The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-07-19
upon geographic conditions. That tn.

in traffic Is essentially geologic is read
lily set forth.
In two distant regions Of the earth
we And considerable inland areas which
lie below the level Of the sea. One OF
these Is the Dead Sea, which receives
and evaporates the drainage of the
watershed of the Jordan, a site bound
up with the history OF one OF the great
empires of the past. The other Is that
depression in the Colorado Desert be-
tween the San Bernardino Mountains
and Yuma to which has been given the
name of the Cahuilla Basin, In the
lowest depression OF which the Salton
Sea has at times made sudden and In
convenient appearance. 1t Is not the
fault Of nature that we are bothered by
a lake which sets itself in the why OF
progress, It is rather that human needs
have assumed possession of land which
has not yet been prepared for occu-
pancy.
This region at the head Of the Gulf Of
California In dealt with by two great
river systems which at the head OF the
area come into united activity. The
lesser Is the ella, which yet drains
mountain country In Arizona. The
greater Is the Colorado, which comes
from the highest ranges OF the Rockies
far to the north. Each stream in Its
upper and more turbulent course Is a
potent agent in carving the rock masses.
in grinding down the surface by erosion
Each stream as 1t nears the sea carries
in suspension enormous masses of silt,
which tends to find a Judgment In pro-
portion as the flow OF the stream is con-
trolled more by the impulse of mass on
the easier gradients than by the veloc-
ity OF descent on the sleeper and closer
contours of the upper course. South
| from Yuma, where the combined rivers
pass through the edge OF the Sonoran
mesa, the lower course OF the Colorado
is as much a delta as Is the Nile or tho
: Mississippi. slightly elevated platform
OF silt material. This material Is as
, rich in agricultural elements as are the
D deltas Just mentioned. After lifetime
OF study devoted to this region Prof
, w. =. Blake In one OF tho papers in
y cluded in this volume writes "All such
r river and lake deposits. both OF the
/ Old World and Of the New. are remark
I able for their fertility and capacity o.
r sustaining large populations; from this
= point OF view the value of the Delta
a OF the Colorado can scarcely be estl-
. mated: II fully justifies the great cos
r Of its reclamation and control Of tbs
., water supply for the benefit OF this anC
Q future generations"
e 1t was upon this region OF operation
n of forces properly TO be classed az geo
n logic that geography essayed to cstab
Il fish itself before the natural equilibrium
r had been reached. For the farm founded
n on the sand comes tho same fate as o
'. the house. when the rains descend an
i the floods come, they fall alike. TIL
"a farms OF tho Imperial Valley wer
v founded on the sand because OF IL
q marvellous fertility when under irriga
"A ton, but founded in ignorance 0
a geology and geography alike.
l. Inaccessible to those who laid on
~ these settlements there were maps whic
J. showed clearly what might be eX
n pected a warning Of what did happier
lie The early Spanish discoverers in map
ping the viccroyalty of Mexico ha
he chertod the mouth Of the Colorado. !
"a Rocque's map of probable date OF l16
Id the river Is Enthusiastically drawn n
m flowing into a large lake without en-
d 10 the Cuff. This map IL preserved
-. the British Museum, n copy in the col
ct lection Of the American Biographies
es Society in this CITY. The volume unde
D. review renders great service in repre-
I'd ducIng the pertinent area of this ma
10 together with tho equally rare char
Of Domingo Castillo U7T0) and Wytfl
ne I59O together with a collation. of I'll
o. exploration records of Father kino.
81 Father Fernando Cosang and OF Fath'
al Pedro Font. whose zeal in mission or
Mt deavor led them into trackless lands.
n Ignorant OF these records OF IN" pas
OF inattentive to the statements or ear
a settlers on the edge Of the desert TIL
IS AT times the Colorado had left its cours
n the eXploltors Of Imperial Valley esta
"a lshed their settlements upon a level
of which they could most readily draw q
he water Of the Colorado through the
no system Of irrigation bitches. thereto
ON below the level OF TIE stream. The fir
a difficulty arose in 1890, for earlier thi
M that year the desert had had no scttl
he ment and the presence Of casual wat
on Inconvenience nobody. In that year G
NJ summer found the water Of the river n
,se ing dry channels and forming mai
c+s small lagoons near the information
IN boundary, and in 1891 this water bro
bis through the slight barriers. flowed In
n the SaltOn Sink and formed a lake Sc
ro- eral miles in length.
ng II WAS but ten years later that I
Imperial Valley settlement was ma
ed and concerning its method we read (
IN following: TT had been deemed adv
ion able by the promoters OF the scheme
nto take the water from the river in Unit
his States territory, and so the upper 81
the ton OF the canal was cut almost para!
of with the river for several miles a
ure with a very low gradient. This circu
stance, together with tho general u
suitability of the site selected for
head works, caused considerable trou
for two or three years. as more and mn
nm water was required 10 fulfil the I
ov. mands of the growing communities
,ne the desert. and 90 various openir
n,t were made between the river and
a,o canal In order to furnish a more a.
tho quate supply"
% Nature had left the barrage IN
Cd most unstable equilibrium; at tho "
OF time when the river was shifting
, q, sand dykes the unconsldered activity
the the new project OF settlement was wo
orl5 ing with the river 70 create situat
OF fatal 70 the Improvement Of the Impe
yea. Valley and one which It has proved
ION. tremely costly to deal with, In
Z a winter of 1904-05 the Colorado had
of OF its infrequent winter floods coincid