192 ANNUAL EEPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1910. 



Fodder, corn, cane, and milo maize produce good crops. Stock rais- 

 ing is profitable, owing to the extensive range lands on the east and 

 <vest. 



New Mexico, Hondo project. — A reservoir has been built for the 

 storage of the flood waters from the Hondo River, a tributary of the 

 Pecos, to irrigate 10,000 acres of land in Chaves County near Ros- 

 well. The general elevation is 3,750 feet above sea level. The soil 

 requires about 24 acre-feet of water per annum. Alfalfa, corn, fruits, 

 and vegetables produce abundantly when properly watered. 



New Mexico-Texas, Rio Grande project. — This international proj- 

 ect includes the reclamation of 185,000 acres of land, 115,000 of 

 which are in New Mexico, 45,000 in Texas, and 25,000 in Mexico, 

 which are provided for by the treaty proclaimed January 16, 1907. 



The Leasburg Dam (pi. 8, fig. 2) for the first unit of the Rio 

 Grande project is completed, diverting water for 25,000 acres in 

 Mesilla Valley. It is of concrete, 600 feet long, with sluice and head 

 gates. From the diversion dam 6 miles of canal were constructed 

 to connect with the old Las Cruces Canal. 



The Engle Dam, which is planned to be constructed across the Rio 

 Grande, opposite Engle, will be rubble concrete gravity type, 265 feet 

 high, 1,480 feet long on top, and will create a reservoir 190 feet deep 

 at its lower end and 45 miles long with a storage capacity of 2,538,000 

 acre-feet. "Work is being prosecuted rapidly. 



The general elevation is 3,700 feet above sea level, and the tempera- 

 ture ranges from zero to 100° above. The average annual rainfall on 

 the irrigable area is 9.5 inches. The soil requires about 2^ acre-feet 

 of water per acre per annum. It produces abundant crops when suffi- 

 cient water is applied, the principal products being alfalfa, corn, 

 fruit, vegetables, and melons. 



The watershed area is 37,000 square miles and the estimated 

 annual run-off is 860,000 acre-feet. 



North Dakota pumping projects. — On account of the slight fall of 

 Missouri River gravity canals were not feasible, and pumping was 

 resorted to with power generated with lignite coal, deposits of which 

 are found in this vicinity on Government land. The power plant is 

 located near one of the coal outcrops, the fuel being mined and 

 delivered by gravity to the boilers. The power is converted to elec- 

 tricity and transmitted to the various pumping stations, some of 

 which are 28 miles distant. On account of the unstable character of 

 the river banks the pumps have been placed on floating barges con- 

 nected to the shore by flexible pipes. The water is pumped to set- 

 tling basins from which canals carry it over the lands. 



The Williston unit includes about 8,000 acres of bench and valley 

 lands surrounding Williston, but the system may be enlarged to 

 cover 12,000 acres. The general elevation is 1,875 feet above sea level, 



