THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



41 



it reached across the gulf, to the foot of the range on 

 the west. In seasons of low water the delta formed an 

 effective dam, shutting off the northern extremity of 

 the gulf from the gulf proper, creating what became in 

 fact a small inland sea, 100 miles in length and fifty 

 miles across at its widest point. 



Under the scorching rays of the sun the waters 

 of the inland sea rapidly evaporated, until the sea 

 became perfectly dry, leaving an enormous sink, at one 

 point 287 feet below the original level of the gulf. 



Each summer, with recurring high water in the 

 Colorado, there would be an overflow into this inland 

 sea; river water would rush in, carrying in sediment 

 with it. As the floods receded the water in the sink 

 again dried up, leaving behind a thick deposit of silt 

 on the bed of the former gulf. This process .of inunda- 

 tion continued, probably for centuries, the river each 

 year overflowing into the sink, each year adding new 

 soil to what it had deposited the year before. Never, 

 however, was there sufficient overflow to restore the 

 inland sea; only enough to cover the vaHey slightly, and 

 for a short time, for with each successive dry season 

 the flood waters were carried off by evaporation, or 

 sank into the soil. 



The overflow into the Colorado desert, as the old 

 sea bed became known, continued for centuries, until 

 there was a- thick deposit of rich silt covering practically 

 the entire sink, the Imperial valley, as it is known to- 

 day. But as the deposits were made in the Imperial 

 valley they were also made close to the river channel, 

 and today, except in seasons of extreme high water, 

 there is.no longer an overflow into the Imperial valley; 

 the river is unable to climb its banks. 



When the inland sea first evaporated, a thick coat- 

 ing of salt was left on its bed. The annual inrush 

 of water from the Colorado gradually carried this salt 

 to the lowest spot in the valley, creating what is known 

 as the Salton sink. Most of the salt had been concen- 

 trated in this low area, forming a vast salt bed five 

 miles wide and twenty miles long, located near the 

 north extremity of the valley, and seventy miles from 

 the Colorado River. Today this salt is being scraped 

 tip by the carload, shipped to a refinery and constitutes 

 an important source of supply for the home market. 

 So thorough was this washing that most of the salr 

 left by the evaporating sea has been concentrated in 

 the sink, leaving little saline matter beneath the rich 

 deposits of silt that line the rest of the valley. 



Today the Colorado River, that created the Colo- 

 rado desert, or the Imperial valley, is being utilized in 

 its reclamation. The waters which once freely flowed 

 from the Colorado at certain seasons over into the Im- 

 perial country, now have to be diverted onto that vast 

 tract. Fortunately, however, in times of frequent over- 

 flow, the waters of the Colorado cut three channels down 

 into the Imperial valley, running toward the Salton 

 sink, and these old channels have recently been con- 

 nected with the river by artificial canals, and have once 

 more been brought into use as conveyors of water. Five 

 hundred thousand acres of land in the Imperial valley 

 in California, and half as much adjoining land across 

 the international boundary, have been laid off, and are 

 being furnished with water from the Colorado River. 

 Most of this land is below sea level. The reclamation of 

 the entire area has been undertaken by private capital, 

 and is being pushed to a successful conclusion. 



Five years ago the Imperial valley was a vast desert 

 waste, without water, without settlement, without de- 

 velopment of any kind. Today it. gives indications of 

 what is to come. Fully half of the valley has passed 

 into private ownership, and is under irrigation, or is 

 being brought under irrigation, and the remaining lands 

 are being taken up at a rate which insures the ultimate 

 development of the entire valley, but it may be many 

 years before the Imperial country is fully developed. 



The Southern Pacific Railroad has built a branch 

 line clear through the valley from a point on its main 

 line to the international boundary, and has already 

 installed one cross-line. On this road five flourishing 

 towns have sprung into existence, Brawley, Imperial, 

 Heber, Calexico and Holtville. Calexico is on the bor- 

 der line; directly across the line in Mexico is another 

 city, really a continuation of Calexico, which goes by 

 the name of Mexicali. Each has its customs house, and 

 the two combined, when the Southern Pacific further 

 extends its line into Mexico, will form an important 

 shipping point. 



Imperial is the principal town in Imperial valley, 

 and is located in the very center of the irrigated .country. 

 It started in 1900 and has developed with the country. 

 It is more than a typical frontier town, it has more the 

 appearance of a permanent settlement; its buildings are 

 carefully constructed; its streets regularly laid out; it 

 has its newspaper, a national bank, with more than 

 $200,000 deposits, and is well equipped with stores, 

 which supply almost every need of the residents and 

 those in the tributary country; has a telephone system, 

 electric lights, waier system, public schools and churches. 



From the veranda of the hotel you can look off to 

 the east, across the once dreaded Colorado desert, and 

 see in the distance a long, low line of what might be 

 a bench of solid salt. It is the white sand that once 

 formed the eastern shore of the gulf of California. If 

 you approach the sand you will find the sharpe of the 

 ancient beach has been preserved ; it takes but a slight 

 stretch of the imagination to see the gulf restored to 

 its old in a day, and there is no water save what you 

 carry with you. 



The lands of Imperial valley having been subject 

 to entry under the public land laws, many of the first 

 settlers have made desert entries, taking the domain, 

 covering over a country that is now being studded with 

 great farms. The line of this beach can be traced for 

 miles, but no one follows it up; it's too hot on those 

 white sands to travel far; maximum area, 30 acres. 

 In most instances they have made a mistake. They 

 have taken more than they can irrigate properly; more 

 than they need to make a handsome profit on their an- 

 nual crops. 



But the men who have gone in and taken forty, or 

 even eighty, acre farms, and have intelligently applied 

 themselves to. only so much land as they can handle, 

 are meeting with the utmost success. This is a problem 

 that will work itself out in time. The men who made 

 a mistake at the outset now see their error and in an- 

 other season will get better results; but this is the his- 

 tory of every irrigation district where opportunity is 

 given to acquire lands in large quantities. 



If a man is going in largely for dairying of stock 

 raising and portions of the Imperial valley are ideal for 

 this business, he is justified in taking up 320 acres. If, 

 on the other hand, he intends to plant his lands in .can- 



