The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1923-01-04
FOUR RESERVOIR
SITES FEASIBLE
Report on Irrigation Possibilities
of Martin Creek and Little
Humboldt Holds Encourag-
ment for Projects
(Continued from Page onel

10 WcH ouitcu " INV cdith YAM
and there is no probability of seri-
Gus leakage. The acreage to be re-
claimed is not estimated. No. l
reservoir is the only one that has
been surveyed.
No. 2 reservoir site on the Little
Humboldt has not yet been sur
veyed, but is declared to be salts
factory for the reservoir contem-
plated.
No. 3, known as the Old Mill
Damsite, requires further investiga-
ton, but probably is entirely FEAST
BILE.
The full geological report on
reservoir sites for storage of flood
waters in Paradise Valley is as
follows:
By Kirk Bryan
Geologist in the U. S. Geological
Survey.
While engaged in investigation of
artesian water in cooperation with
the Humboldt county (Nevada)
Farm Bureau, the writer was re-
quested by Mr.. Joseph Wilson,
county farm bureau agent, to in
vestigate the geological conditions
at proposed dam sites on Martin
Creek and Little Humboldt river.
On August 81, 1922, with Mr.. F.
B. Stewart and Mr.. Hugh Brad
shaw, he visited the Martin Creek
dam site and with Mr.. H. C. Stock
and Mr.. Bradshaw he visited the
sites on the Little Humboldt river.
The streams, mountains, valleys, and
the positions of the dam sites inves-
tigated are shown on the geological
map, plate |. They are, however,
precise enough for the purpose. The
information given herewith regard
ing engineering details of the pro-
posed sites is drawn from data COM
piled under the direction of the
state engineer of Nevada.
Martin. Creek Dam Site
The Creek
Martin Creek drains the southeast
flank of Buckskin mountain, one
of the conspicuous peaks of the
Santa Rosa range. 1t flows in an
open valley south and southeast for
about 8 miles to a construction or
gorge called Transferable in sec.
36, T. "A NJ, R. 40 E., and sec. 81,
T. al N, R. Al E. Then it
swings in curve through more
open country and on a southwest
erly course passes through a gorge
in the northwest corner of T. AZ NJ,
R. Al E. and the northeast corner
of 7. AZ NJ, R. 40 E. into the open
plains of Paradise Valley. In this
lower gorge is the dam site to be
| described
A dam 124 feet high in this gorge
will create a reservoir having an
area of 1853 acres, and capacity
of $500 acre-feet. The loss from
evaporation will be 800 acre-feet.
The area of the basin above the
dam is $4,000 acres of which A.
900 has an elevation of 5000 feet
or more. The dependable water
supply" is thought to be $4,000
acre-feet. (The measured supply
in 1922 was actually 28,400 acre
feet.)
The Lower Gorge has been cut
in series of thick lava flows that
in this locality have a slight tilt
to the northeast. Farther west, in
the vicinity of Indian Creek, the
same flows are sharply tilted to
the east. On the east side of
Paradise Valley they are also much
disturbed. The gorge of Martin
Creek is steep sided and marrow
near the creek level and more open
and fiaring above. A sketch cross
section that shows these relations is
presented in Fig. 1. The upper or
more flaring part of the gorge is
separated from the lower part by a
distinct shoulder or bench on which
patches of coarse and more or less
rounded gravel are found. This
shoulder in the slopes of the valley
is from 1875 to $50 feet above
creek level and extends into tribu-
taries of the main stream. 1t exists
more or less irrespective of hard
ness of rock, and indicates that the
stream first eroded a relatively
open valley and later, perhaps be-
cause of renewed uplift of the
mountains, cut new very steep
sided canyon in the older valley.
The lower gorge forms part of
this inner canyon. Its narrowness
and vertical walls are due to the
presence of a massive sheet of
lava. The lava sheet exceeds 200
feet in thickness, and dips gently
upstream. 1t forms cliffs at the
lower end of the gorge, as may be
seen in Fig. 2. The base of the
sheet goes below stream grade at
the lower end of the gorge and
upper surface at the head of the
gorge. Any dam built in the lower
gorge of Martin Creek will, there
fore, be built in this bed of lava.
The lava bed is composed of a
crytocrystalline almost CLASSY mat
lrix in which are imbedded frag-
ments of lava of all sizes. 1t is,
therefore, what is called flow
breccia, rock poured out from