs
COVERS 400 SQUARE MILES.
WATER IS STILL SPREADING
break Started From Irrigation Canal
Part Of the easin in Mexieo-in-
ternatonai Complications May
Result.


Part Of the Basin in Mexico-ln-
ternational Complications May
Result.
Washington.-Who is responsible
Tor the creation of the Salton sea in
southern California. which already COW
ers an area OF 400 square miles, and
threatens to spread over 1000 square
miles II some means of diverting the
Colorado river cannot be devised?
Ihis question is perplexing Mexican
ana American diplomatists, but for the
time being diplomatic representations
have been suspended and both the
United States and Mexico are bending
every effort to check the river, which
mas been accidentally turned from Its
course. through the efforts of the Cali
iornia Development Company to irri-
gate lands in northern California.
Interesting complications of an In
ternational nature ore threatened when
the TWO governments attempt to settle
their differences and make good the
damage which has been wrought by
diverting the Colorado from its old
channel The California Development
Company originally tapped the river
below Yuma, Arizona, and carried wa
ter from Arizona through a canal into
northern Mexico and back into great
valley in southern California. In 1904
IL was found that this canal was made
quate to supply water required for the
irrigation project. and Mexican cor
poration. controlled by the California
Development Company. was author
lied by Mexico to take water from the
Colorado in Mexico, a short distance
south of Yuma.
The irrigation canal was only one
fourth of a mile from river at the
point in Mexico where n ditch was cut
through the sandy bank of the river con-
Meeting with the great irrigation canal.
Nogales was provided and when the
Colorado river was diverted from its
channel II cut away its bank and went
raging into low lands in California far
below sea level. Repeated attempts
have been made to turn the river back
into its old channel, but without sue
cess.
Again and again. the Southern Pa
cific railroad has been compelled to
move its tracks which ran through the
Salton sink. and have been forced on
to the foot hills surrounding the great
basin which is being converted into n
sea. Several small towns are now be-
meath the waters which the Colorado
has poured into the basin and in many
places only the tops of the telegraph
poles indicate where the roadbed FOR
merly was. In the lowest part OF the
sink the water is now seventy rect
deep. For time the water from the
Colorado raised the sea at the rate
of six inches day and 1t has been es-
timated that granting the failure OIL
engineers to check the river in forty
years, all the basin located beneath the
main course of the Colorado Will be
covered with water.
A part of this basin Is in Mexico.
and a failure to control the river would
give this country and Mexico lake
comparable to the Great Lakes separ-
ating the United States and Canada.
At present the lake is greater than any
body of water wholly within the
limited States, except Salt Lake and
Lake Michigan.
The Mexican company, to which per-
mission was granted to take water out
of the Colorado in Mexico. was merely
created in Mexico to assist the Cali
fornia Development Company in max
ing n success of an irrigation project
which was a partial failure when wa
ter was taken from the Colorado In
Arizona. Most of the land to be irri-
gated was in the United States and the
Mexican government had compara-
tiyely little to gain from the conces-
sion granted to the irrigation COM
pany. O.,
lowed, growing out of the fact that ex-
isting treaties provide that the Colo
orado shall be maintained as navi-
gable stream, which is not now the
case because 1t has been completely
diyerted from the Gulf Of California
into the great sink. Expert engineers
are struggling to control the flow OF
waters and the Southern Pacific rail-
road. whose property is suffering
greatly. is Incorporating with the Mexican
and American government engineers IN
an effort to construct another channel
with flood gates into which the Colo
RADIO can be diverted long enough to
renair the Salton break.
The Mexican Government Commas
sion is headed by Brig. Gen. Angel
Garcia pena, and the American gov
ernment by the reclamation service
engineers.