Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1921-10-07

with tho Green river in southeastern Utah. The
Grand and Green rivers together make the Colo
RADIO river.
The Grand is 42a miles long from its source to
its junction with the Green. Eighty miles of this
streams length is in Utah. The Green rises just
south of Yellowstone National park in northwest
ern Wyoming and is 700 miles long to its junction
with the Grand The Colorado from Utah to the
Gulf of California, is 1000 miles long.
Though the Green is nearly twice as long as
the Grand the Grand carries the greater volume
OF water Moreover the Green runs 50 miles
through the northwestern corner of Colorado and
receives much of it's volume from Colorado It is
therefore, cOntended by Colorado that the Grand
is the real upper Colorado and that the Green Is
a tributary.
1t is the people of Colorado who are behind the
Joint resolution for the change of name. With
them it appears to be matter of deep sentiment
Representative E. T. Taylor of Colorado, speaking
to the joint resolution, said:
''Mr. Speaker for the past 30 years my home
las been and is in the beautiful little city
tf Glenwood Springs Colo, the banks of what
las heretofore been called the Grand river, the
principal tributary and, in fact, the main stream
Of the Colorado river, and during all those years
/ nave always hoped and believed that sometime
the state pride of the sons and daughters of our
beloved commonwealth would bring about the
change of the name of that stream to its rightful
name as the source and principal part of that
wonderful river, and permit our citizens to fondly
and proudly welcome the greatest river in our
state as our great states stream under the name
that is dearest to every Coloradan heart. And
with the passage of this resolution that hope of
many years. not only of my own, but thousands OF
other Coloradans, will be contaminated"
At it's last session the Colorado legislature
passed a bill officially changing the name of the
Grand from Grand to Colorado, within the state
boundaries A bill was introduced in the Utah
legislature at the last session to change the name
Of the Grand from Grand to Colorado within the
boundaries of Utah. The Utah legislature did not
act on the bill and will not meet again for two
years
In the meantime inasmuch as the Colorado
is an interstate and international stream and is
classed as navgable, it has been decided that the
change in name should be brought about by act
of congress rather than by action of the states.
Moreover the Colorado bulks large in the public
eve just now lis a national river Of tremendous
Importance Already water power and irrigation
projects of great importance-the Imperial valley
in California, for eXample-mark the course OF
the river. Projects under discussion are appar-
emily of still greater impOrtance-the proposed
Boulder dam across the Colorado just below the
Grand canyon, for instance This project may be
undertaken by the federal government It would
be the most spectacular work of it's kind in the
world and would cost anywhere between forty and
seventy-fve millions.
The Colorado is mighty river beyond doubt.
Many rivers unite to form it. The principal
branches of the Green are the Uinta, Price. Yam
pa and White; of the Grand, the Eagle Roaring
Fork Gunnison and Dolores; of the Colorado, the
Fremont, Escalante Para, Kanab and Virgin on
the right and the San Juan, Little Colorado, Bill
Williams and ella on the left The Grand canyon
is on the main river in Arizona and extends from
the mouth of the Little Colorado to the Grand
Wash The Grand Canyon National park encloses
PIT miles of the river, which in places is 5000
feet below the rim of the canyon. The lower
Colorado runs through low desert country At
Yuma on the Mexican line, is an immense irriga-
tion project which consists of diversion dam
nearly mile long, 400 miles of canals and ~
miles of bikes and cost about $5OOO,OOO The
water is carried to Arizona lands by thousand
foot tunnel, which passes under the river.
Below Yuma the river, when in flood, mandates
large areas lying below level. In 1905 the
floods enlarged the 50foot intake of the Imperial
valley (California) irrigation canal in Mexican
territory to 1900 feet. 1t poured all its waters
through this break and its regular channel to the
Gulf of California went dry. This break was not
successfully closed until 1906-07. Floods again
threatened to drown out the Imperial valley and
in 19O9-10 congressional appropriation of $1,000
600 was applied to the construction of levees and
dikes The waters of the Colorado here run in
n huge aqueduct which the river has built up for
itself from silt. This aqueduct cut the part to
the north off from the Gulf of California. Evapo-
ration has left only the Salton sea, which is salt
and below sea level.