82 NEW TRACKS IN NORTH AMERICA.! 
raise the streams, and sometimes flood portions of the valleys. 
At such times the Gila River, at the Pima villages, is from 
50 to 75 yards wide and about 10 feet deep, while near its 
mouth it attains a width of 150 yards, with a depth of abo t 
12 feet. 3 
The summers are intensely hot, and the winters extremely 
mild. At Fort Yuma snow is unknown, and the meteorolo- 
gical record at the hospital shows the maximum and mini 
mum temperature to be 116° and 34° Fahr. At Arizona Ct Ys 
on the east bank of the Colorado, and just opposite the fe t, 
the mercury has been known to reach 126° in the shade. : 
Southern Arizona is wonderfully rich in silver ores, and, 
in common with Central Arizona, has immense deposits of the 
sulphites, carbonates, and oxides of copper. Gold is also 
found in quartz lodes and placers. - 
The Colorado River is now navigated to Calville, 612 miles 
above its mouth, and about 400 miles south-west of 
Lake City. The stream is very uncertain in its charac’ 
having numerous sand-bars, with a shifting channel, whieh 
in places separates into smaller ones, none of which are 
readily navigable; but the light-draught steamers used in 
navigating this river, on reaching a place of this character, 
proceed to the most favourable channel, and force the sandy 
bed of the pseudo-channel with poles. These steamers neve 
run at night. q 
The Colorado Steam Navigation Company have three 
steamers and three barges on the river—the Colorado, 70 to 
the Coeopa, 100 tons; and the Mojave, 70 tons; the ba 
each, 100 tons; total, 540 tons. These vessels draw | f 
light, and 2 feet when loaded. The trips are regu a 
depending on the arrival of sailing vessels at the mouth 
the river, where all freight is transferred to the barges. 
wt 
