The Red Cloud chief., 1921-03-31


river.
Below Yuma the river, when I'm flood mandates
large areas lying below level. In 1903 the
floods enlarged the 5Ofoot intake OF the Imperial
valley irrigation canal In Mexican territory 10
1900 feet 1t poured all its waters through this
break and It's yeguar channel TO the Gulf OF
California went dry This break not sue
cessfuy closed until l9O6O7 Floods again
threatened to drown out the Imperial valley ana
In 1U9-1O congressional appropriation OF 81
100000 was applied to the construction Of levees
and dikes. Most Of the Imperial valley Is below
sea level and was formerly "A part of the Gulf
OF California. The Colorado built itself an aque-
duct from its silt and cut Off the part to the
north. Evaporation did the rest
1t Is thus evident that much depends upon the
vagaries of the mighty, restless river. year
ago congress provided funds for n study OF
Il project to control 1t. Arthur L. Davis, director
Of the reclamation service, department of the in
terror, has just returned from a trip along the
lower river. Here are some Of the things he
has to say regarding the Boulder dam project:
"For years have measured the water that
flows down the Colorado. We know approximately
how much of IL there Is to stop. Our first task,
therefore, is to find dam site back of which
there are storage valleys large enough to hold all
the flood waters that may come. The Grand canon
and Needles the Santa Fee are about $50 miles
apart Along the river between them is chaos
of mountains and canonS, almost unlnhabited
Two-thrds of the way down from the canon is
the selected dam site in Boulder canon
Canon Narrow Here.
1.-THE cash that is mere cut through the rock
cliffs Is but 800 feet wide ut the base and 100 feet
wide where the top of the dam would come. Thus
the canon is no wider than that which was closed
by the Roosevelt dam in Arizona, but the struc
ture must be nearly twice as high. This addl
tional height makes 1t an ncomparably more
difficult task. 1t is more difficult, Also because
it must be put in the bed of Il much greater
stream. That stream must be diverted and its bed
made dry for the work. During the spring months
the river Is at flood and is too powerful 10 be
dealt with Then comes eight months OF COM
paratively low water.
at will be necessary to blast out tunnels around
the dam site that will carry the normal flow of
the river. Then some spring, the waters will he
diverted into these tunnels. Between the time
of that diversion and the coming of high waters
, the following spring the river bed will have to
be scrnped to bedrock probably hundred feet
below the present waterlne, and that bedrock
will have TO be built up with concrete thus max
ing the proper foundation for the great structure.
1t will be race against time.
"rhe water will back up the Colorado nearly
n hundred miles. 1t will find its level In many
canons leading Off to one side and the other
The Virgin river flows iE.O the Colorado from the
Nevada side above this dam site. This river opens
out I'm a wide valley. II will furnish the principal
storage basin Of the project Two desert villages
in Nevada will be inundated. Between them they
represent but dozen homes.
'The relief to be afforded, is 300 miles away
on the lower reaches Of the stream. Near the
border of Arizona California and Mexico there
are extensive areas of desert land which. with
water for irrigation, may be transformed to wha
are probably the most productive farms in thu
United States. In the Colorado desert, In Cal
iforna 100000 acres of this land, below sea level
has already been privately reclaimed and is oc
cupied There are other lesser valleys along tn,
lower river on either side
SAN these projects are interfered with by thu
fact that the Colorado is given to huge floods II
the spring, but runs quite low at other seasons
II furnishes either not enough water or too much
While the desert Is parched all about great floods
run into the sea unused