th IRRIGATION INVESTIGATIONS IN CALIFORNIA. 



are now in use, while two natural lakes, Caribou and Silver, have been tapped to 

 more or less advantage. Preliminary work has been done at other sites. The most 

 effective storage yet accomplished in the vallej" is represented by Lake Leavitt, 

 which lies off the stream, with which it is connected by a canal, and is located in the 

 immediate neighborhood of the land it supplies. North of the valley there are also 

 opportunities for storage, notablj' on Balls Canyon, and here two small reservoirs 

 are already in use. If the legal and financial conditions surrounding irrigation 

 enterprise in this localitj- were as favorable as the phj^sical environment, there 

 would be a much longer record of accomplishment in the way of storage. 



EAGLE LAKE. 



Eagle Lake, one of the most beautiful sheets of water in California, lies at an 

 altitude of 5,115 feet 25 miles northwest of Honej' Lake Vallej'. It is flanked on 

 one side by the forests of the Sierra and on the other by barren hillsides and low 

 mountains. The area of this lake is nearly 28,000 acres and it is of great depth. As 

 its elevation is more than 1,000 feet above the irrigable lands of Honey Lake Valley, 

 it naturally suggests itself as a feasible supply for the reclamation of a great area. 

 More than once enterprises have been organized for the purpose of tapping this 

 great natural reservoir by means of a long tunnel through the lava dike which 

 separates it from the head of Willow Creek Valley. When these enterprises have 

 been in pi'ogress Eagle Lake has been advertised as a reliable water supply for at 

 least 100,000 acres. On this subject there are two opinions and, as in any event this 

 lake must sometime be an important factor in the reclamation of Honey Lake Valley 

 to the largest extent, they maj' properly be mentioned here. 



It is generalh" conceded that the level of the lake is practically stationary, except 

 that it rises somewhat after a series of wet years and falls correspondingly after a 

 series of dry years. This would seem clearly to indicate that, on the average, it 

 receives no more water annually than it loses by evaporation and leakage. It is 

 general!}' admitted that Willow Creek receives about 7,500 miner's inches by the 

 leakage of water from the lake through the natural dike of lava. There are no other 

 large leakages that are definiteh' known, but many people believe that numerous 

 creeks and springs tributary to Honey Lake really owe their existence to the same 

 source. The watershed of the lake is quite small and ridiculouslj' disproportionate 

 to the amount of service which is expected of the supply from this source. But in 

 answer to this indisputable statement it is said bj' the strong believers in the project 

 that the lake is fed by underground springs of enoraious capacity. When they are 

 asked to explain why, if such is the fact, the lake does not rise constantly higher 

 and higher until it shall finally overflow, or at least largelj' increase the pressure 

 upon the points of leakage, thej' answer onlj- with the reiteration of their faith that 

 Eagle Lake is practically inexhaustible and will furnish water for the whole country. 



On the other hand, the skeptics regard P^agle Lake as a great delusion. They 

 say it is a body of water with no visible outlet except the subterranean leakage into 

 Willow Creek, and that if it were tapped hj a tunnel 20 feet below its present level it 

 would supply- a large area for a few j'ears, until drawn down to the level of the tunnel, 



