The weekly chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Craig County, Okla.) 1905-1913, 1911-03-24


four o'clock this afternoon. Many
citizens accompanied the party.
Phoenix, Ariz, Mar. 18.-The Roose-
welt dam reclamation project, which
is scheduled to be officially opened by
Colonel Roosevelt today, is situated a
half mile below the confluence of
Tonic creek and upper Salt river, at
the head of a canyon through which
Salt river flows for many miles. 1t is
the most imposing feature of the Salt
river project, the first one under
taken by the United States reclamation
service under the provisions of the
reclamation act, approved by Presi-
dent Roosevelt June II, 1902, and after
whom the town at the dam site is nam
ed. 1t is rs miles east of Phoenix
which is situated in the center of a
valley of which 5000 acres is sign
ed to the Salt River Valley Water
Users Association. This corporation
represents the farmers in their dealing
with the government, guaranteeing
payment of the construction cost of
the project.
| The dam creates reservoir extend
ing twelve miles up Tonto creek and
thirteen miles up Salt river nearly to
what is known as the intake dam, 400
feet long. The capacity of the reser-
voir is 1,284,205 acre-feet, the largest
artificial lake in the world. Though
the dam is not the largest in the
world, it is among the largest. The
foundation rests on bed rock 40 feet
below river level 1t is 235 feet long,
between canyon walls, and 10 feet
wide. From the river level to the
crest of the spillways at either end
of the dam, the height is 220 feet, that
being the greatest depth of storage
possible. The spillways are bridged
and over the bridges and the top of
the dam runs the only highway in that
region connecting the mountain coun-
try on the north and the south sides
of Salt river. This roadway is 20 feet
above the highest storage an da cop
ing 4 feet high protects the roadway.
From the bottom of the foundation to
the top stone of the coping is 2S4 feet.
The dam is curved, arching up
stream and at the top is $50 feet long
and 16 feet wide The spillways at
either end are 200 feet wide, so the
length, inclusive of the bridges over
the spillways, is 1880 feet The spill
ways are blasted from the mountain
sides
The dam contains 229, 400 cubic
yards of masonry, every stone of which
was washed before it was permanently
cemented in place In the construc-
tion of the dam and auxiliary works
9SS, ASP barrels of cement were used,
all manufactured on the ground at a
cost of $1,O63542, in a cement mill
erected by the government and re
Gently sold. The cost was 1914 per
barrel as against $4.S9 per barrel, the
best private bid available when oper-
| ations began The manufacture of
/ cement on the ground effected a say
ing of $5S2,3O0.
The first stone was laid in the found
alton September 20, 1906. The last
stone was laid on the coping 2S4 feet
above, February G. 1911. The upper
face of the dam is almost perpendi-
cular. The lower face retreats like
the pyramids in huge stone steps from
the width of 10 feet in the foundation,
to 16 feet at the top.
No less interesting are auxiliary and
correlated works, such as the cement
mill, the hydro-electric plants for gen
, Grating 5000 horsepower, and what is
, termed the power canal, built to oper-
J ate the first unit of the electric plant
creating power for dam construction.
, Skirting the north end of the dam,
almost under the spillway and driven
through the solid rock is tunnel No. 2,
1l5 feet above the river bed It's sole
mission is to release irrigation water
when the reservoir shall contain it
above that elevation, and when it is
desired to release a greater quantity
than will come through the penstock.
supplying the power house.
The third exit for flood water, one
that is most necessary but will be
least used, and the largest of all, is
known as the sluicing tunnel, or tun-
mel No. l. 1t was driven through the