The Arizona sentinel., 1910-04-07
POSSIBILITIES OF YUMA
REGION JHFATHOMED
The Soil Simply Marvellous in its
PTCluGtiVaneSS
And the Climate is IntOxiCatingEy
SaIGbriOgS
BY GEORGE n. BU RTON.
In Los Angeles Times.

It is very far from q Senl-mil!enium since
three little open boats under the flag of Spain
first touched the waters of the western hemi-
sphere and revealed the new world to the
eyes Of Europeans. 1t is only little over a
century since the United States OF America
sprang, so to speak like Pallas Athene from
tie brain of love, a completely armed ad-
dition to the family CT nations. 1t is bat
little yer half century since California be-
came part ofthese United STATES Of America,
and less than a generation since the settle
lnent Of the Great South west began.
In all the I25 years since the Republic was
founded, also in the half century since Cali
f0rnia became one OF the States of the Union.
and during every year of the last thirty,a re-
aiization OF the vast riches Cf the American
continent, of tie territory of the United
states ana of this Great Southwest has been
more and more astonishing TO the minds of
men. One would suppose that by today We
knew pretty thoroughly what The undevelop-
ed resources of The Great Southwest might
reasonably bc expected to become. We have
not reached the depths of this great ocean of
wealth with cur plummet line yet.
In a residence of forty years on the Coast
the writer thought he knew a little about
what there is on the Coast, and as most of
these years have been spent in and around
.os Angeles he naturally had a little con-
ceit that he was pretty weh acquainted with
the Great Southwest. Last week a trip TO the
Colorado River bottoms below Yuma made
HIM feel as tenderfoot who had come in on
the last train. New TO him, this wonderful
region and its possibilities are pretty wei
known to a great many readers Of The Times
by the stories published, if not by the demon
stration of their own eyes.
Yuma lies on the map just twelve miles
from where the government is putting in the
great LagGna dam, at the confluence of the
ella and Colorado Rivers. 1t is twelve miles
from Yuma down The river to the Mexican
bOundry line on the Arizona side Of the river
At one point, just below Yuma, the, fIterna-
tiona boundry line runs up along the river
which there takes westerly trend and from
Yuma to Mexico is only a few niles.
,, ONCE \ MIGHTY STREAM.
Ages ago when the mountain ranges Of
Arizona and California lowered toward the
stars, at least twice as high a they do now,
rains were very frcduert and Came down i'll
torrcntial volumes all along these mountain
ridges. The Colorado River in these past ages
was mighty stream, sweeping down debris
in tons every second Of its flow. Tic ColoTa-
do sink was at that time a great inland sea,
which spread over the country on both sides
OF where the river now runs. As the erosion
of winds and storms, landslideS and glaciers
wore down the mountain ridges year by year,
the great river carried down a vast amount
OF SILT erosion from the rocks full of phos.
phates lines and dIsinteTgrated GRANTEES, as
well as the vegetation along its banks; and
bhiS was all deposited in what are now the
sinks of the Colorado.
As the mountain tops were worn down, the
rains became less frequent and less i'm volume
but the erosion OF rocks and river banks, the
trees and vegetable mould torn sfTon the
banks still came down and settled into the
bottom of the great inland lake. TbiS geogical
process went or from age to axe to our time,
leaving the Colorado at Yuma Il stream bout
halfa mile wide and being at the present
time about twenty feet deep ia Che deepest
portion.
1t is not necessary to remind CailfOrniaEs
Chat the Spanish missionaries aud explorers
called this river She Colorado because OF the
reddish coEor OF its waters 1t is the Colorado
up in the Grand Canyon in Arizona and
down past The Needles. But at This time Of
the year. after passing the mouth OF The ella,
instead Of The red river it becomes the brown
river. II actually looks today as if ten per
cent OF it's flow was silt and only ninety per
cent water.