410 peterson. PROBLEM OF GULLYING [Ch. 23 



these deposits were laid down within the past few thousand years, but 

 that it was not a continuous process of aggradation is shown by the 

 presence of numerous filled channels and well-defined erosional sur- 

 faces within the fill. It is evident that, at various times in the past, 

 erosion similar in character to, and possibly as extensive as, that taking 

 place today has occurred. 



At the time of white settlement of the adjacent Safford Valley in 

 the late 1870's, the San Simon Valley is said to have presented a picture 

 of pristine beauty.* Its floor was flat and unbroken. Reportedly large 

 areas in the central portion were covered with grass thick enough and 

 tall enough to be harvested for hay. San Simon Creek, dignified by 

 some of the earlier explorers with the appellation "river," was perennial 

 throughout most of its length and meandered across the valley floor in 

 a shallow channel, lined for most of its length with trees and willows. 

 Stockmen naturally recognized this as an ideal grazing setup, and dur- 

 ing the 1880's, 50,000 head of cattle are said to have populated the 

 valley. 



The present gully is reported to have started in the early 1880's 

 when farmers constructed a small drainage ditch to carry flood waters 

 of San Simon Creek across farm lands adjacent to the Gila River. It 

 reportedly did not reach serious proportions, however, until 1905. By 

 then, grazing combined with the critical ten-year drought, extending 

 from 1895 through 1904, had eliminated the protective grass cover- 

 ing on the valley floor, leaving it "ripe" for gullying. The record wet 

 winter of 1904—1905 with a winter seasonal index of wetness of 246 

 (the highest on record) provided the runoff necessary to accomplish 

 this. Just how far the cutting advanced in this one season is not 

 known, but, to judge by the meager progress measured in the past few 

 years, probably the major portion of the present channel was excavated 

 during this short period. 



Today's picture of the valley, from both the conservation and the 

 range-use viewpoint, is one of devastation. Except in the short uncut 

 reach, the former grassy tracts now appear as barren flats, some com- 

 pletely devoid of vegetation, others supporting only an occasional 

 stunted bush or clump of grass. In places along each side of the chan- 

 nel, belts up to several hundred feet in width and several miles in 

 length have been stripped of topsoil to depths of 3 feet or more. Some 

 of these remain essentially flat, and others have deteriorated into 

 miniature badlands with a relief of 2 to 6 feet. The stream has long 

 since lost any semblance of permanency, and the ephemeral flows are 



* Information obtained from interviews with several early settlers. 



