430 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 19 3 5 



succeeded, but many lost their boats and even their lives in the swift, 

 treacherous rapids that are scattered the full length of the river 

 wherever cloudbursts in side canyons have thrown rock barriers 

 across the river channel. The members of the Church of the Latter 

 Day Saints established homes and settlements in the Salt Lake Val- 

 ley of Utah, and in their endeavor to build a southwestern empire 

 sought an outlet to the Pacific Ocean down the Colorado. Their ef- 

 forts met with some success, but these plans and others of similar 

 nature were abandoned when the gap in the transcontinental railroad 

 was closed at Ogden, Utah, in 1869, providing safe and rapid trans- 

 portation to the East and West. 



As the lands became settled along the Colorado and its tributaries, 

 the waters were diverted into canals and used for the irrigation of 

 crops. In the upper reaches, the irrigation projects were successful, 

 but serious trouble soon developed in the irrigated lands of Arizona 

 and California, particularly in the Imperial Valley, 150 miles south 

 of Los Angeles. 



Here in the basin cut off from the Gulf of California by the 

 delta of the Colorado River was an ideal spot to grow many kinds 

 of fruits, vegetables, and cereals, for the temperatures were nearly 

 tropical, the growing season was 12 months in the year, a nearby 

 market was furnished by the cities of Southern California, and 

 water could easily be secured from the river channel on the silt 

 delta 200 feet or more in elevation above the farms. Considerable 

 trouble was caused by the silt deposition in ditches and canals, and 

 the low flow of the river in the fall and winter months did not 

 provide sufficient water for the rapidly growing demands of new 

 farms. However, more and more land was placed under cultivation, 

 and cities began to rise in the valley — when the Colorado struck 

 again in characteristic fashion. 



In the year 1905, an unprotected canal heading offered the op- 

 portunity, the river turned from its course, deep canyons were cut 

 across fertile farms, railroads were destroyed, and inundation of the 

 entire valley was started. Attempt after attempt to stop the flow 

 failed as the river cut through the soft silt around obstacles placed 

 in its path. The Southern Pacific Railroad took over the battle, rock 

 was hauled by train loads and dumped into the gap, at times tracks, 

 train, and load disappeared beneath the muddy waters, but finally, 

 18 months after the break, the struggle was won. The river was 

 turned back into its original channel, and the inhabitants of the 

 valley could once more resume their normal mode of life. The cost 

 of the unfortunate episode ran into the millions and has never been 

 accurately calculated, but a lesson was gained by the valley dwellers 



