1905 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



353 



acres are in California and 146,401 

 acres in Oregon. About 45 per cent, 

 of this area is still public land. 



Surveys on this project were begun 

 during the summer of 1904. Prelim- 

 inary plans and estimates on the pro- 

 ject have been prepared and approved, 

 and the Secretary of the Interior has 

 set aside the sum of $4,400,000 for 

 the construction of the project. 



The Sacramento Valley project con- 

 templates the irrigation of the entire 

 Sacramento Valley, so far as can be 

 done without interference with navi- 

 gation. The total area of this valley, 

 exclusive of the Sutter Buttes and the 

 channel surface of perennial streams, 

 is 2.660,500 acres; of this amount i,- 

 978,200 acres are above all overflow. 

 Approximately 40,000 acres are now 

 irrigated, while the area that can ulti- 

 mately be irrigated probably exceeds 

 2,000.000 acres. 



It is with a view of determining the 

 most feasible plans for the irrigation 

 of this vast area, that a study of the 

 Sacramento Valleys has been under- 

 taken upon the following lines: The 

 Topographic Branch of the United 

 States Geological Survey, in coopera- 

 tion with the State of California, has 

 undertaken the mapping of the entire 

 floor of the valley, the Geological Sur- 

 vey having complete charge of the 

 work, and the state paying one-half 

 of the expense. The surveys for the 

 portion of the valley west of the Sac- 

 ramento River will probably be com- 

 pleted within the present year. 



The Hydrographic Branch of the 

 Geological Survey has established 

 gaging stations on all the principal 

 tributaries of the Sacramento, where 

 the flood can be measured from 82 per 

 cent, of the entire drainage of the 

 basin. The drainage area tributary to 

 this valley is approximately 26,000 



square miles, and the estimated an- 

 nual run-off is nearly 26,000,000 acre 

 feet enough to cover the entire floor 

 of the valley over nine feet deep. The 

 flow of the river from May to Septem- 

 ber, inclusive, is less than 24 per cent, 

 of the total annual flow, a fact which 

 shows the necessity of storing the win- 

 ter flood waters. 



For the purpose of storing the flood 

 waters, six reservoir sites have been 

 located and surveyed on the coast 

 range streams, which enter the valley, 

 from the west, five sites on the Pjt 

 River and tributaries, and one site on 

 the main Sacramento River at Iron 

 Canyon above Red Bluff. Surveys 

 are now in progress in the Puta Creek 

 and Feather Rivers basins, where res- 

 ervoir sites are known to exist. 



The Forest Service of the Agri- 

 cultural Department has taken up the 

 study of the forest cover of the drain- 

 age basin and has made extensive 

 withdrawals of the remaining public 

 lands for forest reserve. 



A Board of Army Engineers has 

 been appointed to continue the study 

 of the flood and overflow conditions 

 of the Sacramento, together with the 

 navigable capacities of the stream. 

 This work is closely allied to the re- 

 clamation work as the construction of 

 storage reservoirs will assist in the 

 solution of both of the questions by 

 taking care of the flood waters during 

 the winter season, and preventing 

 overflow, and by providing a supply 

 whereby the summer flow may be 

 maintained for irrigation, water power 

 and navigation. 



In conclusion, it may be said that 

 California has before it a great work 

 for the reclaiming of its arid lands, 

 and that the Sacramento Valley pre- 

 sents one of the greatest, if not the 

 greatest, opportunity for irrigation de- 

 velopment to be found in the west. 



