434 THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



The average elevation is 2,800 feet 

 above sea level. The climate is delight- 

 ful, the temperature ranging from 25 0 

 below to 100 0 above zero. As in other 

 parts of the arid region, the sensible 

 temperature does not vary so much, 

 owing to the dryness of the atmosphere. 

 The soil is clay loam and sandy loam, ex- 

 ceedingly fertile and free from alkali. 

 Fruits, such as apples, cherries, plums, 

 and small fruits, do well, especially on 

 the higher portions of the project near 

 the bluffs, and potatoes can be raised on 

 the south side of the river, where the 

 soil is more sandy. The main crop, 

 however, is alfalfa and native hay, which 

 is in great demand for winter feed, the 

 great number of cattle and sheep sum- 

 mer-pastured on the open range sur- 

 rounding the project creating c constant 

 demand for alfalfa. All the fruits and 

 vegetables that can be raised on the 

 project can be sold at the mining camps 

 in the Black Hills. The Chicago and 

 Northwestern Railroad passes through 

 the town of Belle Fourche, which is one 

 of the largest live-stock shipping points 

 in the United States. 



The engineering work on this project 

 involves the construction of one of the 

 largest earth embankments in the coun- 

 try, which is being built in a depression 

 between two hills. It will be 115 feet 

 high, 20 feet wide on top, and more than 

 a mile long. The reservoir thus created 

 will be filled with water by an inlet canal, 

 which carries the entire flow of the Belle 

 Fourche River. 



STRAWBERRY VAIXEY PROJECT, UTAH 



This project provides for the irriga- 

 tion of about 60,000 acres of land in Utah 

 and Wasatch counties, on the eastern 

 shore of Utah Lake. The water supply 

 will be obtained from a storage reservoir 

 that is being built in Strawberry Valley, 

 about 30 miles east of the irrigable area. 

 By means of a tunnel four miles long 

 the stored waters will be carried through 

 the mountains and emptied into Spanish 

 Fork, from which a canal 18 to 20 miles 

 long will convey them to the irrigable 

 area. Power created from the high-line 



canal is now transmitted electrically to 

 the tunnel for drilling and later will be 

 utilized to pump water to lands above 

 the gravity system. 



The lands have an elevation of about 

 4,500 feet, and the temperature ranges 

 from 1 8° below to 99 0 above zero. The 

 soil is a sandy loam and gravel, with a 

 deep black soil in the bottom lands, and 

 is exceedingly fertile. Alfalfa, hay, ce- 

 reals, sugar beets, fruits, and vegetables, 

 are grown. Settlers are getting ready to' 

 plant orchards as soon as water is avail- 

 able. The lands are all in private owner- 

 ship, and existing canals are being en- 

 larged to form part of the government 

 system. It is possible to purchase lands 

 at reasonable prices from present owners. 



The watershed area is 200 square 

 miles, the annual rainfall on watershed 

 18 inches, and the estimated annual run- 

 off 65,600 acre-feet. This valley has one 

 of the finest domestic water supplies in 

 the west, artesian water being found at 

 many points. 



THE) DEMOCRACY OF THE DESERT 



The democracy of the irrigated sec- 

 tions always impresses the newcomer. 

 It is due to the small farm, the inde- 

 pendence of the owners, and the social 

 equality of the people. Conditions com- 

 pel association and organization in har- 

 vesting and marketing high-priced prod- 

 ucts. The narrow provincialism which 

 has marked life where farms are large is 

 not found here. Rural delivery of mails,, 

 with daily papers, the county telephone,, 

 traveling libraries, centralized schools,, 

 and trolley lines to the towns are all 

 serving to bring the desert farmer within 

 the stimulating currents of the world's 

 thought. One of the most prominent 

 farm editors in America recently said to 

 me : "In the irrigated West there will 

 be developed in time the most nearly 

 ideal conditions of rural life and the best 

 types of men and women the world has 

 ever seen." 



A summation of the work of the Rec- 

 lamation Service up to January 1, 1909, 

 shows that it has built more than 3,458 

 miles of canals and ditches, some of 



