330 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



July 



THE BIG HORN RIVER, WYOMING. 



miles the canyon is through solid gran- 

 ite. The narrowest place in this part 

 of the canyon is 65 feet wide at the 

 bottom, and at an elevation of 250 feet 

 above the bottom it is 200 feet wide. 

 After leaving the canyon the river 

 flows northeasterly through a generally 

 rolling country to its junction with 

 Big Horn River, near the northern 

 boundary of Wyoming. From the 

 mouth of the canyon to a point some 60 

 miles down the river, areas of bench 

 land lie on both sides of the river. 



The drainage basin of Shoshoue River 

 above the canyon contains approxi- 

 mately 1,250 square miles, nearly all 

 of it being within the Yellowstone For- 

 est Reserve. A comparatively small 

 portion of this water has been utilized. 



Surveys made by private parties pre- 

 vious to the field work of the Reclama- 

 tion Service in 1903 indicated the feasi- 

 bility of several alternate projects, and 

 in order to test the relative merits of all 



alternate projects it was 

 decided to make a topo- 

 graphic survey of all the 

 irrigable land, and of all 

 feasible conduit lines in 

 the canyon. Preliminary 

 estimates show that the 

 construction of a high 

 line canal is feasible, the 

 cost of the entire work 

 proposed being less than 

 $2,250,000. These pre- 

 liminary plans were pass- 

 ed upon by a board of en- 

 gineers, and on February 

 10, 1904, the Secretary 

 of the Interior set aside 

 $2,250,000 of the recla- 

 mation fund for the con- 

 struction of the project, 

 "provided that satisfac- 

 tory rights to land and 

 water be secured, and pro- 

 vided that further consid- 

 eration of details on the ground by con- 

 sulting engineers results in favorable 

 reports. ' ' 



The canal lines as located covet 

 103,000 acres of land, of which 93,000 

 are irrigable. By extending the main 

 canal through the " Bad lands " below 

 Garland, it is estimated that 40,000 tc 

 50,000 acres additional, in the vicinity of 

 Frannie, Wyoming, may be reclaimed. 

 The total area reclaimed will probabh 

 exceed 150,000 acres. This land is at 

 an elevation varying from 4,000 to 5,000 

 feet above sea level. Power for pump- 

 ing water to land above the canal may 

 be generated at several places. All oi 

 the land under this project has been 

 segregated. 



Preliminary surveys and reconnais- 

 sance work have also been carried on tc 

 considerable extent to determine the 

 feasibility of storing water in Lake De 

 Smet and at the headwaters of 

 Bull River. 



