122 



TABLE 36 



ESTIMATED CONSUMPTIVE USE OF WATER BY SALTGRASS AND ALKALI 

 LANDS IN THE OWENS VALLEY, CALIF., 1911. (BASED UPON 

 TANK INVESTIGATIONS.) (16 and 1?) 



This was the theoretical quantity of water which might be recovered 

 for beneficial use if ground-water levels were lowered through 

 pumping to depths beyond reach of the vegetation, and was the basis 

 for construction of the $25,000,000 Los Angeles aqueduct. 



SANTA ANA RIVER VALLEY, CALIFORNIA 



River-bottom vegetation . --An investigation was made by 

 Troxell (33) of the United States Geological Survey, along a 16- 

 mile stretch of the Santa Ana River between Riverside Narrows and 

 the Prado gaging station, California. Much of this area has rela- 

 tively high ground water which contributes to and increases the 

 flow of the river along its course. The river-bottom area is nar- 

 row, probably averaging less than half a mile in width. Within 

 this strip ground water over a considerable area is found at less 

 than 5 feet from the surface. 



The vegetation was typical river-bottom growth ranging from 

 large cottonwood trees to grass meadows. A vegetative survey 

 showed 4,040 acres of bottom lands of which 137 acres were culti- 

 vated and 210 acres consisted of water surface. Of the remainder, 

 heavy tree-cover of the water-loving type grew on 1,519 acres, 

 while there were 751 acres of meadow. Table 37 shows the vegetative 



