62 PROGRESS REPORT, HYDROGRAPHY, 1893 AND 1894. [bull.131. 
COLUMBIA BASIN, IN IDAHO, OREGON, AND WASHINGTON. 
This great drainage basin includes, with its large tributary, the Snake, 
an area of 191,813 square miles, of which 108,680 square miles are trib- 
utary to Snake River, 59,010 square miles in Montana, Idaho, and Wash- 
ington to the Columbia, and 24,093 square miles to the Columbia from 
the State of Oregon. It is obviously impossible to attack all of the 
problems of water supply in this great basin, comprising many thou- 
sand square miles of rich agricultural land, though arid, and innu- 
merable localities favorable for the development of water power. A 
beginning, however, has been made, and stations were maintained 
for a longer or shorter time during 1893 and 1894 at Chase's ranch 
on the Teton; at Idaho Falls, Boise, Payette, and Weiser, Idaho; also 
at Nyssa, Vale, and Pendleton, Oreg., and at North Yakima, Yakima, 
Toppenish, and Satas, Wash. 
CHASE STATION, ON TETON RIVER. 
The point at which measurements of Teton River have been made is 
at Chase's ranch, near the mouth of the river canyon, about 3 miles 
from the town of Wilford. The nearest railroad station is Market 
Lake, on the Utah and Northern Railroad, 40 miles distant. The point 
at which measurements are made is about one-half mile above the 
highest canal, and is above all irrigating ditches. The station is 
equipped with a half-inch steel cable, having a clear stretch of 160 feet, 
and which is about 12 feet above low water. The tag wire marking 
the section is 15 feet below the cable. The gage is constructed of a 
piece of 2 by 4 inch timber, 18 feet long. It is inclined at an angle 
of about 25° to the horizon, and the top of the graduation is about 
2 feet above the high-water marks on the banks. It is securely fas- 
tened by braces on each side. The zero of the gage is referred to 
a bench mark on a live stump about 40 feet north of the gage. This 
bench mark is 2.20 feet above the 5 foot mark on the gage. The sta- 
tion was established by Mr. L. D. Hopson, and readings were begun on 
April 4, 1890. Observations were finally discontinued on October 11, 
1893, owing to the expense of reaching the point and the necessity of 
verifying the rating table. 
