46 
GRAVEL AND PLACES MINING I\ \I ASKA. 
[BUU . 263. 
Seward Peninsula than in theinterior. Theavailable catchment areas 
on the peninsula are larger, and the construction of water conduits, 
owing to peculiar conditions which will be described, can be under* 
taken more cheaply. The Kigluaik Mountains and the Bendelebeu 
Range, lying roughly parallel to, and at a distance of 25 miles north 
ot the important gold fields of the South Coast, rise to heights ranging 
from 2,000 to 4,000 feet, and afford, as has been proved, a fairly con- 
tinuous water supply during the open season. The York Mountains. 
in the western portion of the peninsula, will doubtless furnish a sn 
ilar water supply should occasion require. Already the extensiv 
ditch system^ of Nome River. Ophir Creek, and Solomon River atfor 
an aggregate of 5,000 miner's inches of water in the drier portions o 
the open season. (See fig. 4. > The expenditure for this work alread; 
made will probably not fall far short of a million dollars. Project' 
for the construction of water conduits are in contemplation whic 
compare favorably with, and even exceed in magnitude, those alread 
completed. 
