168 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



panions because of illness, crawled a distance of 

 sixty miles before death put an end to his miseries, 

 "and the wild and picturesque bluffs in the neighbor- 

 hood of his lonely grave .have ever since borne his 

 name." 



The very name bestowed upon the dam "The 

 Pathfinder" conjures up memories of a brave and 

 stirring epoch in our national expansion. A fitting 

 monument to the sturdy explorer, John Charles Fre- 

 mont, a mighty figure of the romantic pioneer days, 

 this giant structure of modern masonry rears its 

 lofty crest on the site where the explorer was 

 wrecked in his attempt to reach the Missouri River 

 by water, and a wondrous valley made fertile by the 

 magic touch of water now greets the eye where once 

 the Indian and buffalo reigned supreme. 



We thus see a revival in the locality where more 

 than half a century ago was the best-known and 

 most-traveled route across the continent, and after 

 being all but forgotten is now receiving the atten- 

 tion which it should have received in the '60s. The 

 South Platte Valley, 150 miles south of the great 

 highway, was developed through sheer force and 

 energy of its people, while the North Platte has re- 

 mained in an undeveloped' state, though in all re- 

 spects equal to the South Platte Valley. The cli- 

 mate, soil and flora in both valleys are almost 

 identical. 



Statistical Statement of Central Features 



1. States: Nebraska and Wyoming. 



2. Counties: Pathfinder Unit, Carbon and 

 Natrona, Wyoming; Interstate Unit, Goshen, Wyo- 

 ming; Sioux, Scotts Bluff and Morrill, Nebraska; 

 Fort Laramie Unit, Goshen, Wyoming; Scotts Bruff 

 and Banner, Nebraska. 



3. Latitude, 41 30' to 42 00'; longitude. 103 

 to 107. 



4. Townships, 20 to 30 North, Ranges 49 to 85 

 West. 6th P. M. 



5. Altitude, 3,800 to 4,500, reservoir basin 5,800 

 feet above sea level. 



6. Irrigable area : Interstate, 129,000 acres ; 

 ownership, 72 per cent public, 28 per cent private. 

 Fort Laramie Unit. 100,000 acres ; ownership, 64 per 

 cent public, 36 per cent private. 



7. Size farm units : Public, 80 acres ; private, 

 160 acres. 



8. Water shed area: Pathfinder Unit, 12,000 

 square miles. 



9. Estimated average annual rim-off : 1,400,000 

 acre feet at Pathfinder Dam. 



10. Storage reservoir : Pathfinder, area 22,600 

 acres capacity, 1 ,070,000 acre feet. Inland reservoirs 

 interstate unit, area 3,000 acres ; capacity, 78,000 

 acre feet. 



11. Diversion dam: Whalen type, concrete 



weir; height, 25 feet; length, 300 feet, with head- 

 works for Interstate and Fort Laramie Canals. 

 Interstate Unit 



12. Towns on project ; Bayard, Minatare, Scotts 

 Bluff, Mitchell, Morrill, and Henry, Neb. ; Torring- 

 ton and Lingle, Wyo. Pathfinder Unit : Caspar, 

 Wyoming. Fort Laramie Unit : Gering, McGrew 

 and Melbeta, Nebraska. 



13.. Location land offices: Alliance, Neb., and 

 Cheyenne, Wyo. 



14. Soil : Sandy loam. 



15. Prevailing winds: \Vest and northwest. 

 15(a) Temperature: Maximum, 104; mini- 

 mum, 30. 



15(b) Precipitation, 15 inches. 



16. Principal products : Alfalfa, sugar beets, 

 cereals, corn and potatoes. 



17. Markets: Omaha, Kansas City, St. Joseph, 

 Chicago, Denver and central Wyoming. 



18. Value of irrigated lands: $25 to $125 per 

 acre. 



19. Value of non-irrigated lands : $2.50 to $10 

 per acre. 



20. Capital required : Entirely dependent upon 

 the individual. 



21. Railroads: Interstate Unit, Chicago, Bur- 

 lington & Quincy ; Fort Laramie Unit, Union 

 Pacific. 



22. Duty of water: Two and one-half acre 

 feet per acre per annum. 



23. Length main canal: Interstate, 178 miles; 

 Fort Laramie, not constructed. 



24. Length laterals : Interstate, 626 miles ; 

 Fort Laramie, not constructed. 



25. Fuel supply: Wood and coal, not produced 

 locally. 



26. Power developed : No plans yet developed. 



27. Domestic water supply: Wells, 30 to 200 

 feet deep. 



28. Length of irrigating season : From April 1 

 to September 30, 183 days. 



29. Date of opening: Interstate Unit. July 29. 

 1907. 



30. Construction charges : Interstate Unit : 

 $55 per acre ; Fort Laramie Unit, no charges an- 

 nounced. Maintenance and operation, see sections 

 5 and 6 of the Reclamation Extension Act. 



31. Per cent project completed: Pathfinder 

 Unit, 100 per cent ; Interstate Unit, 95 per cent ; Fort 

 Laramie Unit, 1 per cent. January 1, 1916. 



Area of Irrigable Land 



The valley of the North Platte is about fifteen 

 miles wide. On the north side of the river, the 

 irrigable land, under the Interstate Canal, embraces 

 an area of 129,000 acres, 83.000 acres of which are in 

 public, 29,000 acres in private ownership and 17,000 



