The Clayton news. (Clayton, N.M.) 19??-1954, 1922-02-03
COLORADO RIVER BASIN IN n. NJ.
AN EMPIRE OF 10000 so. MILES

river basin in New Mexico is an en-
pire of 10000 square miles, one /
sixth of the entire area of the state. |
II is marvelously rich in natural re- |
sources, virgin forests vast coal
fields, great deposits of copper. iron,
gold. silver and other precious and |
useful metals and minerals; fertile |
valleys and broad mesas and uplands |
and rivers like the San Juan, the |
Animas the ella and others that
annually pour oceans of water into |
the Colorado river.
This section just now is in The |
public eye. The seven states in the |
! Colorado river basin are joining
hands to promote the fullest devel- |
opment of irrigation and power on
this great river. A commission ofl
one member from each state and
| Herbert Hoover representing the
| United States, is at work to study
the possibilities for power and irri-
cation in every part of the basin
and suggest comprehensive plans
To lay the foundation for the
claims of New Mexico. the state en-
gineer has assembled data on irri-
CATION and power possibilities in the
Colorado river basin in the state
The average annual discharge of the
streams involved is shown by rec
ords of stream measurements taken
over a period of years. The poten-
tial area of lands available for irri-
, cation and the possible capacity of
/ ,ftan ~ IN al hwf
! preliminary Investigations.
The state engineer finds that the
area of the basin in New Mexico is
r 10000 square miles, that interstate
= streams carry into the state an an
? nual flow of 100000 acre feet, and
{, the annual average flow out Of the
4 state is 3,3O0,O00 acre feet indicating
: that 100000 acre feet develop on
the watershed Of the state
The area of suitable land for irri-
gation the state engineer finds is
: t.093, 600 acres. The water supply
I is sufficient to irrigate 100000 ac-
= res, allowing three acre feet of wat
= ar per year. This is in addition Ia
: 5G62S acres already irrigated in the
9 basin.
II Reservoir sites investigated have
p potential capacity OF l,6iS,000 acre
u feet This includes seven sites OF
+ the San Juan and tributaries and one
u each on the Gila and the San Fran
s cisco, but not the Zuni.
= Hydro electric power possibili
ties based on the same figures anC
q also daia Of the geological survey
Il are estimated at i06000 horse power
: But the bare figures Of l,O00,QQl
= acres Of new land under irrigation
aud t06.000 horse power are not i'm.
H. pressive, Just figure a little. Plan
another million acres in alfalfa, ap.
IT, pies and corn and SOW wheat, Oat
and barley; there will be elevators
~ mills, stores, banks, aud long freigh
= trains to move the crops TO market
Turn 100000 horse power of hy
= dro-clectric power into the forest,
a. the coal fields, the mines; busines
i and industry will move at top speed
IL The official crop report of In
- Carlsbad project for 1921 is authen
tic and based on defIated prices
p The average return per acre frOr
T. 40 acres of alfalfa was S25.G3. an
the average return per acre for a
~ crops was Si&2i53 These figure
NJ are not eXtravagant as irrigatio
production goes. Multiply these fie
lip ares by one million and New MeN
leo would begin to look like read
money.
H. But water is a liquid asset. Sha
he New Mexico continue to let 3.3O0,0l
'as acre feet of water slip over the sta
ol line annually to join the hrimmir
Colorado? This water will even
,nl ually irrigale a million acres of lar
a. somnwhere.