The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1912-09-05
COLORADO CALLED
AMERICAN NILE

For some 1000 miles the great Oolo- @
rado river sweeps disgonahy ,,o;s setoss
the country from the hign 1louiea.il ~
plateau of Wyoming and Oolorauo ~ y
the farthest southwest corner Oh the
United States. The basin arslneu "
the Colorado and its tributaries Is
about 300, 600 square miles IN area;
and much Of it is Of high ihuuslriai
and scenic interest.
The Colorado basin comprises TWO
distinct portions. The lower thiiu is
hut little above the level OF the sea:
though here and there in 1t ranges i OF
mountains rise to elevations OF z,VOU
to 5000 feet. This part OF the valley
is bounded on the north By line OF
cliffs which present bold ana IN many
places vertical step Of hundreds or
thousands of feet to the laOieIsnu al
above. The upper twO-thirdss OF the
basin stands from 1900 to S,0OO teet
above sea level end is bordered on the
east, west, and north by ranges OF
snow-elad mountains, when attain
attitudes ranging from s,OOO TO IA VOO
feet. through this plateau the Oolo-
RADIO and its Tributaries have cut mar
row gorges or canyons ~ when tney
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
a labyrinth of these canyons, many OF
which are dry during the greater por-
ton of the year and carry water only
during the melting Of the snow and
the brief periods of the autumnal and
spring rains.
I'm the lower portion the river
strongly resembles the Nile, having
annual floods which distribute silt over
the adjoining lands and render them as
fertile as those in the historic valley
of North Africa. The Colorado and
its tributaries are not only of value
for irrigation, but, descending in steep
channels, they present abundant OPP
portunities for the development of
water power. Power has been devel-
oped at a few points, but the resources
of the Colorado basin are in this re-
spect yet practically untouched.
In basin so liberay provided with
natural resources il is fundamental
necessity, in planning for the utiliza-
tlon 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 United
States Geological Survey 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 in Water-Supply are 2S9 OF
the Survey, by Engineers W. b. Free
man, Il. e. La Rue, and II. ID. Padgett,
which IS a progress report of river
How measurements in this basin for
the year 1910. Gaging stations were
at large number of river
points, covering Grand river and tribu-
taries in Colorado; Green river and
tributaries in Utah. Colorado and Wy
Oming; the San Juan basin in north
western New Mexico the Little Colo
rado river basin in Arizona; and final
Iy the discharge 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 connection with the difficulties that
nave been encountered in the control
OF the Colorado near its mouth IN
Mexican territory.
The control the Colorado for the
prevention of further outbreaks such
as its recent diversion into the Saltor
Sea must involve thorough knowledge
of the tributary flow, even in the higf
regions of its headwaters, in Colorado
and the ultimate steps taken to pre-
vent disastrous inundation will in al
probability involve the control of thes'
upland tributaries.
The size of the Colorado river is indi
Gated by its discharge at Yuma in tn
year 1910. The heaviest discharge wa
in May. 20, 300 cubic feet second; tn
smallest discharge was in October
1900 cubic feet a second. The aver
age discharge for the year was 1871
cubic feet a second. The total run-o
for the year was Ia, 800. GOO acre-fee
which would make lake a miliC
| acres in extent and Ia feet in dent