The Calumet news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 1907-1938, 1911-02-02
BUILT AT COST OF S0,54O,OOO
Preparations Being Made to Make
Opening Ceremonies Gala ocea-
sion-Dam is Marvel of En-
gineering Work.
FACTS CONCERNING THE
GREAT DAM.

:. 1t is 1850 feet long, ESQ feet y
= high and contains 326, 900 cubic =
:. yards of masonry. !.
:. The reservoirs will have a ca !.
= pacity of 56.62s,0OO cubic :.
:. feet of water, which will be !.
= used to irrigate 100000 acres of !.
:. land. =
= The dam has been nearly six =
= years in building and will cost !.
= the government about $500 =
:. OOO :.
= The location of the dam and =
:. reservoir is in the Salt River !.
= valley, about seventy miles !.
= northwest of Phoenix, Arizona =
= = :. = = !. !. :. !. !. + !. !. ... = /. !. 4.
Phoenix, Ariz., Feb. 2.-The Roose-
welt dam, the stupendous engineering
work in connection with the Salt Riv-
er irrigation project, is completed and
will be formally opened next month
by former President Roosevelt, in hon.
or Of whom the dam was named.
Preparations already are under way to
make the opening a gala occasion. The
event will be attended by representa-
tives of the national government, pub
lie officials OF Arizona and neighbor-
ing states and by eminent engineers.
The dam is regarded as one of the
marvels Of modern engineering. Lo-
Gated I'm an almost inaccessible can
yon, about seventy miles northwest of
this city and sixty miles from the
nearest railroad. it's rapid and sue
cessful construction has been watched
with interest by engineers all over the
world.
Description of Dam.
At the point where the dam crosses
the Salt River the stream runs through
a narrow gorge, across which the huge
barrier of stone and cement stretches
to length of 1850 feet. The dam is
ESQ feet high. or about the height of
the Flatiron building in New York. on
top its length is equal to that of two
city blocks, and provides a roadway
twenty feet wrde. The dam contains
$4,000 cubic yards of masonry. The
blocks of stone were blasted from the
canyon walls and the hundreds of
thousands of barrels of cement used
in the construction was manufactured
by the Government in a mill erected
on the ground.
Behind this imposing structure of
stone and cement the waters of the
turbulent stream will form the largest
artificial lake in the world. The great
reservoir will be twenty-five miles long
and more than 22O feet deep against
the dam. 1t will have capacity of
56,62S.O00 cubic feet. or sufficient water
to cover the state of Delaware a foot
deep.
Reclaim 100000 Acres.
The reservoir will irrigate 100000
acres of land and IL Is estimated by
expert agriculturists that the crops of
a single season will play for the en-
tire investment of the government.
which has been about ss,54O.OOO. Not
only will the great dam save up the
water for the dried fields. but il will
also light the farmers homes, give
them the power for their telephone
lines, run their mills and factories and
also operate lines of railway IL desir-
ed. All of this will be done through
the medium of great power-house
which the Government has erected at
the base of the dam and which will be
used TO convert the waterfall into elec-
tricity.
Is Biggest Ever Attempted.
The completion OF the dam is ex-
pected to result in the influx of thous-
ands of farmers to the valley and this
in turn will create a demand for all
classes of labor. The whole project is
part of the Governments great irri-
cation service, which, as some one has
said, lis making the dry places wet
and the wet places dry" In a most
wonderful way the varying irrigation
projects in Wyoming. Montana. Idaho.
Colorado and other sections OF the
West are rapidly changing the coun-
try from the land OF sagebrush and
cactus to one of prosperous farms and
hourishing towns.
OF all the projects of the kind yet
undertaken by the Government the
Roosevelt dam is the largest in point
OF dimensions. IL is about twenty-five
feet higher than the famous shoshone
dam i'm northwestern Wyoming. which
Is the largest structure OF its kind
completed up to the present time The
natural difficulties presented In the
construction of the Shoshone dam
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