STORAGE . OF WATER ON KING'S RIVER. 



'"Storage of Water on King's River, California," is the title of 

 number 58 of the Water Supply and Irrigation Papers of the United 

 States Geological Survey, now in press. 



Kings River drains the western slope of the Sierra Nevada, in 

 Fresno county, California, from Mount Whitney on the south to Mount 

 Goddard on the north. Fully 80 per cent of the drainage basin is now 

 included within the boundaries of the Sierra Forest reserve, a matter 

 of prime importance to the irrigated lands below, for it means the 

 conservation of the stream. The river debouches from its mountain 

 drainage basin upon the plains of Fresno, Kings and Tulare counties, 

 sometimes spoken of as the Kings River delta, which are near the ge- 

 ographic center of the state, and present great variety of climate and 

 soil. Fresno and Hanford, the principal towns, are about 200 miles 

 distant from San Francisco and Los Angeles. 



Lumber, gold, copper, petroleum, grain, oranges, lemons, many 

 varieties of deciduous fruits, grapes, raisins, wines and brandies are 

 produced in this region in commercial quantities. There are more 

 than 500,000 deciduous fruit trees in Fresno county. There are about 

 40,000 acres of vineyards. It is the great raisin district of California. 

 The citrus belt, as is the case in southern California, is a narrow strip 

 of land at the base of the mountains. 



Irrigation is necessary for all varieties of agricultural products, 

 grains possibly excepted- There are about 625 miles of main irriga- 

 tion' canals, covering 330,000 acres of land in the Kings River delta. 

 A good water right adds about 50 dollars per acre to the value of val- 

 ley lands, and about 90 dollars per acre to the so-called frostless foot- 

 hill lands, where the citrus fruits, the most valuable crop, could be 

 raised with an increase of the present supply of water, which has been 

 diverted chiefly to the lower lands. The present combined capacity 

 of the Kings River canals is stated to be approximately 4,000 feet per 

 second. In September, 1898, the supply fell to about 145 cubic feet 

 per second. During the last season the profits from the irrigated dis- 

 tricts around Fresno were in excess of $2,000.000. Land without irri- 

 gation supply sells here for $10 per acre. The same land with a good 

 water right sells for about $60. Hence the importance of the water 

 power development considered in this report, which is on the Middle 

 Fork of Kings River, above all diversions for irrigation or for storage. 

 Kings River can be relied on, in spite of occasional seasons, for a 

 great water supply, draining, as it does, 1,742 sqnare miles < . 

 from banks of perpetual snow. 



