Winning the West 



8 7 



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"The Canals Tunnel through Hills' 



The Reclamation Service in the com- 

 paratively brief period of its existence, 

 and notwithstanding the enormous ex- 

 tent of the country, embraced in the arid 

 regions — two-fifths of the United 

 States — has completed the surveys and 

 perfected estimates for twenty-four irri- 

 gation projects, all of which have been 

 approved by the Secretary. Upon twelve 

 of these actual construction has begun, 

 and on one (the Truckee-Carson ) a 

 large and important unit was completed 

 and formally opened on the third anni- 

 versary of the reclamation act. 



THE TRUCKEE-CARSON WORKS IN NEVADA 



The first of the great works under- 

 taken by the government is in Nevada. 

 In the bed of ancient Lake Lahontan and 



embracing what was long known as 

 Forty-Mile Desert, the most desolate and 

 arid spot on this continent except Death 

 Valley, the engineers completed the plans 

 for an extensive irrigation work involv- 

 ing some rather novel engineering feat- 

 ures. The principal engineering feat- 

 ures of this project are lifting the waters 

 of the Truckee River into the great canal 

 which will carry them over into the 

 Carson River reservoir, whence they 

 are diverted into laterals and carried out 

 upon the desert. In their entirety the 

 plans involve extensive storage works on 

 Lake Tahoe and the complete utilization 

 of the four rivers which now flow out 

 into Carson sink and are evaporated. 

 The works so far completed are of the 

 most permanent character. The great 



