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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



the growing season is as long as that of 

 many favored valleys in California. 



Located on the south bank of the Co- 

 lumbia River, in Oregon, and extending 

 up the valley of the Umatilla River, the 

 Service has partially completed the Uma- 

 tilla project, embracing 20,000 acres of 

 land having an average elevation of 470 

 feet above sea-level. In the beginning of 

 the work, in 1906, this region was largely 

 a sage-brush desert, unattractive and un- 

 inviting. 



On the occasion of my first visit there, 

 before construction had begun, one could 

 drive for miles and never see a habita- 

 tion. Where the thriving young city of 

 Hermiston now stands, with its solid 

 blocks of brick buildings, its fine schools 

 and churches, and its charming bunga- 

 lows, there were exactly three houses in 

 sight. Today there are probably 700 

 people residing here. 



An attractive feature about life in this 

 community is due to the fact that the 

 farms are small. Many homes have been 

 esablished on five and ten acre farms 

 which are located all about the town. 

 Trees have been planted to shade the 

 streets and lawns, and thousands of acres 

 of orchards are being laid out. 



The question of a municipal water sup- 

 ply is being agitated in Hermiston. Near 

 the new city a tract of land embracing 

 40 acres has been reserved. It contains 

 a spring which will furnish a water sup- 

 ply for a city of 50,000 inhabitants, and 

 its water can be carried in pipes by grav- 

 ity to any part of the town. A reservoir 

 site has been found on the side of the 

 high butte just outside of town into 

 which the spring water can be readily 

 pumped. This will insure a water sys- 

 tem with sufficient pressure to furnish 

 protection from fire. 



While land values have increased 

 rapidly, as the result of the Government's 

 work here, the prices are not regarded 

 as unreasonable when compared with 

 other irrigated valleys in the Columbia 

 Basin. 



The; largest proje;ct is at yakima 



The largest irrigation project of the 

 Government is in Washington, on the 



eastern side of the Cascade Mountains, 

 in the valley of the Yakima River. A 

 number of beautiful lakes have been ac- 

 quired by the Service and are being util- 

 ized as storage reservoirs to supplement 

 the stream flow. 



An interesting feature of the work 

 here has been the construction of the 

 Tieton canal, which for several miles 

 hugs the edge of a precipice several hun- 

 dred feet above the river. This is a 

 cement-lined ditch, and the placing of the 

 lining was a difficult task. 



Cement forms made in the valley near 

 the stream were carried up the steep can- 

 yon side on cableways, or by means of 

 cars, and then set in place. More than 

 two miles of the canal is in tunnel, and 

 for several miles it winds around the 

 edge of a perpendicular cliff. 



In the Yakima River the Government 

 has a concrete dam which diverts the 

 water into the Sunnyside canal and irri- 

 gates today 45,000 acres, but which ulti- 

 mately will supply 94,000. 



The Yakima Valley is probably the 

 best advertised agricultural district in the 

 Northwest, and contains some of the 

 most valuable agricultural and fruit lands 

 in the world. It is today a region of 

 small farms intensively cultivated. 



The character of farm homes is as 

 attractive here as can be found in any 

 farming region in the world. In variety 

 of crops it is not excelled by southern 

 California, while in profitable yields it 

 probably ranks with that favored section 

 of the Southwest. A crop census of the 

 lands irrigated by the Sunnyside canal in 

 1909 showed a gross average yield per 

 acre of $70. 



Some of the crop yields reported are 

 dif^cult to credit. 



Strawberries. . . . $150 to $400 per acre 



Cherries 150 to 350 per acre 



Peaches 200 to 1,000 per acre 



Apples 200 to 800 per acre 



A strong organization of fruit-growers 

 has been in existence here for a number 

 of years, and as a result the fruit of the 

 Yakima orchards finds a market today all 

 over the world. We are glad to pay 

 $1.50 per dozen in Washington now for 



