DES MOINES 



1775 



DES MOINES 



rocky or boulder-strewn, some of it is deeply 

 cut by the torrents which follow a burst of 

 rain. The dry sand-bearing wind chisels the 

 rocks into fantastic figures, and forms the 

 surface of the plain in ever-shifting waves and 

 ripples like those of the ocean. Sometimes 

 one of these waves, a traveling dune, is a few 

 hundred feet high. Wherever there are springs, 

 or where a near-by mountain causes more fre- 

 quent rain, there are oases, green islands in the 

 sea of desolation. In the oases of the Sahara 

 date palms flourish naturally, and many kinds 

 of fruit and grain may be cultivated. Some of 

 the oases are only large enough to support one 

 or two people, others will nourish two million. 

 ' The animal and vegetable life of the desert 

 is well adapted to its surroundings. The article 

 CAMEL tells how this animal is suited to its 

 arid environment, and the article CACTUS, how 

 that plant thrives in the Great American Des- 

 ert. The lizards and other small creatures of 

 arid regions, which have no place to hide 

 from enemies, are protected by their imitative 

 coloring (see PROTECTIVE COLORATION). Many 

 of them sleep through the hot summer, or bur- 

 row from the sun, and all the animals of the 

 desert have the ability to close their nostrils 

 and eyes to the blowing sand. Even the men 

 of the desert, the wandering Arabs, are able to 

 subsist on less food than more civilized peoples 

 require. 



Isaiah's prophecy, "The desert shall rejoice 

 and blossom as the rose," is being fulfilled 

 under modern irrigation. The desert soil when 

 watered is apparently more fertile than that 

 of regions which vegetate naturally, for it 

 becomes virgin soil. 



Geography. The greatest desert of the world 

 is the Sahara in Africa, which continues east- 

 ward in the Arabian and Central Asian deserts 

 to* the Desert of Gobi, reaching nearly to 

 Peking. There are other large deserts in all 

 the continents but Europe. Much of Northern 

 Mexico is arid, and this region extends slightly 

 into the United States, forming what is known 

 in Arizona and adjacent states as the Great 

 American Desert. 



Related Subjects. In the following articles 

 will be found additional information bearing on 

 the general topic of deserts : 

 Arabs Kalahari Desert 



Dune Oasis 



Gobi Palm 



Irrigation Sahara 



DES MOINES, damoin', IOWA, the capital 

 and largest city of the state and the county 



seat of Polk County, is situated near the geo- 

 graphical center of the state, 175 miles west of 

 Davenport, 350 miles west of Chicago and 155 

 miles east and north of Omaha. Des Moines 

 is on the west and east banks of the Des Moines 

 River, at the mouth of the Raccoon. Both 

 streams are crossed by several good bridges 

 within the city limits. It is served by four 

 interurban lines and by the Chicago, Burlington 

 & Quincy; the Chicago Great Western; the 

 Chicago, Milwaukee & Saint Paul; the Chi- 

 cago & North Western; the Chicago, Rock 

 Island & Pacific ; the Fort Dodge, Des Moines 

 & Southern; the Minneapolis & Saint Louis, 

 and the Wabash railroads. The population, 

 largely American, was 86,368 in 1910 and 101,598 

 in 1916. 



Des Moines covers an area of fifty-four 

 square miles. The business section is along the 

 river, the more attractive residence portion 

 occupying the higher ground in the northwest 

 and northeast sections of the city. The park 

 system covers over 700 acres and includes the 

 grounds (eighty-three acres) of the capitol, 

 and Greenwood, Union, Grand View, Waveland 

 and Riverview parks. 



Public Buildings. The state capitol, erected 

 at a cost of about $3,000,000, occupies a prom- 

 inent position on the east side of the river. 

 It contains the mural painting, Westward, by 

 Edwin Blashfield. Other prominent buildings 

 are the United States government building, 

 Polk County courthouse, the municipal build- 

 ing, the post office, built in 1910 at a cost 

 of $500,000, the Iowa Historical building, state 

 arsenal, public library, coliseum, East High 

 School building, Y. W. C. A. and Y. M. C. A. 

 buildings, the Municipal Market House and 

 Mercy Hospital. There are nearly one hundred 

 churches, many of them distinguished for 

 beauty of architecture. 



Institutions. Des Moines is the seat of 

 Drake University (non-sectarian), Des Moines 

 College (Baptist), Highland Park College 

 (Presbyterian), Danish Lutheran College, Gum- 

 ming School of Art, Iowa College of Medicine 

 and Surgery and -the College of Osteopathy. 

 A military post was established here by act 

 of Congress in 1910, the land and equipment 

 costing $1,200,000, and this is occupied by a 

 regiment of cavalry. Each fall the state fair 

 held in Des Moines is a festive occasion which 

 brings thousands of visitors to the city. 



Industry. Mining, manufacture, meat pack- 

 ing and shipping are the chief industries. Rich 

 coal deposits are found in the vicinity of Des 



