The Arizona sentinel. [volume] (Arizona City [Yuma], Yuma County, A.T. [Ariz.]) 1872-1911, 1911-02-23
POSSIBILITIES OF YUMA
REGION UHFATHOHED
The Soil Simply Marvellous in its
frGGuGtiVanGSS
And the Climate is intOXiCatingly
Sa!gbriOuS
BY GEOFGE n. RU RrCN.
In Los Angeles Times.

IL is very far from q Semi-nillenium since
three little open boats under the flag of Spain
irst touched the waters of the western hemi-
sphere and revealed the new world to the
ewes OF Europeans. il is only a little over
cartnrv since the United States OF America
sgrang, 80 to speak like Pallas Athere from
Tie brain OF dove a completely armed ad-
dition TO the family OF nations. 1t is but
little yer half n century since California be-
came a part of these United States of America,
and less than a generation since the settle
ment OF the Great South west began.
In all the I25 years since the Republic was
founded, also in the half century since CALI
fornia became one OF the States OF the Union.
and during every year OF the last thirty, a re-
alization olthe vast riches of the American
continent, OF the territory OF the United
States and of this Great Southwest has been
idore and more astonishing to the minds OF
men, One would suppose that by today we
knew pretty thoroughly what the undevelop-
ed 7. sources of the Great Southwest might
reasonably he expected to become. We have
not reached the depths of this great ocean OF
wealth with our plummet line yet.
la 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
Los Angeles he naturally had a little con-
ceit that he was pretty well acquainted with
the Great Southwest. Last week a trip TO the
Colorado River bottoms peiow Yuma made
HIM feel rs a tenderfoot who had come in on
the last train. New to him, this wonderful
region and its possibilities are pretty well
To 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 Laguna dam, at the confluence of the
ella and Colorado Rivers. 1t is twelve miles
from Yuma down the river to the Mexican
5oundry line OH tie Arizona side of the river
AT one point just below Yuma, the interna-
tional bOundry line runs up along the river
which there takes a westerly trend and from
YUM. 10 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 frcduent and came down in
| torrcntiaI 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. The Colora
| do sink was at that time 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
pilates. times and dIsintergrated GRANTEES, az
well as the vegetation along Its banks; anC
this WIS all deposited in what are now thu
! sinks of the Colorado.
| As the mountain tops were worn down, TIT
rains became less frequent and less in volum
bat the erosion of rocks and river banks, TIT
trees and vegetable mould torn from tn
banks still came down and settled into thu
bottom of the great inland lake. This geogica
process went en- from age to age to our time
leaving the Colorado at Yuma a stream a b0u
half a mile wide and being at the presen
time about twenty feet deep ia the. deepes
portion.
1t is not necessary to remind Californian
that the Spanish missionaries and explorer
called this river the Colorado because of tn
reddish color of its waters. IT is the Coiorad
up in the Grand Canyon in Arizona an
down past The Needles. But at this time c
the year, after passing the mouth Of the Gilf
instead of the RED river it becoIaes the brow
river. 1t actually looks today as if ten pc
cent of its flow was silt and only ninety pc
cent water.