The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1916-03-06
THE GREAT BASIN.
Region of Desert, Mineral Development
and Irrigated Gases.

Continental surfaces, as a general rule
are drained by streams flowing TO tn
ocean, but there are some exceptional
areas which have no outward drainage
The Great Basin is such an area. 1t wa
so named by Fremont, who was the frs
to gain an adequate conception of it;
character and extent. 1t lies near tbs
western margin of the continent and ii
surrounded by the headwater divides Of
rivers tributary TO the Pacific ocean.
Roughly, the Great Basin is bounded
by the Rocky mountains on the east
and by the Sierra Nevada on the west
1t extends from Oregon on the north tc
and beyond the Mexican boundary but
is limited by the drainage system OF
Colorado river on the southeast. 1t con-
tains 100000 square miles, an area about
equal to that of France.
The Great Basin is a region of diver
sified surface features, including fiat des-
ert valleys and rugged mountain ranges
with many lofty peaks. 1t is not, as
the name might suggest, a single pam
shaped depression, gathering its water 10
common center, but is divided into a
large number of independent drainage
areas.
Arid plains are abundant in this re-
gion, and some are so extensive that
they appear almost boundless. The cij-
mate of the region is very dry, the aver
age annual rainfall varying from 10 to
II inches in northern Nevada to less than
three inches in the south and southwest
In the spring the barren looking soil
brings forth truly surprising variety
of beautiful and delicate flowers, most
of which disappear entirely as the parch-
ing heat of summer comes on. Timber
or even trees of any kind, are, as rule,
execeedinly scarce. Herds of small wild
horses, or mustangs, roams over some of
the less frequented mountain ranges, but.
like the ubiquitous coyotes, they are shy
and are not likely to be seen from the
train.
Mines of the precious metals are the
principal source of wealth in the Great
Basin, and in connection with their devel-
opment towns have been built in out of.
the-way places, many of them high on
the barren mountain sides and far from
water and food supplies. II
Since the completion of the first trans
continental railroad, in 1859. settlement
of the region and development of it's re-
sources have progressed enormously. Now
several transcontinental railroads cross
1t and numerous branches extend through |
the desert valleys north and south from
the trunk lines; towns and mining camps |
have sprung up along these highways, |
and almost every irrigable land has been
by settlers. Herds of cat.
tie and sheep find sustenance on the
and in the sagebrush |
valleys that were once thought to be too
barren ever to become of service to man.
the eastern border of the
Great Basin, in Idaho and Utah, the fol.
lowers of the Mormon faith have found
a promised land" which, by great indus
try, they have reclaimed from its print
live desolation and made the home Of h
thousands.
Some of the most productive gold and
silver mines in the world have teen de-
Feloped in this inhospitable region But
wen with all this advancement the Great
Basin is still very sparsely settled |
overland guidebook, L. S. G. S. 4,