Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1909-07-02
vAGAR|ESOF ERRAT|C
RIO COLORADO
REMARKABLE
CharactisticS of CapriciouS
Stream Which DodgeS HUI
man Traps to Fill Desert
Basins Interesting Study.

mere IN the southwest, lildH SlttllS III
the shade and watching the antics OF
the lower Colorado river, studying
past 500 years and specializing On
what IT'S next coup will be, says the
Phoenix Republican. Supervising En-
gineer l.. c. Hill, Of the reclamation
service, has had occasion in recent
yearssto give this unruly stream con-
sidcration more serious than mere
amusement would suggest and white
he admits that there is a lot OF
things he don't know about it, he is
probably as near on the inside of its
plans and conduct these days as any
body in this day and generation cali
be. In a recent conversation he dis
closed Il number Of facts tina will
doubtless be interesting to many.
Fol- instance one statement made
on the receipt of adVices from Yuma
during the highest water of last
week, that the river was securing be
tween the piers OF the southern Pac-
life bridge, but not close to them,
brought out inquiries as to the meth
cd of measuring the water. lie stat
ed that the deepest point in the riVe'
at that time at h gauging station 81
the reclamation service 500 feet be
low the bridge was 50 u feet. Asked
how he harmonized hat statement
with d reading OF 50 y feet or there
abouts, at the bridge, he laughed AMI
said one should bear in mind hat it >
the Colorado river under discussion
and not some little old-fashiOned eou-
Vcntional stream back east. Then
he explained a peculiarly Of the Colo
RADIO, Rio GranGe and some other
western rivers, that is not fully I'm
derstood even by a lot of pretty re
spectacle photographic and other en-
Sincers who are acquainted only
with eastern streams. The pecull-
arity of those western rivers, many
OF them, is that in 1lood time as the
volume of water increases it goes
down as we'll as up. At the same
time the surfaces of the water rises
ten feet, the channel seours several
feet, then as the surface lowers in
The receding flood the channel fills
again to normal or t~hereabout. When
the river volume expands or contracts
all over at the same time, instead
of doing all the expanding ON top
like a stream in Il hume would ii
excess Water were auded. The mea-
slrcments at the bridge were correct
but they only showed nov nigh thu
water was; not how deep. 1t was
known to be 40 feet deep or more
between the piers OF the bridge dur
ing the present iioou, even though
Tie measurement from the norma
datum on the bridae showed but little
over 80 feet.
But the most interesting study is
to watch the antics Of the Colorado in
It's natural playground west OF the
normal bed and south of the Arizona
line. 1t has done all sorts of things
there and every once in u while X
springs something new, just now IL
seems to be dealing another hand and
the engineers down in the Imperi1l
country are looking over their cards
to see il they hold anything in the
line of trumps. Everybody remem-
bers what it did a few years ago
when it ate a hole into the Imperial
canal and |sneaking down through the
ditch played havoc with the lower
country, filled up Salton basin, then
back at the head of the canal put
the development company, the South
crn Pacific and finally the p%resideh
tial administration, all on the anxious
seat. 1he play was finally check
but most of the pawns We're
gone and some of the pieces.
Almost paralleling the canal from
near the head for many miles to the
west and southwest is New rivcS,
usually a dry stream Paralleling
New river more or less regularly arc
Il score or more of little streams,
many of them nameless. That is
they are stream when there is any
water in them. The Colorado from
Yuma down is an aqcduct rather than
a river. 1t flows along Il ridge that
been built for it in ages gone
by, the land to the east and the west
being lower than the bed of the river.
These little streams mentioned carry
water except in rainy seasons or
when the Colorado in some way
through into chc of them.
Far south of CaleXico. the Imperial
canal and New river is a basin some
what similar to the Salton basin only
smaller, known as Volcano lake. filled
in wet seasons by the drainage from
desert washes over the wide
in the northern part of Lower
california. From this lake an outlet
known as the Hardy Colorado
into the Colorado. just above
is mouth. Between a point some
niles below the heading OF the Inn
perial canal, and the point where the
Hardy Colorado river from Volcano
axe joins the Colorado. the Colorado
,WerVes somewhat to the east, makes
general curve though not sufficient
q he called a semi circle. From a
loint about opposite the northern line
II Volcano lake and only " miles
vest of the Colorado, is the head
# another dry wash known to fame
IS Bee river. Bee river parallels the
colorado in a general way, a few
niles to the west of it. along the base
# the big aqueduct on the top u d,
yhich the Colorado flows. the Bee
liver finally emptying into the Hardy
a few miles above the point I
latter empties into the ColOrado. I.
The banks Of the Bee river wash
ear its head are fifteen feet high anil 4
slope from the Colorado river TO q.
top of these banks is nine feet
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