THE FORESTS AND DESERTS OF ARIZONA 219 



that falls over the vast region fills the water-courses, where tliere 

 are any, for only a few hours, after which what is not evaporated 

 sinks into the loose sand and the river continues underground, 

 the bed above "running dry." Yet, as to the possibility of 

 finding enough water to irrigate the most of it, who will foretell ? 



There are really only two rivers which run always full— the 

 Colorado and the Gila. While Gila river and its afHuents, the 

 San Pedro, Salt, and Hassayanipa, which run dry o<'casi()iially, 

 furnish only a limited quantity, the mighty Colorado river car- 

 ries a volume of water not only si.x times as rich in fertility as 

 that of the Nile, but of almost limitless and continuous supply, 

 which would suffice to irrigate several million acres. To l)e 

 sure, the bed lies considerably below the level of the ])lain, yet 

 when the economic conditions of the country recpiire it, there 

 Avill be no dilliculty in devising the mechanical means to bring 

 this water upon the land, as is being done now in a small wav 

 at Yuma. And, Avith the addition of artesian wells, perhaps it 

 may only ])e a question of time when these dreary wastes will 

 be turned into fertile fields and gardens such as are beginning to 

 grow up around Plutn-iix, Yuma, and other cities — a revival of 

 bygone times when an ancient and industrious people occu|»ied 

 the Gila bottom lands, of whose existence now only the ruins of 

 long-fallen towns, the remnants of large aqueducts, and widely 

 distributed fragments of potter}' testify. Phoenix, the capital, 

 already boasts of being a garden spot, all owing to the exten- 

 sive irrigation canal S3'stem which derives its waters from Salt 

 river, and certainly the green alfalfa fields and extensive or- 

 chards of peach and almond, olive and pomegranate, are a 

 most pleasing contrast to the surrounding cheerless brush desert. 

 The city, embowered in the tropic foliage of palms and pepper 

 trees, with its luxurious hotels, is bound to become — nay, has 

 already become — a Mecca of the seeker after a mild winter cli- 

 mate and relief from pulmonary comi>laints. While its sum- 

 mer temperatures may be said to lack nothing in generosity, lor 

 eight months in the year the climate is said to be perfect. 



The eastern mountain region is mainly a pasturing region; 

 the valleys are clothed with hardy grass and stunted acaci;is, 

 while the mountains, when over G,000 feet high and massive 

 enough to induce precipitation, are wooded ; the drier exposures 

 and lower altitudes support an open growtii of stubby live-oaks, 

 the trees varying in height from 12 to rarely over 2o feet, \\\\w\\ 

 in the distance have the api)earance of an o\(\ apple orchard. 



