THE NEW DAY IN COLORADO 



sist exclusively of mountains, and are therefore unfitted 

 for settlement. The truth is that there arc many beau- 

 tiful valleys of varying size and elevation, and that these 

 are destined to sustain the most interesting and profit- 

 able agricultural districts of Colorado. Unlike the east- 

 ern slope, there is here more water than irrigable land 

 a condition almost unique in the arid region. The val- 

 leys are so protected by the mountains which inclose 

 them upon either hand as to have a climate of their own. 

 This is perceptibly influenced by the warm winds which 

 make their way from the Gulf of California through the 

 canyons of the Colorado river. These conditions are 

 extremely favorable for the culture of the most delicate 

 fruit and for the diversification of general crops. The 

 principal rivers of the western slope are the Grand, the 

 Green, and the San Juan. These are fed by the prolific 

 snows of the higher Rockies, and carry a strong and tur- 

 bulent flow of water throughout the year. They are not 

 always readily diverted, however, as their channels have 

 been deeply cut through the rocks and soil, and the 

 stream often flows below the level of the tract to be irri- 

 gated. This makes it necessary to elevate the water in 

 many instances by pumping machinery, which can be 

 operated cheaply by the power of the stream itself, or 

 by the use of coal, which in many cases is found close at 

 hand. 



The best example of the possibilities of the western 

 slope is seen in the neighborhood of Grand Junction, 

 where two splendid streams the Grand and the Gunni- 

 son join forces and flow westward to their meeting with 

 the Green river across the Utah boundary. Here the 

 valley opens out into a broad desert, with foot-hills, or 



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