Mohave County miner. [volume] (Mineral Park, A.T. [Ariz.]) 1882-1918, 1911-12-09

square miles. In the Rocky Mountain
region it flows through country COW
cred by eternal SHOWS and waters some
of the most fertile and valuable agri-
cultural lands in the world in western
Colorado, northwestern New Me xico.
and eastern Utah. II traverses the
famous Grand Canyon of the Colorado
in the northern part of Arizona and
finally passes over the broad, fiat
plains above the head of the Gulf of
California. In this lower-moS portion
the river strongly resemb mbles the Nile,
having annual floods which distribute
silt over the adjoining lands and rem
der them as fertile as those in the his
toric valley of North Africa. The Col
orado and its tributaries have other
values than UnaJ of irrigation, for, de-
scending in steep channels, they pre-
sent abundant opportunities for th. de-
has been deve,oped at few points,
but the resources of the Colorado basin
are in this respect yet practically IN
touched.
In basin so literally provided with
natural resources it Is a fundamental
necessity, in planning for the utilIza-
tion of the river, to ascertain the
amount of water available in the main
stream and its principal tributaries,
so that future developments, as well as
those now under construction, can be
suitably designed in type and capacity.
For a long period of years the Uuited
States Geological Survey has been
making observations and measure
ments at many important points in the
Colorado basin, and the latest publish.
ed information on the subject is con.
tanned in Water-Supply Paper 269 of
the Survey, which is a progress report
basin for the year 1909. In this report
are recorded observations at l79 sta
tiOns, .vering Grand River and trib-
utaries in Colorado; Green River and
tributaries in Utah, Colorado, and
Wyoming; the San Juan basin in
northwestern New Mexico: the Little
Colorado River basin in the ella River
basin in Arizona; and finally the dis
charge near the mouth of the main
stream at Yuma. Ariz- These records
are not only of local value for guiding
economic development, but they have
an international significance in connec-
Jion with the difficulties that have
been encountered IN the control of the
Colorado near its mouth in Mexican
territory. The escape of the river
from its regular channel and its diver
sion inIo the SalIon Sea are matters of
recent history, and the consequences of
a diversion of this kind, which promis-
ed to inundate some of the most fertile
country in southern California, have
been discussed in the public press.
The control Of the Colorado for the
prevention of further outbreaks must
involve thorough knowledge of the
tributary 6ow, even in the high re-
gions of its headwaters, in Colorado,
and the ultimate steps taken to pre-
vent disastrous inundation will in all
probability involve the control of these
upland tributaries.
The size of the Colorado River is in
dicated by its total discharge in the
year 1909, which was 26OOO.OOO acre
feet, OF enough water TO cover that
number of acres to a depth of foot.
Such an amount of water, if poured up
on Manhattan Borough of the City of
New York and confined by retaining
walls, would bury the city 1857 feet
deep, or it would make a lake 66 feet
deep over the State of Delaware.
a copy of Water Supply Paper 269
may be obtained on application to the
Director of the Geological Survey, at
Washington, d. c.