78 



The National Geographic Magazine 



and Benjamin Pendleton, before 1828, 

 discovered a great bay or strait on the 

 coast which, not before 1832, received 

 the name of Graham Land. 



It would be a great help in obtaining 

 justice for American explorers if an 

 official chart of the Antarctic could be 

 prepared by the United States Hydro- 

 graphic Office, so as to place officially 

 before the world American claims in the 

 Antarctic, and the National Geographic 

 Society could do no more important 

 work in the next few years than to in- 

 sist that proper recognition be given to 

 distinguished American Antarctic ex- 

 plorers, and that their names be com- 

 memorated by remaining attached to 

 their discoveries. 



Edwin Swift Balch. 



reclamation of arid land in 

 california 



THE greatest opportunity for the 

 reclamation of arid lands in Cali- 

 fornia, and perhaps in the entire South- 

 west, has been found to lie in the utiliza- 

 tion of the waters of the Colorado River 

 on its adjacent lands in California and 

 southern Arizona. As a result of an 

 investigation along this river, made by 

 the hydrographic branch of the United 

 States Geological Survey, the extent of 

 the alluvial bottom land between Camp 

 Mohave and Yuma was found to be from 

 400,000 to 500,000 acres. Extended 

 surveys were begun November 1, 1902, 

 to determine the area and quality of these 

 bottom lands, the possibility of diverting 

 water to them, and the probable expense 

 of their reclamation. To this end a 

 hydrographic survey of the region was 

 begun, including the gaging of the river, 

 the location of canal lines, soil analysis, 

 and the determination of silt and evapo- 

 ration; and a topographic map of the 

 lands upon which distribution systems 

 may be considered was made. This 

 map, on which the topographic features 

 are clearly and accurately shown, will be 



of great value in assisting engineers to 

 locate the main canal lines, and is essen- 

 tial to a comprehensive knowledge of the 

 river as a whole. About one hundred 

 men are engaged in these investigations 

 for the United States Geological Survey, 

 Mr E. T. Perkins being in charge of the 

 engineering field work, Mr E. C. Bar- 

 nard in charge of the topographic map- 

 ping, and Mr J. B. Lippincott, resident 

 hydrographer for California, consulting 

 engineer on investigations. 



The demands for irrigation in the Col- 

 orado Valley are urgent. The average 

 rainfall at Camp Mohave is only 5.99 

 inches per annum, and at Yuma it is 

 3.06 inches per annum, while the tem- 

 peratures are such as to provide twelve 

 growing months in the year. The Col- 

 orado River derives its principal source 

 of water supply from the melting snow 

 on the high mountains of Utah, Colo- 

 "rado, and Wyoming. It reaches the 

 stage of maximum flow, approximately 

 50,000 cubic feet per second, in the 

 months of May and June, when the de- 

 mand for irrigation is normally the high- 

 est; its minimum flow, about 4,000 cubic 

 feet per second, occurs in the mouths of 

 Januarj r and February, at the time of 

 least demand. The opportunities for 

 storage on this stream are very great. 



The silts of the river are difficult to 

 handle in canals ; but the fertilizing 

 properties which they have are such 

 that lands irrigated with these muddy 

 waters will never require further fertili- 

 zation. 



Mr R. H. Forbes, of the Agricultural 

 Experiment Station at Tucson, Ariz., 

 who has made a study of the silt in the 

 Colorado River, has pointed out that 

 this stream resembles the Nile in many 

 particulars. Like the great river of 

 Egypt, the Colorado is subject to an an- 

 nual summer rise sufficient to overflow 

 the extensive areas of its borders and 

 delta lands. These high waters are rich 

 in fertilizing sediments, are exception- 

 ally free from alkaline salts, and come 



