The National tribune., 1907-11-21

THE NATIONAL TRIBl
pleted in 1909 will impound about l.
| 1000 acre-feet of water. 1t will be
| 27O feet high from the bottom of the
| foundation to the top of the parapet,
being Ice feet wide at the base and 16
feet at the top, upon which has been
CONSTRUCTED a roadway. The dam ex-
tends 40 feet below low-water mark,
and has length of 210 feet. 1t will
require 100000 cubic yards of masonry,
most of which is cyciopean rubble. laid
so as to break joints and thoroly bonded
in all directions. The stone is quarried
on both sides of the canyon and laid in
cement mortar, with the work carried
on night and day by means of electric
lights furnished from the power plant.
! The dam is built on a curve, with ra-
dius of about 400 feet. and makes a
| beautiful appearance when seen from
! the surrounding hills. 1t will back the
water up Salt River 16 miles and up
the Tonic Greek nearly as far, making
a lake over 25 miles long and from
one to two miles wide. 1t is claimed for
this that it will be the greatest artifi-
cial reservoir in the world On either
side of the dam are spillways at hight
above mean low water of 210 feet. At
| the bottom the dam IS 21O feet long,
| but at the top some 500 feet. A road
way runs along the crest. which is car
ried over the spillways by concrete
bridges. The water will be taken off
| from this great lake thru tunnel about
500 feet long, driven thru the side walls
of the canyon. In these will be six
gates for regulating the flow to the
canals in the Salt River Valley, SO miles
below. These gates with their operat-
ing mechanism. will weigh nearly
100000 pounds, and will be the largest
ever constructed. They will have to be
operated under a pressure of 100
pounds per square inch, or 100000
pounds for each gate. When open they
will discharge 10000 cubic feet per sec
ond, a gush of water that is almost in
comprehensive.
| The Power Canal.
The work of providing the power
necessary in the construction was be-
gun in September, 1903, with the con-
struction of canal nearly 19 miles
long and having a capacity of 200 sec
ond feet. At the head of this canal
and far above the level of the lake there
is a secondary dam to divert the water
into the canal. 1t is delivered to a
point below the dam, where 1t falls 22O
feet and develops 4.400-horsepower.
After the work of construction is COM
| pleted this power will be available to
! pump water from the lower strata into
the irrigating canals.
| Using the Underfow.
The wonderful power will be carried
some SO to 20 miles in the Salt River
Valley, and at different points centrifu-
gal pumps to bring up the underground
water and add to the available flow
Just how much of this can be utilized is
the only serious problem now before
the engineers. AT present they expect
to have q secondary plant about seven
miles below the main dam, where about
3,000-horSepower 3, can be developed, and
if the underflow Is sufficient water fol
$4,000 acres may be obtained. Twenty.
live miles farther down bend in tbs
/. river makes it possible to develop 1000
horsepower and obtain water sufficient
to irrigate $4,000 acres more. 1t is pro
j. posed that the water power will be
supplemented from time to time b!
steam power at Il small cost per acre.
The question of the underground flow
is one that is now being studied witt
the greatest diligence by the engineers
There are three water-bearing horizon:
, or strata in the valley. The first. o
course. is the surface flow The secont
extends to q depth of 200 feet or more
ana ID SepdIdtsu lIOIn Tie SuIidCe IoN
by q layer of impervious clay Th'
third is a stratum of -bearin;
: sand. Only two wells have been pu
. down below the second horizon. one o
which reached the third horizon at so
feet, while the second well, going down
705 feet, did not reach the third hori
zon. The waters in these lower hori
IONS are under pressure, and rise some
times nearly to the surface That from
the lowest horizon rises nearer th'
surface than that from the second hori
Zon.
Fertility of the Land.
Tho the land that will thus b
brouht into productiveness, somewher
between 225,00O and 100000 acres
would make only a small portion O
the area of some of our agriculture
Counties, yet marvellous stories are toll
of its productiveness. Alfalfa, peaches
oranges, lemons, cantaloupes, all man
ner of small fruits and early vegetable
grow with a rankness of production al
most incomprehensible to farmer VIII
depends upon the natural rains for irri
cation.
Our desert region is the only section
of this great country of ours wher
there is an equality of opportunity.
these plans now under way by tn
iReclamatlOn service lcnleVe anything
like what is claimed for them futur
generations will thank President Roose
welt for safeguarding and conservin
this imperial domain for the people
There is no doubt at all that in tn
wonderful country now being opene
Iup by the Government projects will b
a safety valve against the great cen
ters of populations in our own coun
r try as well as for the old world. 1t
e stated that in 1850 this country wi
q have 00,000,000 population. Alread
I the wander lust of those seeking home
i outside of civilization is not gratified a
: it once was because there are no land
0 for them. Every acre of our remain
e ing public domain, with the exception
S possibly of the mountains themselve!
= can be made fruitful if it can only b
watered In this Salt River section
where the Gila monster was once tn
only inhabitant, for trees would nc
: grow there, and beasts, birds and flow
ers Stunned it, the date palm has bee
!, made to reach its highest fruition, an
y scent of orange blossoms and the per
. fume of the ripening fruit fills the al
{ the year round. This region seems t
y be the natural habitat of the muskmel
on and watermelon, and already on
: section of this Salt River region
given over to tropical luXurlance and