East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1908-10-16
SOUTH-CENTRAL
OREGON s WATER
GOVERNMENT GEoLoGIST
MAKES HIS REPORT
Lake Coung's Visible Water Supply
Not sufficient TO Reclaim All of
Arabic Land in The County-Under
Ground sources May Bc Available
I'm Certain sections.

The rapidly increasing settlemen
and development OF the west that ha
accompanied the recent Industrial ex
pansion OF the United States has le,
70 a growth OF interest in all thos,
factors which affect the adaptabilit!
of that region to human needs.
In the arid ana semi-arid regions
no question is Of more vital import.
ance than that OF water supply, for
rs President Roosevelt said in his
first message to congress in 1901, '1n
the arid region il is water, not land,
which measures production" Where
water IAN be introduced or develop
ed in .Aundance. colonization will take
place: where water exists in limited
quaint g., sparse settlement is possi-
BILE: but where water is not 10 be had
present conditions must continue.
The United states geological sur
vey hes for many years been making
Svtemauc studies of water supplies.
both i1 connection with work under
way u many localities. both I'm the
east ana Iu the west an investigation
OF the geology ana water resources OF
"a portion of south-central oregon
was ordered in the fan Of 1906. the
work being assigned TO Gerald A.
Wariug.
The area studied by Mr.. Waring in
cludes IN, greater part OF Lake coun
~. and lies in the northwestern ex-
tension of that great region Of inter-
ior drainage from which no streams
discharge TO the ocean and which is I
therefore known as the Great Basin. |
The southwestern part Of the county /
is mountainous. but the surface OF
the northern part and of the region \
TO the east is that OF a broken plateau
whose mean elevation above sea level \
is between 1900 and 5000 feet. The
many depreSSions In this uneven sur
fact either contain shallow lakes or
are sinks in which temporary ponds
exist only during the wet season. In
this plateau region there are no rivers
and even well-defned stream chan
nels are rare.
In the report on his work which the
survey has just published as Water
Supply Paper No 800, Mr.. Waring
gives an account Of the surface fea-
lures Of the region and Of its settle
ments and industries. discusses the
rocks and their relations TO under
ground waters, and describes in de-
tail the lakes which give the name TO
the county. He discusses also soils.
irrigation methods. and reclamation
projects. In the summary with which
the paped concludes, Mr. Waring
says:
The supply Of surface (stream)
water available for irrigation in Lake
county is fairly well known, and
should it be developed it will by no
means be sufficient to irrigate all the
arabic land. The underground supply
is as yet unknown. but on the whole
indications seem favorable for the de-
velopment Of such waters in the VAL
leys Of Silver, Christmas and Summer
lakes at least.
The reclamation Of these valleys
VIII not only increase the agricultural
wealth Of the state, but its stock-rais-
ng Interests will also be greatly bene-
tited. In severe winters the supply of
Wild hay from the marshes is very in
adequate, and many head Of stock
perish every year from hunger and
exposure.
The Chief Crops.
Grain, alfalfa, and sugar beets
promise to be the chief crops in the
valleys. and it seems that for several
,ears to come nearly all produce will
ma nome market. The rocks high
ieserts will probably never be fit for
'ther than grazing purposes, but il
.eed can be raised in the valleys 10
AIRY greater numbers Of sheep and
'attle through the severe weather. the
winter losses will be decreased and
many more head Of stock can be rang
"a in the country. The scarcity of
water on the high deserts during
summer (when it is sometimes 20
niles between water holes) will re-
main a drawback to the grazing Of
'atue and sheep over these areas dur-
ng this deficiency. But until tests
lave first been made in more favor
'ble localities, It can not be said
whether it is possible or feasible to
nus supply water on the Oregon pla- -
eaus."