114 



Adventures in Scenery 



near Indio and Mecca are among the wonders not only of the 

 Colorado Desert but of the world. 



A Great Engineering Problem 



The problem of water for large-scale irrigation on the great 

 plain of the arid lake bottom has been solved. The Colorado 

 River, by which the great desert plain was formed, now sup- 

 plies water to irrigate its own delta. In 1900 a company was 

 formed to divert the waters of the Colorado for irrigation of 

 the broad flat Imperial Valley just north of the International 



FIG. 34. 



Courtesy 17. S. Bureau of Soils 

 Erosion in stratified sandy loam of Coachella Valley. 



Boundary and south of Salton Sink. The engineering feat of 

 diverting the water of the Colorado and conveying it by canals 

 to the plain of the desert was undertaken and carried out with 

 such success that within a few years there had been a great 

 influx of settlers and the development of many fine farms. 



In 19045 a terrific flood poured down the Colorado River. 

 The Colorado is a tractable and well-behaved stream during 

 most of the year, but becomes a raging torrent of terrific force 



