BOOKS AND CURRENT LITERATURE 



The Salton Sea: Geography and Geology. — Monographs such as 

 The Salton Sea 1 are typical of the spirit of cooperation which is a 

 dominant tendency of modern science. Dr. MacDougal has associated 

 with himself no less than nine collaborators, each of whom deals with 

 a distinct subject, but all of whom cooperate to give a comprehensive 

 picture of a unique region. It is fortunate for science that when the 

 Colorado River last overstepped its bounds and made a new lake, the 

 Desert Laboratory of the Carnegie Institution was ready to investigate 

 the complex and important changes, both geographical and botanical, 

 which have since ensued. 



In its geographical and geological portions the book centers around 

 three main points, namely, the nature of the Cahuilla Basin, its unique 

 departures from the typical features of a desert basin, and the rela- 

 tion of low forms of life to the production of tufa. The opening chap- 

 ter is most fittingly allotted to Professor W. P. Blake, the first scien- 

 tist to describe the region. The ancient lake which once occupied the 

 Salton Sink and rose to about 40 feet above sea level before overflow- 

 ing to the Gulf of California has been named Blake Sea in his honor. 

 He discusses its geological history. The Cahuilla Basin in which it 

 is located is a structural trough, the continuation of the Gulf of Cali- 

 fornia. According to Professor Blake's view, which has hitherto pre- 

 vailed almost unchallenged, the upper end of the trough, forming the 

 part now known as the Salton Sink, was a part of the Gulf until recent 

 geological times. Then it was gradually cut off by the growth of the 

 delta of the Colorado River. Above the delta the isolated end of the 

 Gulf formed a salt lake which eventually dried up and disappeared. 

 From time to time, however, a diversion of the Colorado River, such 

 as occurred in 1905, produced a temporary body of fresh water. 

 According to this interpretation the Salton region possesses few of the 

 characteristics of a genuine desert basin. 



The next contributor, Mr. Sykes, accepts Professor Blake's view. 



1 The Salton Sea: A Study of the Geography, the Geology, the Floristics, and 

 the Ecology of a Desert Basin. 4to, pp. xi + 182, pis. 32, maps 2. Carnegie 

 Inst. Washn. Publ. 193. 1914. 



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