The Arizona sentinel., 1910-11-03
PCSSiSNl!.ES Gf TUNA
 REGION UHFATHOMED The Soil Simply Marvellous in its
 ProduGtiVenaSS And the Climate is EltCxiCStiEg!y
 SaIubrieus
BY GEORGE N. BURTON. In los Angeles Times.

l It .s very far from a semi-miilenium since ! three little open boats under the flag of Spain ! fl rst touched the waters of tie western hemi sphere and revealed the new world to the eyes of Europeans. IL is only little over s century since the United States Of America s1rang so 10 speak, like pallas Athene from 1 the brain of love, completely armed ad i dition to the family Of nations. It is bu; 1 ,sttle -ver half a century since California be came part of these United States of America and less than generation since the settle nent of the Great Southwest began.
 In all the l2j years since the Republic was f0un dcd, also in the half century since Cali. fornia became one of the States Of the Union and during every year cf tle last thirty, a re- al:zation otthe vast riches of the American continent, Of the territory of the United States and of this Great Southwest has been ;aore and more astonishing to the minds of men. One would suppose that by today we kBew pretty thoroughly what the undcvelop- ed resources of the Great Southwest might reasonably be expected to become. We have not reached the depths or this great ocean of wealth with our plammet line yet.
 in a residence offoIty years on the Coast the writer thought he knew a little about what there is on the Coast, and as most Of these years hay been spent in and around Los Angeles. he naturally had iittle con ceit ahat he was pretty well scQuair ted 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 it's possibilities are pretty well lfrn fs1 q rpadarS 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 Laguna dam, at the confluence Of the GiIa and Colorado Rivers. It is twelve miles from Yuma down the river to the Mexican bound ry line on the Arizona side of the river At one point. just below Yuma, the interna- tional boundry line runs up along the river which there takes westerly trend and from Yuma to Mexico is only few miles.
 ONCE A MIGHTY STREAM.
 Ages ago when the mountain ranges of Arizona and California lowered toward the stars, at least twice as high as they do now, rains were very freduert and came down in torrcptial volumes a;! along these mountain ridges. The Colorado River in these past ages was a mighty stream sweeping down debris in tons every second Of it's flow. The Cobra do sink was at that time great inland sea, VI whicn 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 vast amount Of silt, erosion from the rocks full of phos; phates, times and disintergrated granifes, as well as She vegetation along lis banks; and this 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 in volume but the erosion of rocks and river banks, the trees and vegetable mould torn from tho banks still came down and settled into the bottom of the great inland lake. This geogical process went on from a-c to age to onr time, leaving the Colorado at Yuma a stream about half mile wide and being at the present time about twenty feet deep in the deepest portion.
 . Ii is not necessary to remind Caiifornians that ,ne Spai ;li miss anaries and explorers called Lliis river the Colorado because of the red .sh color Of is 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 tue Gila, instead of the red river it becomes the brown river. It actually looks today as if ten per cent its flow was silt and only ninety per cent water.