IRRIGATION 355 



the water yearly wasted during freshets, and to send it grad- 

 ually down to the low land when needed for irrigation. Dams 

 several hundred feet high were needed to hold back the waters ; 

 artificial lakes many miles in extent were required to store the 



FIG. 222. Storage reservoir. 



water, and tunnels miles long were necessary to carry the water 

 from reservoir to ranch. 



Private enterprise was unable to supply the millions of dol- 

 lars needed for these undertakings, and in 1902 the govern- 

 ment came to the rescue of the arid lands, and passed the 

 Reclamation Act. By this act Congress was authorized to 

 begin the work of irrigation in the arid western regions. 

 Among the many interesting projects undertaken by the gov- 

 ernment is that known as the Uncompahgre Project in the 

 western part of Colorado. A part of the Uncompahgre Valley 

 had been irrigated for years by the Uncompahgre River. But 

 the river is small, and could irrigate only a portion of the 

 valley through which it flowed. Some miles distant, however, 



CLARK INTRO. TO SC. 23 



