Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1921-12-09

Sahara-Like Sand Dunes OF
prepared by the National Geographic So
ciety. Washington. ID. c.
The Grand Canyon of the Colorado
with Its stupendous scenic effects, its
beauty and its grandeur, is little cal
culated to raise practical thoughts in
the minds of most of its beholders.
But anyone with touch of the en-
gineer In his makeup who gazes into
this great chasm must marvel at the
tremendous energy that has been ex-
erted by running water in carving its
way more than mile In depth through
rocks of various degrees of hardness.
And into his mind, as his eye gauges
the vast canyon, Is sure to come the
question: What has become of the
billions Of cubic yards of material
that once filled this enormous pit?
The lower Colorado country-a region
Of fascination despite its deserts and
marshes, its mud volcanoes and shift
Ing sand-dunes-is the answer; for it
is truly the creature of the river,
built from the countless tiny grains of
sand and silt that it's waters have
brought down through the centuries.
The mouth Of the Colorado is one
Of the least-known regions of North
America. Only go miles to the north
Yuma has existed for the better part
Of century, and through it passes
one of the principal transcontinental
railroads of the United States; while
little more than a hundred miles to
the west lies the rich valley Of south
ern California and the coast cities
with teeming populations.
lite Mouth 10 In Mexico. ~
There are physical difficulties in.
reaching the mouth Of the Colorado
but the chief impeachment Is an mag
mary line-the Mexican border. For
while the Colorado is essentially
river of the United States, and
traverses its soil for some nineteen
twentieths of its length, for the last
rs miles before 1t reaches the sea its
banks are formed by Mexican terri
tory. And to add to the isolation the
sea which the Colorado. reaches is the
long narrow Gulf Of California, whose
northern end, into which the Colo
RADIO pours, Is bounded by desert
sands and rocky, largely barren noun
tains. For 200 miles or. more below
the mouth of the Colorado, the shores
of the gulf form "a desolate, region. al
most the only permanent Inhabitants
of which are half-civilized Indians.
The Colorado may be compared In
one way to the Nile, since for hun
dreds of miles both flow through des-
ert regions practically without tribu-
taries. hbove f1nna before reciama-
ton work was undertaken, the sud
denness with which, one travelling in
the desert would stumble upon the
river at almost any point along It's
course was a continuous source OF
wonder.
One of the striking, features of the
lower Colorado country Us justzncrth-
west of the river, opposite Yuma,
where is to be found one of Americas
closest approachessfoward duplicating
the Sahara. This stretch ofSeountry
is given over to tunes buitSof wind
swept sands brought down by the
river and washed by the rare torren-
tial rains from the adjacent hills. A
series Of long, sinuous ridges with
sharp crests. constantly travelling back
nild forth, as the wind shifts their
thy nd Ks this dazzling waste Of sand
III
haze dlk he satfhosphere of the Sa-
only has the Colorado created
deserts; 1t has made what may be
considered their opposites, marshes,
as well. Below Yuma, where the
rivera emerses from the rough. coun-
TRY, the Colorado delta stretches away
to the sea. almost entirely In Mexico.
The stream does not flow in one chan
mel on this last lap of its journey, but
divides into numerous branches and
spreads oyer wide, nearly level area.
ESPECIALLY Sim flood season. Between
the streamlets are extensive marshes
grown up In cat-tails, with willows
lining the channels Halfway to the
sea the many streams meet in lake
which serves as. a settling basin
There theh. is being deposited much
of the solid material now washed
from the upper Colorado; and while
the strqahs hich enter the lake are
dark and mu| ", those wAIchRfQw dyi
are almost clQAr.
Queer Mud Volcanoes.
On the edge Of this lake are numer
Gus mud volcanoes. small mounds
\ rom a tfstnhce' iflxs
roughly conieal shocks of hay. From
their craters boils soft. scalding ho