116 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



March 



its top would not be visible from the 

 point at which the photograph is tak- 

 en, nor from any other point in the 

 basin until the visitor was within a 

 few hundred feet of the dam. It 

 may be seen that, so far as physical 

 conditions are concerned, a dam 1,000 

 feet high could be built as readily as 

 one 200 feet. 



Photograph No. 4 is a view of the 

 dam site. The white lines drawn up- 

 on the walls show the top of the pro- 

 posed dam 200 feet in height, the dis- 

 tance between these points being 371 

 feet. The material is solid granite, 

 and the amount of masonry required 

 to block the canyon so as to store the 

 enormous amount of water referred to 

 above is astonishingly small. 



It will be seen that, in addition to 

 the irrigation possibilities, the oppor- 

 tunities for the development of power, 

 both during the construction and after 

 the completion of the dam, are very 

 great. 



It has been estimated that by the 

 constant use of about one-half of the 

 available supply, more than 30,000 

 horsepower should be delivered to con- 

 sumers. If this estimate is correct, 

 it would mean an almost inconceiv- 

 able impetus to the mining industry 

 of Colorado, as there are hundreds of 

 mines that cannot be developed at the 

 present time on account of the high 

 cost of power, either steam or electric. 

 It would mean cheaper lighting and 

 power also for the large cities, and 

 the results would be a great benefit 

 to the entire state. 



The fact of greatest importance, 

 however, is that the irrigated areas 

 along the Grand and Colorado rivers 

 might be greatly extended by means 

 of the storage of the flood waters 

 during flood stages, in this reservoir. 

 It is well known that without regula- 

 tion the flood waters flow off so rap- 

 idly that they cannot be utilized to the 

 best advantage in any of the western 

 streams. This regulation is contem- 

 plated through the construction of a 

 dam sufficiently high to store all of 

 the surplus waters. 



As the forests are removed, the dis- 

 charge of the mountain streams be- 

 comes more and more torrential and 

 less capable of control, threatening 

 bridges, railway embankments, head- 

 gates of irrigation canals, farms and 

 even towns and cities. The equaliza- 

 tion of the flow by means of such a 

 reservoir as is contemplated, would 

 do away with these dangers, and, on 

 the other hand, would guarantee the 

 most satisfactory and economical use 

 of water. 



Numerous other advantages of min- 

 or importance might be cited, among 

 which are the scenic attractions pre- 

 sented by a lake from 12 to 15 miles 

 in length, set among such grand sur- 

 roundings as are found in Middle 

 Park, and the ice crop that could be 

 taken from a great lake of the altitude 

 that this one would have. It is hoped 

 that it will be practicable to develop, 

 to its fullest possibility, this wonder- 

 ful natural reservoir site. 







