4 SUGGESTIONS TO SETTLERS IN COLUMBIA RIVER VALLEY. 



others along the Snake River, to which it also applies. Irrigation 

 projects are now under way here that when completed will furnish 

 water for considerably over 100,000 acres of land. With the excep- 

 tion of the Umatilla Project, all of this land is being watered by 

 private enterprise. While some of the land to be irrigated is com- 

 paratively level, the most of it is gently rolling. The elevation 

 above sea level varies from 200 to 600 feet. 



The surface soil varies in depth from a few inches to several feet. 

 It is largely formed from rather coarse material laid down in a lake 

 that once occupied portions of northern Oregon and southern Wash- 

 ington. Since the disappearance of the lake the surface soil has been 

 ffreatlv modified bv the action of the wind and the river. Consider- 

 able fine material has been blown and washed in from the surround- 

 ing higher levels. The surface soil, therefore, is a mixture of sand 

 and fine material. In some places the fine material predominates, 

 while in others the coarse sand forms the greater part of the surface 

 soil. 



The subsoil is not uniform. It generally consists of a mixture of 

 coarse, dark sand and smooth gravel. Frequently the gravel is 

 cemented together. In some localities where the gravel is absent 

 the coarse dark sand is 20 or more feet deep. In other places the 

 subsoil consists of alternate layers of sand and gravel. 



CLIMATE OF THE REGION. 



The low lands of the Columbia River Valley have an arid, tem- 

 perate climate. The normal annual precipitation for the town of 

 Umatilla, Oreg., is 8.59 inches, while that for Kennewdck, Wash., is 

 approximately 6 inches. Practically all of the rain falls during late 

 autumn, winter, and early spring. Throughout much of the summer 

 the temperature is high, but owing to the dryness of the atmosphere 

 the heat is seldom oppressive. The nights, however, are compara- 

 tively cool. The winters are mild, although the mercury occasionally 

 goes below zero. From the first of March until the last of June is 

 considered the windy season. The prevailing winds are from the 

 west and southwest. The velocity of the wind is often sufficient to 

 cause sandy soils to drift when bare and unprotected. There is very 

 little high wind from the first of July until the last of February. 



The growing season in the Columbia River Valley is long, this being 

 the earliest district in the Pacific Northwest. A careful study of the 

 reports of the United States Weather Bureau shows that all of eastern 

 Oregon and eastern Washington is subject to killing frosts during the 

 month of April. These frosts occur with remarkable regularity along 

 the Columbia River. The tender varieties of fruit are often more 

 severely injured at low altitudes along the Snake and Columbia rivers 

 than in localities with higher altitudes. This is due partly to poor air 



[Cir. GO] 



