Mohave County miner., 1912-09-07
The American Nile.


 United States. The basin drained by the Colorado and its tributaries is about 300, ,00O square miles in area and much of it is of high industrial and scenic interest.
 The Colorado basin comprises two distinct portions. The lower third is but little above the level of the sea, though here and there in it ranges of mountains rise to elevations of 2,O0O to 5000 feet. This part of the valley is bounded on the north by line of cliffs which present bold and in many places vertical step of hundreds or thousands of feet to the table-land above. The upper two-thirds of the basin stands from 4,0O0 to 5000 feet above sea level and is bordered on the east, west, and north by ranges of snow.clad mountains, which attain attitudes ranging from 5000 to H.. 900. Through this plateau the Colo rado and it's tributaries have cut nar- row gorges or canyons in which they flow at almost inaccessible depths. At points where lateral streams enter, the canyons are broken by narrow transverse valleys. The whole upper basin of the Colorado is traversed by labyrinth of these canyons. many of which are dry during the greater DOT. tion of the year and carry water only during the melting of the snow and the brief periods of the autumnal ana spring rains.
 In the lower portion the river strongly resembles the Nile, having floods which distribute silt over the adjoining lards and render them as fertile as those in the historic valley of North Africa. The Colorado and it's tributaries are not only of value for irrigation, but, descending in steep channels, they present abundant op- portunities for the development of water power. Power has been de- veloped at few points, but the re. sources of the Colorado basin are in this respect yet practically untouched.
 In basin oo liberally 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 ca pacity. For long period of years the United States Geological Suruey has been making observations and measure. ments at many important points in the Colorado basin, and the latest pub lished information on the subject is contained ln Water-Supply Paper 2S9 of the Survey, by Engineers w. B. Freeman, E. c. La Rue, and H. D. Padgett. which is a progress report of river-how measurements in this basin for the year 1910. Gaging stations were maintained at large number of
 
 and tributaries in Colorado; Green River and tributaries in Utah. Colo rado, and Wyoming; the San Juan basin in northwestern New Mexico: the Little Colorado River Basin Tn Arizona; and finally the discharge near the mouth of the main stream at Yuma, Ariz. These records are not only of local value for guiding eco. homie development, but they have an international significance in connec- tion with the difficulties that have been encountered in the control of the Colorado near it's mouth in Mexican territory.
 The control of the Colorado for the prevention of further outbreaks such as it's recent diversion into the Salton Sea must involve thorough knowledge of the tributary flow, even in the high regions of it's 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 Colorado River in in- .dicated by it's discharge at Yuma in the year 1910. The heaviest discharge was in May, 7o,3OO cubic feet second; the smallest discharge was in October, 4,3O0 cubic feet second. The aver-
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